Photo: Hannah Thomson1/35We considered a lot of locations for our wedding—Manhattan, where we would be starting our life together; the Hamptons, where we fell in love; Big Sur, where we got engaged—but ultimately, we settled on Santa Barbara, the first trip we took together. We wanted to get married somewhere we could and would be excited to go back to over the years. Plus, Santa Barbara felt like the perfect place to bring friends and family together for the weekend.
Friday morning started at the beach. We had a bunch of surf instructors to help guests get up on boards, laid out blankets, hung out, and picnic-lunched with sandwiches and beer. I spent a lot of beach days like this growing up in Venice, California.
Photo: Hannah Thomson2/35My mom and my aunt gave me these antique Indian bracelets as birthday gifts.
Photo: Hannah Thomson3/35I celebrated my 30th birthday the day before my wedding, so instead of a traditional rehearsal dinner, Justin threw a birthday party for me instead. Here I am getting ready for the big night.
Photo: Hannah Thomson4/35I found this Gucci jumpsuit less than a week before the wedding. It was two sizes too big; their tailor worked wonders to make it fit and get it to me in time! The shoes are Chanel.
Photo: Hannah Thomson5/35Friday night's festivities was Mexican-themed, and we had fresh tortillas made on site for the tacos.
Photo: Hannah Thomson6/35The Mariachi Divas! An all-female mariachi band. They set the tone for the entire party.
Photo: Hannah Thomson7/35We also had Mexican street food. Here, elote—corn served with the husk on, rubbed in cotija cheese, chili powder, and lime. It was a hit!
Photo: Hannah Thomson8/35These were the brainchild of our insanely talented wedding planner, Stefanie Cove. In keeping with the Mexican street food theme, we served paletas, or Mexican fruit ice pops. A few flavors were spiked with a bit of tequila—they came out at the end of the night.
Photo: Hannah Thomson9/35There were 11 toasts on Friday night, nine planned. Here, one of the unplanned toasts, from Justin’s boss, Ralph Rosenberg. The second unplanned speech came from my boss and dear friend, Gwyneth Paltrow.
Photo: Hannah Thomson10/35Savoring one of the toasts, which were a highlight of the weekend.
Photo: Hannah Thomson11/3550 or so people had signed up for yoga on Saturday morning . . . maybe 10 showed up. That's the sign of a good party the night before!
Photo: Hannah Thomson12/35This really does not do the invitation suite justice. It was exquisite, and for someone obsessed with details, it exceeded all of my expectations. Each leaf was hand-watercolored, the envelopes were lined with the most beautiful handmade Japanese paper, and it was all sealed with white wax.
Photo: Hannah Thomson13/35Lots of small glass and silver vessels were scattered down the long dinner tables.
Photo: Hannah Thomson14/35Everything in Santa Barbara is quite low—the buildings, the landscape. We wanted the ceremony to sort of blend in with the surroundings. We focused the florals on the aisle where the dense white and green flowers seemed as if they were popping out of the ground. The chuppah was draped in a beautiful intricate lace panel we stood under together with our parents.
Photo: Hannah Thomson15/35My wedding shoes were Manolo Blahnik.
Photo: Hannah Thomson16/35I worked with stylist Elizabeth Saltzman on my wedding day look—and she enlisted Antonio Berardi to custom-make my dress and veil. I wanted something chic and a little sexy but also classic, a dress I would look back on 50 years from now and think, Yeah, that was a good dress.
Photo: Hannah Thomson17/35The embroidery at the bottom of the dress was dense and spectacular. The most delicate glass and crystal beads outlined portions of the lace.
Photo: Hannah Thomson18/35My mom helping me with my veil—she was my something blue.
Photo: Hannah Thomson19/35Boutonnieres for the boys.
Photo: Hannah Thomson20/35Justin and I decided to sleep in separate rooms the night before the wedding. It seemed like a silly tradition, but we decided at the last minute to keep it. I think it did make seeing each other on Saturday that much more exciting. This was taken when Justin saw me for the first time. I was walking toward him in my wedding dress, and the world fell away in that moment. He wore Ralph Lauren.
Photo: Hannah Thomson21/35For my accessories, I just wore a pair of delicate diamond slice earrings by Loriann Stevenson and my engagement ring. Elizabeth made the good point that when I look back at my wedding photos, I won’t want to look at the accessories I was wearing, but rather how happy I was on that day.
Photo: Hannah Thomson22/35Mornings by the beach in California can be quite overcast. The marine layer stuck around most of the day but broke right as the procession started. Blue skies emerged and the birds started chirping. It was magical!
Photo: Hannah Thomson23/35We were literally surrounded by 180 of our closest friends and family during the ceremony.
Photo: Hannah Thomson24/35This was not our first kiss. I slipped a kiss on him after he read his vows. The highlight of the weekend.
Photo: Hannah Thomson25/35Mr. and Mrs. Pattner!
Photo: Hannah Thomson26/35Our florist, Maurice Harris, tried to surprise me with a bouquet of lily of the valley . . . but they died on the way up to Santa Barbara. I could not have been happier with this clematis plus chic tassel bouquet.
Photo: Hannah Thomson27/35I let my hair down after the ceremony so it looked a little more beachy.
Photo: Hannah Thomson28/35A California farm-to-table-inspired menu.
Photo: Hannah Thomson29/35Cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and the Pacific Ocean.
Photo: Hannah Thomson30/35A view of the Santa Barbara coastline during cocktail hour—the American Riviera.
Photo: Hannah Thomson31/35Nobody can wear a cape quite like GP.
Photo: Hannah Thomson32/35We did a four-course seated dinner inspired by local California flavors: cool pea puree soup followed by a bright and beautiful fresh citrus salad with fennel and watermelon radishes. Guests had the choice of steak frites or miso-glazed black cod and were seated at long tables of 30 to 50.
Photo: Jillian Sollazzo / Hannah Thomson Studio33/35Our first dance was to “I Found You” by Alabama Shakes, which felt very
appropriate!
Photo: Hannah Thomson34/35Our perfect little carrot wedding cake was made by Elizabeth Colling, who owns Merci to Go at the Montecito Country Mart. We cut the cake while no one was watching. We didn’t want to break up the raging dance party.
Photo: Hannah Thomson35/35Justin literally lived for this moment. Anyone who knows him or has
ever been to a wedding with this man, knows how he loves a good hora—this made his night!
