We wanted our special day to be bright and playful so it would feel authentic to us.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
We’re Sam (Samantha) and Ryan, two college sweethearts who fell in love at just 18 years old, and 10 years later decided to do the big thing and get married! We live in beautiful San Francisco, CA, where we spend many evenings catching the sunset in the park across the street with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge, followed up with a great glass of crispy rosé, Lake Street Dive playing on full volume throughout our tiny apartment, and the two of us cheffing up in our kitchen. One of our biggest love languages is the love of food, whether it be exploring a new restaurant or a new recipe at home. Food is truly the heart of our relationship, as silly as that sounds, hence it is a key part of our special day. We love our families, travel, our best friends, and creating new memories as much as we can. The little things are really where we find the most joy and make us fall in love with each other over and over again.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
We met in a small, silly college town called Eugene, Oregon, during our freshman year. Sam’s first impression of Ryan was to immediately friend zone him and then later realise that this isn’t just a friend, this is real love. Ryan’s first impression of Sam was the moment she walked through that math class door, “Who is that?!” He asks his friend. From there, it was truly history! We have always been best friends, which to us is the most important part of our love story. We want to experience everything together, and over the last 10 years, we really have. We have grown into adults together and experienced so many “firsts” by each other’s sides. We’ve moved to a big city that now feels like a small town, we’ve created amazing friendships that have blossomed into not just friends but more so family to us, we’ve cheered each other on through career wins, and we have simply just sat next to each other on our sweet little apartment couch at golden hour taking in all of the mundane times. It’s been a super sweet journey, and we are just getting started!
What styling and visual elements worked best for you? (could be things, the florals, particular hire products or your marquee, etc., something the stylist created or simply just the scenic beauty of your location or the existing design of your venue).
The historical museum is a beautiful blank canvas of Spanish architecture that needed little to no extra fluff, which kept our design vision tasteful, elegant, and timeless. We wanted our special day to be bright and playful so it would feel authentic to us. Colour was a big element for us. We leaned into pops of colour through our greens, deep plums, and orange florals, our hand-printed chartreuse fabric menus on each place setting, a playful seating chart, and our bridal parties’ dress shades of orange and chartreuse that would linger throughout the venue all night.
Santa Barbara is an incredibly special place to us, and this venue couldn’t have felt more like home. SB is Sam’s hometown and a place that we visit every chance we can get. Our visits always consist of yummy dinners, great wine, many laughs, family time, and the beauty of this small Spanish town. The historical museum captured all of those emotions we regularly experience and what we wanted to share with our people – the night felt like one big dinner party with all of our best friends and family, many glasses were clinked, tasty food was shared, and the love felt so damn big.
What did you enjoy most about the planning process, and do you have any tips for couples starting their wedding planning journey?
Well, it wasn’t the most crucial part of the planning process, but definitely the most fun – our dance lessons!! In the midst of all of the real stress that wedding planning came with, practising dancing together was the best. We laughed, we made fun of each other, and just leaned into the sweet moments. To anyone planning their wedding, I would recommend taking a breath and realising what is most important at the end of the day – you’re marrying your best friend! It should be an exciting process and not a chore. Have fun with the small things, like dancing in your living room to a YouTube lesson.
I will also say that the planning is absolutely worth it in the end. People aren’t kidding when they say that day is the best day of your lives!! You have all of the people you love the most in the same place for 6 hours, and that won’t ever happen again. Kick your heels off, cry happy tears, drink too many espresso martinis, and dance all night with your best friend! It’s too good!
Tell us about your vendors. Were there any standout suppliers you would like to make special mention of?
The whole reason we are writing here is our amazing photographer, Sharon Ko, who was an absolute standout from our day! I haven’t stopped smiling as we continue to scroll through our photos, reliving the day, moment by moment. Sharon and her husband, Eric, were a match made in heaven for us. We wanted our day to feel authentic, not overly posed, and really capture the vibrance of the day and love in the room through both digital and film photos. They did that and more. We felt comfortable all day with them by our side. I am blown away by the photos we have of that day that we will cherish forever and ever. We feel so lucky to be able to have the most beautiful, authentic wedding photos.
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, and is there a story?
