Natalie and Russ at The Mill Valley Outdoor Art Club

Have you ever been to a wedding that served wedding pie instead of wedding cake? We hadn’t either until our bride, Natalie told us she and her fiancé Russ were much more interested in eating pie on their wedding day rather than the traditional wedding cake! Guests clearly agreed, for after Natalie and Russ sliced their wedding pie, adorned with their own personalized “pie toppers”, the All Seasons catering staff dished out Kozlowki’s Strawberry Rhubarb Pumpkin and Apple Raspberry pies as fast as they could!

  Everything about Natalie and Russ’ October 29^th wedding at the Outdoor Art Club in downtown Mill Valley teetered beyond traditional. From their poetic “roast” style vows and ceremony, to a family-style sit down dinner for 142 guests, IDO! was there to help make sure Natalie and Russ’ day was more unique and individual than a lot of what is seen today! With the help of the bride and her creative family as well as a few incredible vendors, we were able to put on one of the most fabulous weddings in the history of IDO! and thanks to Laura Grier of Beautiful Day Photography, we already have some AMAZING shots!

With a dress exclusively designed by Jin Wang herself, Natalie’s look came together with the help of the extremely talented make-up artist Patricia Igbodipe and hairdresser, Katie Nash, who even helped craft the hairpiece Natalie wore on her big day J

As if the bride and venue alone didn’t make your mouth drop, Loop Event’s Anna Hoffman’s simply beautiful floral arrangements complemented the bride’s choice of colors, as well as the couple’s love for succulents! In each arrangement, Anna made sure to individually insert the succulents so guests could take them out and plant them in their garden when they got home. “I wanted to make sure that the plants used in Natalie’s centerpieces could be used more than once,” Hoffman said. When dropping off the arrangements, she made sure to provide plastic containers for the centerpieces so guests could leave with them. “It’s sad how we use these amazing arrangements once but rarely do we get to enjoy them after the wedding is over, so I wanted to find a way for people to do more with them.” 

With any wedding, it’s the subtle details that really adds to the décor and style, and with the help of Kelly Burns-Gaoiran and Melanie Leinweber from Hartmann Studios, we were able to find linens and pillows that complemented both the grey and yellow color scheme as well as the wooded venue; everything from the linens and pillows, to the specialty champagne glasses used for toasting were exclusively provided by Hartmann Studios.

Stan and Gay with All Seasons Catering provided a meal fit for royalty with everything from Roasted Blue Nose Seabass, Grilled Hanger Steak and grilled vegtables to Israeli couscous and Irish mashed potatoes; guests were scooping more than just second helpings onto their already crowded plates! The professional and courteous All Seasons staff made sure every guest was comfortable, satisfied and most importantly, never without a drink! With two specialty cocktails, Cameron Hughes Wine and three different brews of beer provided by the bride and groom’s close friend, Jamie Deitenhofer of Figeroa Mountain Brewery, guests had plenty of drink options to choose from.

Nothing beats a wedding like a live band and Keith Johnson and his All-Stars rocked the house until close to midnight. Playing everything from old-school funk to new-age pop, Keith and his All-Stars made sure everyone at the wedding heard their favorite song at least once! 

All in all, this wedding turned out perfect! It was so nice to get to work with so many great people and at such a magnificent venue, and it was extra special for IDO!'s Production Manager, Molly, since her parents were married here in October over 25 years ago! 

Cheers to Dr. and Mrs. Russell Cole!

For more photos, click here!