Nestldown | Jamie & Eric

Jamie and Eric swiped right for the last time in early September 2017. After a few messages about hiking spots, they met for drinks at Churchill, a neighborhood bar, and discovered they lived just a few blocks apart in San Francisco. They clicked instantly. Eric walked Jamie home, ended the night with a kiss, and proposed a second dinner date on the spot. The rest, as they say, is history.

He proposed on the eve of Jamie's 30th birthday. Her parents were in town and her mom lured her out of the house just long enough for Eric to set everything up. When they got back, the family suggested a quick visit to the rooftop deck, where Eric was waiting with flowers. He popped the question, and she said yes.

Jamie and Eric both love nature and being among tall trees, so their venue search started in the Northern California redwoods. The moment Jamie found Nestldown, she knew. Tucked into 36 acres of redwoods and whimsical gardens near Los Gatos, with a willow-lined koi pond, a redwood chapel, and a glass-and-fir barn, it had the fairytale magic they were after, reminiscent of Jamie's Oregon upbringing and an ode to the Disneyland days of Eric's Southern California childhood. It truly felt like the most magical place to get married.

Jamie wanted to go big on florals, elegant but whimsical. After rescheduling through 2020, she rethought the palette and chose bright and joyful over subdued, soft blush paired with coral peonies and ranunculus, two of her favorites. It felt like a celebration long overdue, and it showed.

They exchanged vows in the redwood chapel, sheltered by soaring trees and ferns, surrounded by everyone they love. It was the kind of ceremony that gives you chills.

And then, the swans. Jamie grew up watching Father of the Bride and fell in love with the idea of having swans at her wedding someday. Her mother loved birds, and they have always meant something special to her. When she learned she could bring swans to the Nestldown koi pond, she knew they had to do it, and they set the tone for so many of the details, right down to the cake topper of redwood trees and a swan pair.

There were horses, too, because if you are going to throw a fairytale wedding, you go all in. Jamie and Eric laughed the entire time the little horses came out, and so did everyone watching.

The reception glowed inside the glass barn beneath the redwoods, every detail considered, even a sweet nod to their cats at cocktail hour with personalized napkin sketches and their very own signature drinks.

Then the dance floor filled and did not empty until the sparklers came out. Jamie and Eric, thank you for dreaming up a day this magical and letting me capture every whimsical, joyful moment of it at Nestldown.

The Dream Team

• Venue: Nestldown
• Photography: De Joy Photography
• Floral: Nancy Liu Chin
• Rentals: Bright Event Rentals
• DJ & Photobooth: Los Gatos DJ
• Dessert: Edith Meyer Wedding Cakes
• Catering: Wylder Space
• Videography: Grover Films
• Signage: Blush Type
• Makeup: Julie Dy
• Hair: Beauty by Jasmine Chan
• Swans: Benay's Bird and Animal
• Donkey & Horse: Nestldown Riding Center