Wedding Inspiration: A Fairytale Seaside Ceremony in Mendocino

Feb 02, 2018

This love story begins with a college newspaper.

Marcy Hendricks and Sam Pearson both worked on the paper at Sacramento State. In 2010, their last year at school, the two became inseparable, living the life of football games, parties and camping trips. Together, they moved to Washington, D.C. for grad school. Six years later, while on vacation on the French Caribbean island of Martinique, Pearson proposed on a hike at the top of Mt. Pelée. So it was only natural that they return to the sea to tie the knot.

"We wanted an intimate outdoor setting for the ceremony," said Hendricks. "There's something about the Mendocino coastline that's very romantic. When we were looking for a reception site that complemented the dreaminess of Cypress Grove, we stumbled upon Caspar Community Center, which is an old schoolhouse."

Multihued blooms in crimson, canary, roseate, and sapphire—to match the groom's attire—graced the bride's bouquet, tables, cake and flower crown. With a beaded, vintage-inspired gown and velvet fuchsia heels, the bride celebrated in true fairytale fashion. The same shades made their way into a ribbon ceremony, where the couple's wrists and hands were bound together to represent their union. Following the ceremony, the newlyweds drove away California-style, top down, in their VW bug toward an evening of dancing and lots of Polaroid captures.