Real Wedding: Andrea + Jon

Photographer Jesse Leake shares a gorgeous Big Sur wedding

By Vané Broussard

When photographer Jesse Leake shared this wedding with me, I knew it was perfect to show all you brides out there.  The whimsical handmade touches, the attention to detail, it was absolute perfection with great ideas you can take away for your own wedding.  I asked the bride and groom for a little recap of the day, so keep reading...








My wife and I met while kayaking in the Bay around Sausalito, CA.  Much of our subsequent courtship took place either kayaking on the water or scuba diving underwater so we knew we wanted the ocean to play a big part in our wedding day.  We looked up and down the northern California coast at all the popular wedding sites, but once we saw this private home on the coast of Big Sur we knew we had to do it there (although the logistics were a nightmare).  The house sat right on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific and we shared our vows on the bluff with the sounds of the ocean around us...apparently with whales breaching in the distance, but that was news to my wife and eye who were too busy sharing our vows.


To accompany the space and surroundings, we used the theme of the 4 natural elements, using earth tones in the color palette, large flat pebbles labeled with the guests names as seating placeholders, and hanging lanterns brought a little fire into the space once the sun went down.  All of the vendors were Big Sur and Carmel locals, with Sheri Gladstone of A Big Sur Affair Catering providing food that was as delicious as the space was breathtaking.