Mimi and Jacob got married inside a tunnel of trees, and the whole day moved at the pace of something genuinely calm. This was a classic wedding in the best sense, an outdoor estate in Northern California, a green and white palette, a golden retriever in a tuxedo collar, food people kept talking about, and not a single gimmick anywhere in sight. Ash Baumgartner shot all of it on film and digital both, which is the right instinct for a wedding that lives in soft light and real expressions.
Location: Northern California, USA
Style: Classic, Romantic, Natural
Time of planning: 1 year
Number of guests: 130
Setting: Estate
Season: Summer
The whole thing started on Hinge in November 2019. Jacob led with a photo of himself next to a golden retriever and a stated love of hot sauce, which for Mimi was basically a closed case before they had even spoken. When she finally messaged him, he replied from Nepal, where he was donating a motorcycle for a charity called Rally for Rangers, which sounds like a line until it turns out to be completely true. Their first real date was in Walnut Creek, and the weekend that followed pulled them into San Francisco for SantaCon, so their relationship technically began in matching Santa suits.
The proposal came the last weekend of April 2024, and Mimi already had her suspicions, mostly because Jacob had recently asked her how long a manicure usually lasts. He drove them to the Old Sugar Mill in Clarksburg for what he framed as casual wine tasting, then steered her toward a eucalyptus-lined path lined with candles and photos that ended at a wooden arch reading marry me. A photographer who had been hiding in the bushes popped out to congratulate them afterward, and then the real twist landed back at the patio, where their closest friends and family were waiting.
Bride's Morning & Fashion
The morning opened with sunflowers, the first flowers Jacob ever gave Mimi, delivered to her while she was getting ready. Her dress was a Sophia Tolli gown from Miosa Bride in Sacramento. The silhouette is a strapless dropped waist A-line in ivory Mikado, a heavy structured fabric that holds its shape, finished with covered button embellishments and a French bustle. It was the fifth dress she tried on and it fit before a single alteration.
The accessories were where the family history lived. She wore her mother’s wedding earrings, tucked a white embroidered heirloom hankie into her pocket, and slipped a silver sixpence into her shoe, a British good luck tradition handed to her by one of her bridesmaids. Her rings were yellow gold with diamond pave and an oval natural diamond set with a hidden halo. For the ceremony she wore a floor length veil embroidered with leaves and vines, then switched to a custom floor length tulle scarf from Miosa Bride for the reception, which is the version trailing through the grass in the sunset portraits. Her shoes were ivory satin from Nina to match the dress.
Hair and makeup came from Christi Reynolds Beauty, who kept the makeup natural and built the hair into a low pretzel-twist bun with a few face-framing pieces left loose and softly curled. Her bouquet, designed by Blooms in Ribbon, was a complete surprise to her. She had handed over her vision and then trusted the florist to run with it, and what came back was a green and white arrangement built to cascade and drape, stems wrapped in white ribbon.
Groom’s Fashion
Jacob went with an all-black tuxedo from The Black Tux, white shirt, black bow tie, black derby shoes, and black and gold button covers and cufflinks. The personal touches did the rest of the talking. His pocket square was an antique white embroidered hankie, a family heirloom, and that morning Mimi surprised him and the groomsmen with custom socks embroidered with each of their initials.
First Look
Mimi did two first looks, and they could not have been more different in register. The one with her dad came first, a private exchange before anyone else got to see her, the kind of moment that sets the emotional tone for the whole day. Then came the first look with Jacob, lovely captured by Ash.
Ceremony
The ceremony happened in the tree-lined driveway at Cavaignac, A Country Estate, and the venue’s defining feature became the entire concept. Because of the guest count and the narrowness of the drive, the aisle ran long, which turned two rows of chairs into a tunnel pointing straight at the couple.
The trees did the work of a cathedral nobody had to build. A string quartet from Sutro String Quartet played the whole ceremony, except every song was a modern pop track rearranged for strings, so guests kept clocking tunes they knew halfway through.
Then came Nugget. The couple’s two-and-a-half-year-old golden retriever served as ring bearer in a black tuxedo collar matching Jacob and the groomsmen, walked in by Mimi’s brother to Pink Pony Club, chaperoned by Dog of Honor Events. The ceremony itself blended Jewish and non-Jewish traditions, with Jacob’s sister officiating and adding her own commentary about the two of them, and his uncle leading the seven blessings in Hebrew over a Kiddush Cup that Jacob had used at his bar mitzvah.
They closed by breaking a glass in a bag, which refused to break at first, produced some nervous laughter, and then finally gave way to a small burst of victory. Mimi walked in with her father, and both of them lost their place a little as the emotion took over.
Cocktail Hour & Moments Together
The couple were deliberate about carving out these pockets of time alone, which is something Mimi felt strongly about and would tell other couples to protect. Her advice was to be selfish with your time together and prioritize moments outside the wedding performances to actually soak it in, because the day moves fast.
