Jessica and Jason go organic with luscious local food and ravishing natural décor elements at their Bodega Bay bash.
For Jessica Hawley and Jason Miller, it was important to honor and respect the environment throughout their wedding day. “Jason and I are very much into nature and it’s a big part of how we live,” says Jessica. She, a natural perfumer, creates custom scents from the earth’s offerings, and Jason, a flight instructor and musician, appreciates the great outdoors from his vantage point in the sky. “For the wedding we wanted to enhance—not clutter up—the experience of being in a natural setting,” she says.
The couple was drawn to the Sonoma Coast Villa in Bodega Bay, California, a resort with beautiful Italian-style architecture, outdoor spaces and a private garden to provide fresh organic food for the big day. To pull it off, they enlisted Joannie Liss of Joannie Liss Events to plan the details and Eden Rodriguez of End Design—which specializes in sustainable events—to create the décor. Together, Eden and Jessica chose a warm color scheme of purple, rust, burgundy and yellow, appropriate for the Tuscan-style touches they planned to add.
A variety of local organic flowers, including tuberose, jasmine and cottage roses, was chosen for the arrangements, as well as plenty of fragrant herbs. “I thought there really should be a fabulous natural scent throughout the wedding and reception,” says Jessica. “Best of all, the flowers weren’t wasted. Afterward, all the petals were dried, given to guests and reused in a variety of ways.” In fact, the entire event was planned with an emphasis on conserving as many resources as possible; they included many reclaimed antique décor elements, natural products and even an eco-friendly lighting scheme. “We made every effort to reduce our use of paper products,” says Liss.
On the sunny August wedding day, the ceremony took place on a lawn on the Villa’s grounds, with guests seated in a circle around the bride and groom. “We had four aisles, representing each of the cardinal directions,” says Jessica. In lieu of flower girls, five friends scattered petals down the aisles. A rabbi, who is a family friend, married the couple in a Reform Jewish ceremony, during which they drank wine from a shared cup.
Jessica, who collects vintage bottles, chose to decorate a nearby patio with antique glassware. There, guests enjoyed cocktails and such passed hors d’oeuvres as organic vegetable crudités and figs in puffed pastry.
Guests found their seating cards tied with twine to Ball jars holding soy candles and birdseed. With the candles lit, they carried the jars in procession to the reception tent, where they found more vibrant colors, fragrant flowers, glass vases and soy candles—all with a subtle Tuscan vibe. “It was magical,” says Jessica. “When Jason and I walked in, we were in awe of how beautiful it all looked.”
The crowd enjoyed a meal of organic, locally grown foods and an evening of live dance music that included plenty of Stevie Wonder tunes. “We danced the night away,” says the bride. “It was high-energy fun!” Close friends and family stayed for an after-party, snacking on veggie burgers and enjoying jam sessions led by musician friends. “We didn’t want the wedding to end; it was such a fabulous, intimate, special, memorable day,” says Jessica. “And keeping it green just felt good.”
Our Favorite Memories
* “It was fitting to have our guests seated in the round at the ceremony. We really felt enveloped by their love.”
* “Jason and I had our first dance to ‘Crazy Love’ by Van Morrison. We’d heard it when we fell in love on Jason’s boat. No choreography was necessary—it was pure, sweet magic.”
* “During the reception, Jason got on stage with his guitar and played a song he’d written for me. It was so spectacular that I don’t have the words to describe it. It was an emotional moment.”
* “The after-party took place in the courtyard, which had been set up to look like a lounge with couches and lots of giant, colorful pillows. Our musician friends were able to hang out, grab an instrument and play. It was like having a really great bonfire without the fire!”
The Feast
First Course
Organic Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing
Entrée
Free-Range Organic Chicken Breast with Lemongrass
Portobello Mushroom Strudel
Organic Roasted Baby Vegetables with Rosemary Blue Potatoes
Dessert
Wedding Cake: Chocolate Cake with White Buttercream Icing and Apricot Filling
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