elle and will's santa barbara rock n roll, fairy woodland wedding
Welcome to Elle and Will's rustic fairytale rock-venture. For those about to rock... could you put your elf ears on now?
This wedding was inspired by: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Last Unicorn, A Midsummer Night's Dream, children's books, and Rock 'n Roll.
Elle is a mythology and fairytale buff and plays bass and writes songs for a b-horror movie band. Her fiancé, I mean husband (!) Will, is a composer and the lead singer. She told me she wanted to pull off something sophisticated enough for their parents but also something recognizable as "them". She's been planning this wedding for a year, and it's been so fun to get little notes from Elle all year with new updates. Pretty much everything she imagined came to life. Well, except for "the pony dressed as a unicorn carrying the ring" idea (Ponies will eat the pretty flowers). That's ok, we just dressed the bride up as a unicorn instead.
They chose the elegant Biltmore for the venue and then included some curve balls like California's best Elvis impersonator and a string quartet playing AC/DC. Guests were encouraged to wear midsummer night's dream-wear: fairy wings, elf ears, flower garlands. The couple created cassette tapes of their favorite bands to give to each guest, oh, and Will cut the cake with a sword. And we made time to include a quick portrait session with Elle's little animal family: her little dog and turtle.
With this many elements planned, it helps so much to have people around you who are positive and on the same page. What is much more extraordinary than the creative details here are Elle and Will, who are so genuinely warm and considerate and kind to everyone they meet, it makes you do a double take.
Dress: Claire Pettibone
Venue: The Biltmore, Santa Barbara
Make up and hair: Fiore Beauty
Florist: Camillia Floral Design
Elvis Impersonator: James Kruk
String Quartet: Rachel Galvin/Gavin Roy
But let's start at the beginning:
sneaking Elle past the guests.
