A Summer Wedding in Ojai Inspired by The 18th-Century Book Cabinet of Natural Curiosities

Jenna Scilacci Killian’s finest buddy, Bitty, and Thomas Killian, Jr. ended up in a summertime share property in Montauk 1 year. The minute Bitty achieved Tom, she realized he was ideal for Jenna and invited her to UNC-UVA’s Church Bash in New York Metropolis, so the two could finally satisfy. “We type of stored eyes on every other in the course of the party,” Jenna remembers. “I ultimately summoned the braveness and requested him to dance—and that was it!”

Enjoyment simple fact: Right after a few months collectively, Tom set his childhood buddy, Alexandra, up with Jenna’s brother, James. They got engaged a yr later on, and Alexandra was a person of Above The Moon’s very first wedding ceremony styling purchasers.

4 yrs just after conference at the black-tie soirée in Manhattan, Tom proposed to Jenna in Nantucket. He invited her mother and father and brothers to invest the Fourth of July vacation at his family’s residence on the island. On July 2 in the middle of a relatives beach outing, Tom casually requested Jenna to stroll with him alongside the sand to “find some surf.” He veered off training course and up on a dune. When she caught up with him, he was down on a person knee—Jenna, of program, said, “Yes!” “When we finally decided to head back again to in which our households had been, we observed all these persons sunbathing…in the nude,” Jenna reveals. “It turns out, we experienced walked so extensive and much, Tom unknowingly proposed to me on Nantucket’s nude seashore and did not even notice it!”

“Choosing the wedding day location was easy,” Jenna shares. “We’ve often loved the Ojai Valley Inn–it’s this kind of a magical and passionate vacation resort and an uncomplicated 90-moment push from where I grew up in Pacific Palisades, California.” When working on the structure of the wedding day, Steve Moore of Sinclair & Moore asked Jenna to locate an inspiration image not from a wedding day or celebration. The bride-to-be selected the protect of Albertus Seba’s book Cupboard of All-natural Curiosities. Crammed with webpages of drawings of exotic crops, animals, and more peculiarities, the e book sat on Jenna’s parents’ espresso desk for a ten years and influenced her mother’s design choices.

Jenna also required to integrate various earthly factors: “gardens, snakes, butterflies, tropical foliages, artifacts, Greek gods, coral, sea shells, continue to lifes, vintage botanical drawings, and dim vs . mild.” The bride provides, “Steve will be the very first to inform you that this was a relatively challenging layout aesthetic.” There was a risk that the “cabinet of curiosities” would search cluttered, but Steve nailed the closing item.

The rehearsal supper, hosted by Tom’s mothers and fathers, was motivated by Sandro Botticelli’s Beginning of Venus. “Leaning into Tom’s Greek heritage on his maternal aspect, we served Mediterranean food,” Jenna points out. “We embellished the table with Greek bust sculptures and seashells.” The bride wore a beige tulle dress with coral elaborations by French designer Elisa Ness. And for the welcome party, Jenna slipped into a floral silk gown by Markarian.

At Jenna’s really to start with bridal appointment, she fell in like with a white lace Vera Wang robe but didn’t depart with the dress. It stayed in the back of her head for months, right until she made a decision to get the plunge and say certainly to her wedding ceremony gown. “I labored with their crew to increase delicate lace straps to the initial design and style to generate a balcony neckline, which I’ve always felt was actually flattering on me,” the bride shares. To complete her ceremony ensemble, Jenna wore Badgley Mischka’s Rebekah block heels.

In advance of heading down the aisle on September 18, 2021, the bride got prepared with Mar of Workforce Hair & Make-up, who gave Jenna a glam hairstyle with delicate, subtle makeup. 

Jenna walked down the aisle with her father to the altar beneath “The Wishing Tree,” a 200-year-old oak tree on the inn’s assets. When the priest asked the father of the bride, “Who offers this lady in relationship?” he accidentally answered, “Me and Linda’s mom, Jenna,” as a substitute of “Jenna’s mother, Linda.” Jenna recalls, “When he recognized he blended up our names, he explained ‘Whoops! I assume I experienced one too lots of tequilas before this!’ and everybody erupted in laughter. His slip-up broke the ice ,and the rest of the ceremony was all smiles and laughs from then on.”

Trying to keep to their Catholic religion, the pair experienced a personal religious ceremony at Jenna’s neighborhood church a couple days prior to heading to Ojai, so the two ended up not new to exchanging vows. When pronounced as married for the next time, the newlyweds walked again down the route to the String Poets Quartet’s live rendition of “Rather Be” by Thoroughly clean Bandit.

On the garden at The Farmhouse at Ojai Valley Inn, Steve and his crew created what Jenna refers to as “Gatsby’s Botanical Garden” for the reception. Bella Vista Layouts constructed a personalized black wood body-structure, and the room was filled with big palms and chicken of paradise trees. Nancy from Oak & The Owl created the most stunning deconstructed orchid arrangements with exposed roots. She also crammed glass cloches with butterflies on white coral. On the tables, Laboratorio Paravicini’s Serpentine dinner plates from The Ark anchored the tablescape. And upon arrival, attendees had been 1st greeted by their dessert, the 3-tier chocolate fondant cake baked by Frost It Cakery.

The newlyweds strike the dance floor for a choreographed regimen to “Boogie Nights” by Heat Wave, which was the bride’s most loved aspect of the night. “The music experienced zero significance in our relationship…we just appreciate it, and it’s so pleasurable to dance to!” she exclaims. “The dance was the most nervousness-inducing component of the marriage working day since, of course, we had never practiced in my enormous wedding ceremony gown.” 

Right after tearing it up on the dance floor for hours, the saxophonists from JB Job from West Coastline Audio led every person inside of The Farmhouse for the immediately after-party with dj100proof. To effectively bust a go, Jenna transformed into an Alexia Maria mini, and guests have been addressed to enjoy with wigs, rhinestone top rated hats, rainbow cowboy hats, and sweet-colored coronary heart-formed sunglasses and (most importantly) cushion their toes in lodge slippers. The night time was fueled into the early hours by espresso martinis, mini cheeseburgers and tacos, joyful wedded bliss!