“The whole day felt perfect…We can’t wait to make our home full of warmth and love and create new family traditions together. We get to spend the rest of our lives with our best friend!”
Clarissa+Gil’s Santa Barbara wedding really was perfect. With their ceremony taking place at Our Lady of Sorrows Church, followed by the reception at Cabrillo Arts Pavilion, the two dressed to impress and planned their decor immaculately–including designing their own logo and arranging for a blue moon! More to come on those…
Below is a slideshow from their special day. To view the images at your own pace and read more about the two and their big day, scroll below.
The day began with getting ready photos. The green ring was given to Clarissa by her grandmother, shortly before she passed, and it was Clarissa’s way of including her grandmother in the day.
Gil designed the couple’s wedding logo, which was featured on the Save the Date cards, invitations, tote bags and candy boxes. Quite the creative man! Keep reading to find out more about the inspiration for their logo…
I met Gil and the Groomsmen at Our Lady of Sorrows Church for Groom and Groomsmen photos.
We also snuck in photos of the reception set-up at Cabrillo Arts Pavilion before the ceremony started.
When asked why they chose Our Lady of Sorrows for their wedding ceremony, Gil and Clarissa responded with the following…”We chose OLS because of the beautiful Venetian stained glass and overall look of the church. We both LOVED Venice when we travelled there (before we met) and hope to go back now together as a married couple.” And so they became husband and wife, sealing it with a kiss!
Next came family photos and wedding party photos at Our Lady of Sorrows Church.
I love the ladies’ colorful wedding bouquets!
While the guests made their way to Cabrillo Arts Pavilion for the wedding reception, we took bride and groom portraits in front of Our Lady of Sorrows.
Clarissa’s cathedral veil was absolutely stunning and made for lovely, dramatic images!
We made our way to the reception, where Pure Joy catering did not disappoint!
Gil and Clarissa’s choice for their wedding reception venue was an easy one… “We choose Cabrillo because we knew we wanted something on or near the water for our friends and family to enjoy. The views are just so gorgeous and it’s perfect for getting a sophisticated beach party vibe, without having to get all covered in sand! It had a perfect ambiance and we wanted that “Wow!” factor for our guests because they had all traveled so far to celebrate with us. Also, the art on the walls gave a fun factor and interesting element for our guests. We both love the beach and art so it worked out beautifully.”
While the guests got to enjoy the view of the beach without getting sandy, we took on the sand for sunset photos on East Beach.
Gil’s succulent boutonniere fit right in with the theme!
So what was the inspiration for Clarissa + Gil’s big day?
“Sophisticated beach party was definitely in my mind while planning. “Romantic. Artsy. Glam” were the 3 buzz words I used while looking through all of the overwhelming wedding ideas and pinterest boards! I used that to focus in on what would work well together and how to bring together the vision I had in my head of our wedding…
The succulents (especially the guest name cards!) were one of my favorite details. Also the cake topper. Gil didn’t want a grooms cake so I surprised him with a Rocky inspired cake topper!
Finally, the Blue Moon. Shortly after we got engaged in fall 2013 and were thinking about potential dates for the wedding, we saw a news story about a blue moon happening the next night. We both mentioned how we like full moons. Also all the fun lovey songs associated with it like “Moondance” or “That’s Amore.” At the end of the segment the anchor mentioned that the next blue moon wouldn’t happen for another almost 2 years on July 31, 2015. We knew we wanted kind of a longer engagement so we both looked at each other and were like “Hey! What about that for a wedding date?!.” Right then I checked my calendar and we saw that it was going to be a Friday. We knew then that was meant to be our wedding date, it was too perfect! It was just an extra special little something, a little detail that we liked and though our guests would enjoy. Also now every blue moon we’ll remember our awesome wedding. We ended up giving out Moon Pies with little stickers that said “True Love like this is Once in a Blue Moon” to all our guests to tie the theme together and as a nod to my Southern heritage. The logo Gil designed for the wedding, our brand that went on all the bags and paper goods, also has a blue circle as the outer ring which symbolizes the blue moon. We also knew the photos along the beach and with the blue moon in the background would be amazing.
Everything was just romantic, but still fun, and it was perfect!”
The party got started, while we waited for the blue moon to make its appearance…And then we were sure to capture some night-time photos with it!
Congratulations Gil+Clarissa! Here’s to many more moons, trips to Venice, and endless creativity, adventure and love!
Vendors:
Wedding Ceremony Location: Our Lady of Sorrows Church
Wedding Reception Location: Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center
Photographer: Karen D Photography
Hair & Makeup: Carlyle Salon
Catering/Cake/Desserts: Pure Joy
Florist: White Gate Design Studio
DJ/Lighting/Room Design: Gavin Roy Presents
