Wedding Inspiration: A Hipster Glampout With Woodworker Katie Gong
(Photography by Carson Lancaster)

Wedding Inspiration: A Hipster Glampout With Woodworker Katie Gong

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When Instagram is your dating app, your wedding is bound to be picture-perfect.

And so it was for woodworking maven Katie Gong and her now-hubby Brett Walker, owner of the Tenderloin's George and Lennie cafe‚ who wed this summer in glamptastic style on the Gong family's rural property just east of Sacramento.


If you're glued to Instagram and design's your thing, you've likely seen Gong's fluid, sculptural works cross your feed. As it turns out, the artist herself looks to IG for inspiration, as it is there where she found her mate. When the app suggested Walker as one to follow—the two shared friends in common—she DMd to ask him out. Two years later, he was the one to ask the big question, this time IRL, in Hawaii's Volcano National Park.

And since this is a modern fairytale, just before she was to shop for her dress, the bride-to-be discovered she was pregnant. While shopping at San Francisco's Loho Bride, she snuck around pouring her Champagne into plants to keep the secret from her mom. It was there that she found her Rue De Seine floral lace gown. The shop helped her determine the right size for her future pregnant belly, and contacted the New Zealand–based dressmaker to make sure it would all pan out. "I would have picked that dress preggo or not," Gong says. "It was my dream dress."

The lovebirds planned their big day at Gong's parents' property in Sutter Creek, located in Amador County, where plenty of open space and a vineyard would provide the perfect rustic setting. They hung lights and set up a camping area for guests complete with an outdoor shower, a horse trough swimming pool, and an outdoor kitchen where a chef-friend would cook for them over the fire. An extra long communal table—no assigned seating—was set with eucalyptus runners for a dinner of mixed charcuterie with spring pickles and ricotta, fire-roasted porchetta, and campfire chicken served with salads and summer squash.

A carefree attitude reined in the days before the event as friends settled into furnished tents around the property—"We wanted to camp with our friends while still having it be as comfy and luxe as possible"—and the mood carried into the ceremony and reception where they all drank wine and lounged in hammocks and watched the sun set.

The mellow vibes continued post-wedding when the newlyweds made their way to a charming rented A-frame for their honeymoon in South Lake Tahoe.


Dress:Loho Bride

Floral designer:Home Sweet Flowers

Caterer:Giovanni Betteo

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