I always knew I would want a non-traditional take on a wedding dress; however, I didn’t have a clear vision for what that would look like. At my first ever bridal appointment, my best friend pulled a dress for me and insisted I try it on. The second I put this dreamy two-piece sheer dress on, I knew it was mine. It felt so authentically me. I walked out of that dressing room smiling ear to ear, and my vision immediately began to come to life! It was chic and classy while also feeling the perfect amount of sexy. I paired it with tulle gloves with tiny little bows from Cornellia James and bright orange bowed heels from Sezane. All of the details came together, and I felt like a movie star that day! It was the most fabulous feeling ever, and what every bride should feel like.
Ryan, on the other hand, just knew he wanted to look cool on his wedding day, and he did it! He wore a classic eggshell tuxedo, black bow tie, shiny shoes, and added a pop of colour with a polkadot chartreuse handkerchief in his pocket. He looked effortlessly suave.
We felt like a perfect pair once we met at the end of the aisle.
Tell us about your wedding and engagement rings.
Ryan custom-designed my engagement ring with a local San Francisco jeweller. We talked briefly about what I had in mind for my ring, sharing inspo photos back and forth, and little did I know he would run with it and design something so uniquely beautiful all on his own. Couldn’t have designed it better myself.
Our wedding bands are both chunky, hammered gold bands. Ryan’s is from the same San Francisco jeweller, and mine is from a Santa Barbara jeweller, Marisa Mason. They are both engraved on the inside “ S loves R ” & “R loves S”.
What were one or two elements that were most important to you both that you were happy to spend a little more on? (food, photography, florals, the venue, your outfits?).
The food was a biggie for us. Our life truly revolves around good food and cooking, and we knew we had to put a little more time into what we wanted this to look like. It’s harder to conceptualise a menu for 160 people than our usual dinner parties of 6!! We really lucked out with our caterers, Field to Table, and were able to completely draw up our own menu. The menu ended up being inspired by a pretty typical meal you could find at the St. John’s house and was served family style. Our vision was simply to serve just really good food, no fluff. The catering world was a wild planning ride; however, all was worth it and delish in the end!
Was there a favourite moment (or two) that you will treasure always?
Two moments come to mind –
One being dinner time, and the other being the iconic bingo moment. Dinner was incredible. There was no better feeling than us looking out from our seats to long farm tables filled with people from all parts of our lives, mingling and laughing and toasting. It felt like one giant dinner party, and you could truly just feel the fun in the air! That was a moment we will cherish forever.
Bingo, on the other hand, had our guests out of their seats, literally! My dad was inspired by an NYC magic show he visited, and not to spoil it, but let’s just say, everyone won! I don’t think it gets better than every guest at our wedding yelling “I love Sam and Ryan!” at the same time instead of the classic “bingo!” Highly recommend for every future wedding.
What does being married mean to you, and are there any special rituals you have that you would like to share?
Marriage to us means staying consistent with being each other’s best friend, no matter what. It means enjoying all of the small things like coffee in bed, neighbourhood strolls, and casual conversations to handling the bigger, scarier things, like building a family, moving to another city, or whatever struggles come our way. It means showing up for each other always.
LOCATION Santa Barbara Historical Museum, Santa Barbara, California, United States, @sbhistoricalmuseum BRIDE Samantha, @sammiestj GROOM Ryan, @rykelleher PHOTOGRAPHER Sharon Ko, @sharonko_photo PLANNER KB Events, @kbeventssb FLORIST Sarah Russ – Wild West Florals, @wildwestflorals CELEBRANT Bride’s Brother – Max St. John, @maxsaintjohn HIRE The Tent Merchant, @thetentmerchant CATERING Field To Table, @fieldtotableevents STATIONERY & SIGNAGE Kate Taylor, @katiekatherinejane ENGAGEMENT RING & GROOM’S WEDDING BAND Local San Francisco jeweller BRIDE’S WEDDING BAND Marisa Mason BRIDE’S DRESS Besa Bridal, @besa_bridal from Anthropologie, @anthropologieweddings BRIDE’S SHOES Orange Leather Clarisse Mules – Sézane, @sezane BRIDE’S ACCESSORIES Custom diamond earrings made of the bride’s mom and dad’s wedding rings; Tulle Gloves – Cornelia James, @cornelia_james MAKEUP Cynthia Fuentes – Glam by Cynthia, @glam.by.cynthia BRIDE’S FRAGRANCE Calico – Nostos, @nostosworld GROOM’S TUXEDO Pronto Uomo GROOM’S SHOES The Black Tux, @theblacktux GROOM’S ACCESSORIES Embroidered “S&R” chartreuse handkerchief
