Gabrielle & Daniel - Wedding at The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara
Throughout 2018 I had the pleasure of creating twelve custom ketubahs! I'll be sharing the stories of several of these couples over the course of this year, but I wanted to begin with Gabrielle and Dan.
These two lovebirds, who live in Seattle, had planned a destination wedding to take place in August in Kuai, Hawaii, but less than one week before their planned date, Hurricane Lane roared through the Pacific forcing Gabrielle and Dan to cancel their dream wedding. When I heard the news, I was distraught for them.
We worked together over several months to create a design that would feature flowers from Gabrielle's bouquet and the tropical floral chuppah they had planned. I created several draft designs for them and we settled on a large colorful wreath that featured king protea, roses, red ginger flowers, orchids, and a pair of flitting hummingbirds. Their custom text had been hand-lettered, including their names, the dates, and location, which meant that their ketubah would no longer be valid.
Not to mention all the hard work and months of preparation that Gabrielle and Dan and their many other vendors had put into the planning and the canceled flights for the many guests that would have attended the wedding. Just thinking about their predicament brought me to tears.
But when I spoke with Gabrielle about the situation, she seemed to be taking it all in stride. As long as they were able to say their vows in the company of their families they felt fortunate. So, just a few weeks after their original wedding date, and with the help of
Colleen Stefanek with Eventful Wedding Planning, she and Dan were able to pull together a beautiful ceremony and reception at
The Ritz-Carlton Bacara in Santa Barbara, CA, near Dan's family home. These wonderful photos of their magical day were taken by
Grace Kathryn Photography.
Gabrielle and Dan worked with
Lori Boe Floral Design to create this stunning tropical floral bouquet and their lush floral chuppah, which incorporated many of the tropical flowers they'd planned to use in Hawaii.
Gabrielle's glamorous lace-bodiced dress was from Nordstrom's Lazaro Collection.
They were even able to incorporate the orchid leis they'd originally planned for.
After their wedding, Gabi and Dan sent their ketubah back to me to alter the text to reflect their new wedding date and location. I was so happy to be able to help these two to have the ketubah that they had dreamt of. Thank you, Gabrielle and Dan, for including us in your day!
Vendors:
Venue, including catering and cake: The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara
Coordinator/Planning: Colleen Stefanek with Eventful Wedding Planning
Coordinator/Planning: Colleen Stefanek with Eventful Wedding Planning
Florist: Lori Boe Floral Design
Photography: Grace Kathryn Photography
Videography: Patrick Ang Photography
Hair & Makeup: The Queens Bees
Wedding dress: Lazaro, Nordstrom Wedding Suite
Rabbi: Rabbi James Mirel of Seattle, Washington
Comments on this post (2)
Amazing Ketubah design for their Santa Barbra Wedding!
— Heidi Roland
What a crazy story! I’m so glad they were able to still have their wedding, and everything turned out beautifully!
— Julia Dent