I absolutely love Mendocino Coast weddings and Erica + Alex had one of the most colorful and vibrant weddings I have ever photographed. So much of their personalities were put into every facet of their wedding, the guest experience, decor, food and overall vibes.

Sunset Themed Holly’s Ocean Meadow Wedding On The Mendocino Coast

How it started

Erica + Alex met in highschool and their love stayed strong through college, travelling, living in different cities. The culmination of all of this time and effort came together at an amazing wedding weekend.

Erica + Alex chose to have their wedding on the Mendocino Coast at Holly’s Ocean Meadow. The absolute beauty of this venue is unreal. There is a large house that has rooms for you and a few guests to stay in and a large property where others can camp if they choose to. Erica + Alex had a whole weekend affair with camp fires on the beach, a pre wedding talent show and an after wedding day breakfast send off. The overall vibes of the wedding were sunrise and sunset colors with a little bit of adventure and exploration as Erica + Alex are avid travelers.

Getting Ready

On their wedding day after a relaxing morning with family and friends Erica + Alex got ready separately in the main house with all of their exciting outfit changes laid out in the living room. Erica was able to get ready with her Mom’s and sister and have some quiet time to reflect on the magnitude of the day. The lighting in there looks like a renaissance painting and I am here for it!

Alex got ready with his dad and his friends. When I went looking for him he was hanging out in his informal attire with his friends and his dad in full suits. It was an entertaining sight and we were able to take some fun photos outside before formally getting ready.

I love all of the unique touches from both Erica + Alex. She had her pinkish red boots that she also wore to their engagement session and he had custom cufflinks and a cute violin pin.

First Look and Wedding Party

They chose to do a first look which took place in a quiet meadow near the main house. I swear we all cried happy tears about 20 times during the day and it started here. When they saw each other for the first time in their wedding clothes they took a few minutes to take each other in before having to face anyone else. Erica was super excited to show Alex the boots she was wearing (huge fan of this!) and Alex was just blown away by Erica’s beauty.

After the first look, the flowers, bridesmaids and groomsmen were all ready for some fun group photos before we headed over to the house to sign the ketubah.

After the ketubah signing, guests started arriving. They were met with some cocktails and a stellar view before heading down to the bluff for the ceremony.

Ceremony

I can’t hype up the ceremony spot enough. You are getting married, on a bluff with panoramic ocean views and in the right season little wildflowers and amazing ocean air. The Mendocino Coast is seriously a stunning place for a wedding. Erica + Alex chose color and joy for their wedding. Their wedding party came in with smiles and dancing and both Erica + Alex teared up when they saw each other. Under the chuppah they said their vows, and heard the seven blessings from their family and friends. Each time a blessing was read a colorful flag was put up to showcase sunset colors and at the end it was an amazing sight! The ceremony ended with the breaking of the glass and a special air guitar send off for the couple from their awesome wedding party.

Reception Details

Their reception space was so much fun. Each table had an animal theme and the sunset colors continued on under the beautiful white tent. I could have spent so much more time photographing every little detail. During cocktail hour the guests were able to enjoy some drinks from this cute portable horse trailer, light up bar, play some lawn games, and even leave their mark by painting something on the couples canvas. Little did they know what a treat they were in for at the reception.

Once the reception started the guests were invited to sit down by the two amazing MC’s for the evening Kochina Rude and Lisa Frankenstein. Hands down amazing, hilarious and kept the energy going all night. They announced the groomsmen and bridesmaids who all had dances prepared. Erica + Alex were announced with cheers and clapping in abundance and immediately had everyone join them on the dance floor for the Tarantella, Hora and 30 minutes of open dancing to build up an appetite for the amazing dinner to come! This is also where one of my favorite moments happened with the Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tubemen made an appearance. A total hit and should be at more weddings imho.

Golden Hour Photos

After some amazing toasts, cake cutting, first dance and parent dances, we slipped out for some sunset photos along the bluff and the Mendocino Coast did not disappoint. It was so much fun to get some ocean air while guests were still finishing up dinner. Erica + Alex even took a moment to practice their first dance.

Drag Show

After the sunset photos, Erica + Alex slipped back to the house for a quick change of clothes for yet another surprise for the guests, an amazing Drag show. Both Kochina Rude and Lisa Frankenstein performed followed by Erica and Alex and some pretty fantastic tear away pants and sparkly shorts from the groomsmen. Dollars were flying and there were smiles everywhere. At the end of this the dance floor opened up to anyone that wanted to partake. They danced until the end surrounded by all of their loved ones.

After saying some goodbyes they changed into their love monkey onesies and led their remaining guests down the the beach to a roaring bonfire for smores and an awesome afterparty/meditation.

Like I said it was one of the most colorful and entertaining weddings I have ever had the privilege to experience!

Mendocino Coast Wedding Day Timeline

I am always curious about couples timelines especially when there are a lot of events going on so I am sharing the timeline here so it might help show the timing of things on a jam packed wedding day.