The glassware was chosen as carefully as the recipes, the coupe doing its own quiet bit of European styling. The white paper parasols handed out against the afternoon sun pull the whole scene somewhere between a garden party and a period film, and they read beautifully across a crowd, a wash of pale circles moving through the green.
Cocktail hour leaned fully into the garden concept, and the drinks did real work. Guests were welcomed with glasses of rosé carrying dehydrated rose petals, a small touch that set the tone before anyone reached the bar. The Parched Poppies then poured the two signature cocktails, each one tied to one half of the couple: Mimi’s gin spritz with lavender syrup, named Feel The Lav, served in a coupe with a sprig of lavender, and Jacob’s whiskey sour in a highball with a dehydrated lemon wheel.
The glassware was chosen as carefully as the recipes, the coupe doing its own quiet bit of European styling. There was also a croquet set out on the lawn, wooden mallets and striped balls and wickets staked into the grass right up against the vineyard rows, which guests in floor-length dresses and grey suits actually played, drink in hand. It is the kind of old garden game that suits a wedding built on old-world references, and it kept people moving between sips.
The white paper parasols handed out against the afternoon sun pull the whole scene somewhere between a garden party and a period film, and they read beautifully across a crowd, a wash of pale circles moving through the green. When it was time to move everyone toward dinner, the couple made it an entrance, arriving in a vintage Bentley from Sac Town Vintage that dropped them right in front of the dinner tables so they could walk the full length of the crowd saying hello before sitting down.
Reception
The reception sat on the front lawn of Cavaignac, A Country Estate, between the estate and the pond. Blooms in Ribbon repurposed the ceremony arrangements onto the dinner tables, set beside antique silver candlesticks, and each table was dressed with grapes, pears, and walnuts, a direct callback to the invitation suite and a nod to the Walnut Grove area itself.
The champagne tower set the tone for the rest of the night. Mimi and Jacob filled it together for a photo before each lifting a glass to toast their marriage and thank everyone for showing up. It is a showy gesture done without any of the stiffness that usually comes with it, more celebration than spectacle, which is the register this whole wedding stays in.
The tables wore a white napkin folded and draped over the edge with the menu placed on top, echoing the same draping logic as the bouquet and the bar florals. Rentals from Memorable Events Rentals kept the same crossback wooden chairs running through ceremony and reception, adding warmth to the white and green, and the dance floor was built by First Dance Dance Floors. None of it chases a trend, and that is the point. Mimi’s own take on it is that trends are cool and all, but curating a wedding that speaks to who you are as a couple is the ultimate luxury, and the table in front of her proves she meant it.
The food came from Pickles and Olives Catering, chosen for their local in-season cooking, with the spring salad and bruschetta salmon getting specific praise from guests. The cake, by Everythng Sweet, was a three-tier fondant design topped with an oversized sculptural bow, almond cake with raspberry filling, set on an antique silver platter and cut with Mimi’s parents’ sterling silver cake cutters. The bow on the cake instead of the dress is the smart call here, the most fashion-forward gesture of the day placed exactly where you do not expect it, with a dessert bar of bite-size crème brûlées, fruit and custard tarts, and chocolate mousse cups alongside it.
Music ran by era, Frank Sinatra-period songs over dinner before a hard pivot into pop and early 2000s throwbacks once DJ Armin opened the floor, with the hora pulling everyone up to dance. Their first dance was Harvest Moon by Neil Young. Guests were shuttled in by Neumann Limo, the day was captured in content by Cejour Creations, the waitstaff came from Unlimited Helping Hands, and the whole thing was planned and coordinated by Kennedy Maddox Events. The night ended with a sparkler tunnel and the same Bentley waiting as the getaway car.
Advice from the couple:
• Be honest with your vendors/planner from the start and do your homework to find the right team! It will ensure you stay worry-free on your big day.
• Go with the flow. Creating a well thought out timeline is essential to ensuring your special day flows smoothly, however hiccups will happen and being open to possible changes will protect your happiness. Plus, none of your guests will ever know anything changed except for you.
• Start planning sooner than later. There are so many tiny decisions that need to be made when planning and allowing yourself to relax and step back at least a month before your wedding date is ideal for your sanity.
• Create some sort of QR code for guests to scan so you can ensure you get all of their pictures before the night is over.
PHOTOGRAPHER Ash Baumgartner | PLANNING & COORDINATION Kennedy Maddox Events | VENUE Cavaignac, A Country Estate | CONTENT CREATOR Cejour Creations | HAIR & MAKEUP Christi Reynolds Beauty | FLORIST Blooms in Ribbon | CAKE & DESSERT Everythng Sweet | WAITSTAFF Unlimited Helping Hands | DJ DJ Armin | RENTALS Memorable Events Rentals | DANCE FLOOR First Dance Dance Floors | CATERING Pickles and Olives Catering | BAR The Parched Poppies | VINTAGE CAR Sac Town Vintage | DOG CHAPERONE Dog of Honor Events | GUEST TRANSPORTATION Neumann Limo
