Pema Osel Ling Retreat Center Redwood Santa Cruz Wedding
Stars, and rockets, and moons- oh my! When Lauren mentioned to me that she was having a celestial themed wedding, I was so pumped! It was the natural theme of choice for these two extremely intelligent, space-loving scientists. Nestled into a grove of giant redwoods at Pema Osel Ling Retreat Center, a beautiful wedding was about to take place with surrounding natural beauty complimented with splashes of blues, purples, plenty of glimmering stars, and a few very precious rings.
The couple met at the same college as I attended- University of California Santa Cruz. This is how I know Lauren, as we spent many fun nights together on the university’s cheer team! The two moved to Chicago shortly thereafter for Lauren to start her graduate program in Planetary Sciences. Lauren and Jack’s proposal was nothing short of breathtaking. While on an adventurous vacation to Iceland, Jack knelt down and asked Lauren to spend forever with him amongst a magical white and blue sea of glacial ice.
The couple decided to get married back in Santa Cruz not only because most of their families are here in CA, but also because it’s where their love story first began. There were so many amazing parts of their wedding day but my favorite, by far, was the ceremony. You will never in your life hear a ceremony as custom to this couple as the one I heard that day. I wish I could recount the entire thing for you- but what I can tell you in that it was the most amazing love poem including aspect of life, love, earth and space. One part that really stuck with me was the meaning behind their rings. Jack’s said about his ring “I take this ring, a metallic meteorite from the far reaches of our solar system as a symbol of our long-lasting journey.” A sapphire was chosen specifically for Lauren for its unique way it came to be, it’s reliance, durability, and beauty- so much of it ringing true with Lauren & Jack’s past, present, and future. Lauren’s last words in her vow to Jack was “I promise not to take for granted our precious time together on riding this little moat of dust, this speck of a planet, in love and happiness as long as possible.”
To Lauren and Jack – thank you again for allowing me to serve you on your special day! I had a blast getting to know you two, your friends, and your family better. I won’t forget how amazingly precious you two looked during your First Look, that extremely special ceremony, or Lauren- how you rocked your wedding dress with the most epic twirls! Your wedding was truly one for the books- filled with star sparkles, laughter, beautiful redwood trees, and dance. Good luck on your future move to Hawaii! I’m so jealous- I hope two see you two with beautiful tans and tropical drinks soon!
Vendors:
Venue: Pema Osel Ling Amphitheater of the Redwoods
Flowers: Costco
Bride’s Ring: Miriel Design
Dress: David’s Bridal
Earrings: Jenny Packham
Shoes: Kailee P
Jewelry & Hair Pins: Amazon
Grooms Attire: ASOS
Grooms Ring: Jewelry By Johan
Bow Ties: Wormbo on Etsy
Couple’s Review:
“I could not be happier with our decision to work with Corinna Rose! She was such a pleasure to work with during all stages of the wedding! Our first video chat (we live out of state) went very well; I could tell instantly that she would be fun to work with and highly professional. Her email communication was friendly and timely, with just the right amount of reminders. The big day went so great, thanks in a huge part to Corinna! She and her assistant did such a great job capturing the important moments, and did an amazing job with all the formal photos. I was worried that my goofball friends/ family would make for messy pictures, but they ended up looking quite snazzy, even with natural looking smiles – so much better than I expected! I think one of the best things I could say about Corinna was how she handled everything, prep for the wedding and also the mild chaos of the wedding day. She did an excellent job helping us plan for the big day, with lots of useful tips, and she even visited the site to check our photo spots beforehand (and it was quite the journey to the site)! Most importantly, she stayed very calm and helpful when everything inevitably fell out of schedule due to various reasons. I really appreciated that she was so supportive and did nothing to add to the stress of the day. We got a blog post and first look pictures just DAYS after the wedding, which was such a lovely surprise! Our photos were done insanely fast too, well under her promised deadline. I’ll also note that her pricing was the best that I found. I cannot recommend her enough!”
