A Colorful Camp Wedding in the California Redwoods

BIG LOVE. These words, in glowing ’70s-style lettering, were emblazoned on the colorful invitation to Rosie Rothrock and Andrew Parietti’s wedding last August. And no, the phrase was not a reference to the HBO series. “‘Big love’ is how Andrew and I sign off our texts to each other,” Rosie says. “I use it for emails to my family too.” One could also say that big aptly described the event’s 290-person guest list. “I alone have 53 first cousins,” Rosie emphasizes.

Even the setting—a forest of soaring redwood trees—had a giant factor. After Andrew proposed on the sidewalk near Rosie’s San Francisco apartment in March 2017, the couple took a road trip south—and stumbled upon Camp Campbell, a YMCA sleepaway camp north of Santa Cruz. The discovery turned out to be serendipitous. “Our wedding felt like a big reunion rather than a one-night-only dinner party,” says Rosie.

Keep reading to see more of Rosie and Andrew’s creative summer camp wedding, as photographed by Jenn Emerling Weddings and planned by Ashley Smith Events.

Rosie and Andrew’s loved ones expected a trendy city wedding in San Francisco. Instead, they got a weekend sleepover at a summer camp in Boulder Creek. “It was the best surprise,” the bride says.

Andrew's brother and brother-in-law, Wesley and John Yates-Parietti, created the couple's bold invitation suite as well as their wedding website and bandanas and flags that were used throughout the festivities.

Guests embraced the setting by sharing cabins and bunk beds, but the weekend was far from spartan. The lovebirds brought in a wood-fired pizza oven and a Motown band for Friday’s welcome dinner.

On the morning of the wedding, the couple transformed the pool into a massive, neon-hued disco party with Funboy pool floats and a DJ. “I was so relaxed my bridesmaids had to drag me out of the water to get ready,” says Rosie, who later slipped into a Pronovias gown with a statement train and veil. In addition to their bridesmaids and groomsmen, the couple had seven young attendants, whom they lovingly called the “flower folk.” They included drawings from the kids in the ceremony program.

Rosie and Andrew were officially married in a private religious ceremony on the Thursday prior to the wedding. On Saturday, they wed again in the camp’s outdoor chapel as guests looked on from benches set between the trees. "We crammed it full of people," Rosie admits with a laugh.

To let the redwood grove speak for itself, Wild Club florals enhanced the space only with clusters of ferns and white blooms.

Both the bride and groom walked down the aisle arm-in-arm with their parents. There were smiles, laughs, and tears on each side of the aisle.

Rosie’s friend officiated the proceedings, during which her siblings read from the children’s book Everybody Needs a Rock (a family favorite) before the couple exchanged vows. “We spent the most time planning and fretting over the vows,” says the bride.

After Andrew dipped Rosie for a big first kiss, the couple exited to cheers and applause from their loved ones.

Following the ceremony, Rosie let her hair down and added a Frida Kahlo–inspired floral headpiece for a second look. Andrew later changed into his favorite Nirvana tee for dancing. The reception space was set in another outdoor clearing and finished off with two major installations: a banner of pink balloons on the lodge itself and a stained glass window that doubled as a bar-back.

At cocktail hour, everyone sipped Aperol spritzes served with napkins that Rosie had printed with “Andrew Rothrock” to poke fun at their never-ending debate of who would take whose last name. (Negotiations continue!)

Table assignments were fittingly done on a grand scale using an escort card display rather than individual cards.

Dinner took on a colorful tone with tables of bright linens and arrangements of wildflowers and fresh fruit.

The meal was served buffet-style—instead of sloppy joes, there was salmon—under bistro lights outdoors. “Almost all of our siblings spoke, and we both got totally roasted,” Rosie says. “The whole crowd was in stitches!”

Planner Ashley Smith added the final pop of color to the decor: the floral mandala on the dance floor. "When we arrived at the reception, we saw that our planners and florists had surprised us with the most epic petal mandala that we had wanted but couldn’t squeeze the budget for!" Rosie says. "It was such a memorable moment and it totally transformed the space!"

Confetti cannons were released during the couple's first dance. "It was epic," Rosie recalls. Music videos were also projected to further enhance the outdoor dancing space.

At 10 p.m., the party moved into the camp lodge turned groovy nightclub. Like their favorite bar, Lone Palm, Andrew and Rosie’s “Club Rockietti” featured neon lights and late-night bites.

“We danced till it hurt and my shoes and dress were trashed!” says Rosie. In short, it was not just Big Love—it was Big Fun.

This story originally appeared in the August/September 2019 issue of Brides, on sale beginning July 2.