12:00pm Photography Starts with getting ready switching between Erica + Alex
01:00pm First Look + Wedding Party Photos
02:00pm Sign Ketubah
02:30pm Couple tucked away/guest arrival
02:45pm Guests invited to Ceremony
03:00pm Ceremony Begins
03:30pm Ceremony Ends/Recessional/Cocktail Hour starts
03:35pm Family Photos and large group photo
04:10pm Couple Alone time
04:45pm Guests invited to dinner
05:00pm Drag Queen Mcs intro’d
05:05pm Grand Entrance
05:10pm Tarantella Dance
05:15pm Hora Dance
05:20pm Open dancing
06:00pm Dinner Served
07:00pm Toasts (6)
07:20pm Couple Thank you toast
07:25pm Cake Cutting
07:30pm First Dances
07:40pm Open dancing part 2
08:15pm Sunset Photos
08:30pm Erica + Alex Change
08:40pm Guests take seats again
08:45pm Surprise Drag Show
09:10pm Open Dancing part 3
09:55pm Last Dance
10:00pm Meditation/ Goodbye/after party

As you can see there were some tight times of the day and that is where you really need an awesome set of vendors to keep things on time. This wedding had an all star team that I would love to work with again!

HYPE FOR THE STELLAR VENDOR TEAM (in no particular order)

Planner extraordinaire.
She really pulled off an incredible event with a lot of moving parts while keeping things calm and lovely.
Zoe Braga of Zoe Braga Events https://zoebragaevents.com/

Stunning Mendocino Coast Wedding Venue.
I know I keep talking about how pretty it is here but it’s all true and I want to go back so bad. It is a really amazing wedding space where you don’t have to leave the property for anything and it’s not too far from hotel lodging as well.
Holly’s Ocean Meadow https://hollysoceanmeadow.com/

AMAZING FOOD.
Very farm to table vibes. This is from their website and I couldn’t have said it better myself, all true  “We source ingredients from our farm and our friends and neighbors’ farms and ranches. All our menus are colorful, produce-driven, and deeply tied to the land and the moment. We focus on bold flavors, beautiful presentation, and meals that bring people together and tell your story.”
Black Dog Caterer https://blackdogfarmcatering.wordpress.com/

Chill and talented videographer
Nile from Mendocino Photo and video. Nile grew up in the area and has intimate knowledge of the Mendocino Coast. His calm presence on wedding days is a blessing!
https://mendocinophoto.com/

One of my favorite DJ companies
Heart of Gold. I have worked with them on weddings and corporate events and they never disappoint. Spellbound DJ was phenomenal and I could not recommend them enough.
https://www.heartofgolddjs.com/

Emc’s and  Drag show professionals.
Lisa Frankenstein and Kochina Rude. They kept the energy up all night and were so much fun to work with.
https://www.instagram.com/itslisafrankenstein
https://www.instagram.com/kochinarude

Bartending
The cutest portable bar that adds so much to the vibe of the wedding day, I just love Mendocino Outland. The bar was decorated sweetly and matched the wedding perfectly. Its almost like it was always there, it fit in so seamlessly. They had the drinks flowing all night and were fun to talk to!
https://www.mendocinooutland.com/

Flowers
The flowers from Earth Spoke Farms were so lovely. I don’t think I will ever get tired of colorful bouquets.
https://www.earthspokefarms.com/

Hair
Kali Jo of Kali Jo Beauty, was the artist behind E’s gorgeous hair. Kali really understood that E wanted to still look like herself and keep her hair natural and effortless looking.
https://www.kalijobeauty.com/

Rentals
Provided by Matt Rowlen Events and they nailed it. Total photographers dream!
https://www.instagram.com/mattrowlandevents

Cake/desserts
Shani’s Sweet Creations handled the sunset color theme so well. The cake and desserts there looked so yummy.
http://www.shanissweetcreations.com/

Dress
E bought her beautiful flowy etherial dress from BHLDN
https://www.anthropologie.com/bhldn-wedding-dresses

Suit
A got his suit from Zarga/Italian Corner in the DTLA fashion district.
https://fashiondistrict.org/go/italian-corner

Officiant
Denise de Luise offered a very calming and professional presence on the wedding day.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/denise-de-luise-mendocino

Invitations
Zola
https://www.zola.com/wedding-planning/invitations/shop

Portable restrooms
This is something that might not be talked about a lot at weddings. Some wedding locations need additional restrooms to handle large guests counts. These are fancy portable restrooms that have all the normal bathroom amenities like sinks to wash hands. These feel just like normal restrooms and are something that your guests will appreciate if needed!
https://www.rhoadeswork.com/

Guest Transportation
Mendo Insider Tours helped the guests not camping onsite to make it to and from the hotels nearby.
https://mendoinsidertours.com/

KIND WORDS FROM THE COUPLE

“We are so incredibly grateful to have had Katelyn as our wedding photographer. Not only is she an extremely talented and professional photographer, she is an amazing human being that was so comforting to have throughout the wedding planning process and on the day of. She is simultaneously playful, flexible, and organic as well as organized and methodical throughout her photoshoots and has taken the best, most extensive set of photos of us as a couple to capture such an awesome moment in time. We had a wedding ceremony and reception with a ton of things going on and a huge shot list that Katelyn executed flawlessly and went above and beyond to fully document our big day. Can’t recommend her enough!!!” – Erica + Alex

Mendocino Coast Wedding Photographer

Having a Mendocino Coast wedding is magical. There are so many options from ocean views, redwoods, camping, glamping and weekend affairs. They even have this amazing venue you have to take a train to get to (it’s on my wedding photography bucket list). It’s beautiful rain or shine. I am thrilled to work as a Mendocino Coast wedding photographer and get the opportunity to photograph all over Mendocino, Fort Bragg, Caspar, Newport and beyond.  

Interested in photography for your Mendocino Coast wedding? You can learn more about me and my approach to wedding and elopement photography here, and if I pass the vibe check please reach out here, I am excited to meet you! Can’t wait to celebrate with you and capture all of the amazing memories of your wedding day.

-XO Katelyn