CLOCKWISE FROM TOP
The bride’s gown by Israeli designer Berta; Jennie just after the ceremony; the bride and groom; a romantic moment; the newlyweds trek from the ceremony to the reception. LEFT:
J E T- S E T T O M E X I C O
PHOTOGRAPHS: JILLIAN MITCHELL
P H OTO G R A P H S : TO P, M I K E L A R S O N ; B OT TO M , B L U E C A L E E L
FIESTA FLAIR
FROM THE MOMENT THEY MET at a bar in San Luis Obispo, the energy between Jennifer Stierwalt and Santa Barbara-born Eric Reiter was magnetic. “I noticed him right away,” recalls Stierwalt, founder of locally based bridal and everyday wear styling firm Your Best Self Stylist, of her initial encounter with the Driscolls Berries farmer turned head of operations for Reiter Affiliated Companies. With a little help from friends and a bit of liquid courage, they met. A hike up SLO peak, Madonna Mountain, and homemade pizza date-night later, “he stole my heart,” reminisces the blushing bride. Fast forward four-and-a-half years while on another hike, Eric popped the question atop a boulder to an ecstatic Jennie. Never ones to abide by convention, following a send-off reception with 250 guests that she attended solo after Eric was rushed to the ER that day after a surfing accident, the pair exchanged vows in Las Cruces, Mexico, in an open-air church where the groom’s parents had renewed their vows years earlier. Yet, despite the echo of waves crashing against the Baja California Sur shore, the exchange of vows carried the most significance for the couple. Stierwalt reminisces, “In a bowl, I placed soil I had gathered from Madonna Mountain as a representative of what I bring to our relationship—I’m grounded, rooted, and nurturing—and he poured water (he loves the ocean, he is fluid and easy going) over seeds to symbolize that together, the two of us could make something beautiful grow.” –ANGELIA DE MEISTRE-HAMMER
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