B4 Thursday, February 8, 2018
Coastal View News • Carpinteria, California
Margo Ledig & Nathon Cantrell
OCT. 28 2017
The bride’s notes on the day: Is there a moment from your wedding that stands out from all the others in your memory? Describe it and explain why it meant so much to you. At one point during dinner, my brother sat down next to me and said, “I’ve heard that your wedding day flies by too quickly. So let’s stop to take it in. Look around, and remember this moment.” Everyone tells you that it’s going to be such a blur, so I’m so grateful he reminded me to slow down and soak it up. What did your guests say was their favorite facet of the event? Am I allowed to say the open bar? Nathon is a big whiskey fan, and we were able to serve one of his favorites. Besides that, we do get a lot of compliments on our late night delivery of In-N-Out burgers and fries. Nathon had that planned probably since the first day we got engaged.
PHOTOS BY MATTHEW LEVI PHOTOGRAPHY
Did your wedding include special details that reflected your individual personalities? Nathon and I are proud cat parents to our Scottish fold, Otis, so I found these adorable small ceramic cats from an artist in Romania for our cake topper. We also forwent the traditional flavors for a funfetti sweetheart cake. What was most stressful leading up to the wedding? How did you cope with that stress? The most stressful was probably all of the small decisions that needed to be made. It felt like there was always another question that needed to be answered. I (tried) to cope by staying organized. I relied on our amazing coordinator, Jessica at Bijoux, and the Aisle Planner platform she uses to make sure everything was taken care of. Did you have to put out fires during the event? Looking back, could those have been prevented? None! If there were fires, I had no clue! We had an amazing group supporting us, from the El Encanto staff to all of our vendors, they did a wonderful job. Why did you choose your ceremony and reception venues? Did they work well with your vision? We looked at several locations but every place we toured was either perfect for the ceremony, or perfect for the reception, never both. Until we went to the El Encanto. I fell in love with the arbor and lily pond immediately and the rest of the grounds did not disappoint. We were very lucky in that we didn’t need to “transform” the space, we could allow it to speak for itself. What part of the meal did people enjoy most? Was there anything on the menu that you would skip if you had a redo? We had three meal options (champagne braised chicken, rib eye and mushroom ravioli) and I heard great things about all of them. But for me, the vanilla macarons were the greatest thing I have ever eaten. People always miss the dessert for some reason so if I had a redo, I wouldn’t omit anything, I would actually make sure everyone tried them. Weddings can end up feeling like they’re for the guests instead of the bride and groom. What did you do to ensure that the day was wonderful for you? I tried to check everything off my list and confirm all the logistics prior to the day-of so that I could relax when the time came. And if it wasn’t taken care of, then it probably wasn’t important anyways. I also made sure to communicate as much as possible with my coordinator so we were both aligned on what I needed to ensure I enjoyed it. What is your top piece of advice for couples planning a wedding? You can’t have it all and you can’t please everyone, so don’t try to. Decide on the top three things most important to you both and put your time and energy toward those. Be flexible with everything else and trust that you are making the right decisions.
It takes a village Wedding Planner: Bijoux Events (month-of coordinator)
Cake maker: Belmond El Encanto Photography: Matthew Levi Photography Invitations: Vera Wang Caterer: Belmond El Encanto
Ceremony & reception venue: Belmond El Encanto Jeweler: Carol Klein Fine Jewelry Hair and makeup: TEAM Hair & Makeup Wedding gown: Marchesa from The White Dress (Corona Del Mar)
Bridesmaid dresses: Vera Wang White Label Groom’s suit: Egara
Groomsmen suits: Topman Flowers: Coco Rose Designs Music: Angel Hernandez of Elevated Pulse Officiant: Jonathon Carson Sotzing (friend) Honeymoon: Fairmont Banff Springs, Alberta Canada Rehearsal dinner: Susan Ledig Events