LOVE STRUCK // Andrew + Sequoia

Meet Andrew and Sequoia, two of my most beloved clients who recently tied the knot in Oakland.  The duo is aspiring to become restaurateurs, currently satiating their appetite with a beautiful blog CASA PEPE, overflowing with gorgeous photos and recipes that any food lover will drool over.  Keep your eyes on these two, the restaurant they are dreaming up is bound to be exceptional.

I remember when Andrew stopped by the shop back when it was still in the alley, he was so sweet and nervous-- not about the decision to ask Sequoia to be his wife {which he was so certain about}, but about getting the ring part right, and getting up the nerve to actually ask her.  He popped by a few times before deciding exactly what he wanted to get for her, and together we designed a Classic Engagement ring for her.  Later they came back in and got their wedding bands, he picked the Classic Wedding Band and she paired her diamond with a simple mitsuro style Feather Band.  They were so fun and easy to work with-- I knew their wedding day would be a relaxed and joyful day because that is what they embody together.  

Here is their love story in their own words, enjoy.

1// How did you meet, what was your initial impression?

SEQUOIA: We met at a dive bar- The Graduate to be exact. My friend literally dragged me out of the house right after I had returned from a most fucked up trip to Argentina. A cute boy, Andrew, walked up to me and offered to light my cigarette. For the rest of the night we spoke only Spanish to each other, in fact he introduced himself as Andrés. He called me for dinner an appropriate 3 days later and the rest is history. 

ANDREW:  We met at a dive called the Graduate.  I though she was super cute and offered to buy her and her friend a Fernet.  She didn't really seem interested in me, and I was acting pretty sassy, she'll probably say she thought I was gay and latino.  We talked about our favorite public television chef José Andrés.  She invited me over to her place to watch a documentary on Frida.  PS. that's all that went down.  Neither one of us was looking for love but we sure found it.  

2 // A memorable moment from dating prior to getting engaged?

SEQUOIA:  We've had some really great trips- Spain, New York and Portland to name a few… But the best times to me are the times that we had, sitting around the house drinking coffee, listening to NPR and cooking. There's nothing sexier than a man in an apron.

ANDREW:  We had a really long and crazy date about a month in.  We'd gone to the Jeremiah O'Brian, that docked old merchant marine ship in SF, for some kind of an all day beer drinking event.  It was kind of a shit show, she got pretty upset that someone tried to give her watermelon flavored beer.  Then I took her to a bunch of old man bars in North Beach and Chinatown.   We might have broken up and gotten back together that day.  I think that date really tested our compatibility. 

3 // How did you become engaged?

SEQUOIA:  Andrew proposed on our 3 year anniversary in the middle of the street, in from of the same liquor store that he had told me he loved me for the first time- a week after we met.

ANDREW:  It was her birthday three years after we had met.  I took her to the Claremont for a "staycation".  We went down to College to get some dinner and I was trying to work up the courage to pop the question.  There's a parking lot there that's in front of a liquor store, I know it's not glamorous but it was the first place I told her that I loved her, so it has a special significance to us.  She started crying when she saw the ring and then she said, "Yes."

4// Favorite moments from your wedding.  Did you have any special ritual or tradition?

SEQUOIA: We spent the night away from each other, which was very unusual for us. When I arrived and saw him standing at the end of the aisle- it felt like such a homecoming. He looked unbelievably handsome. We held each others hands so tight. Feeling the love and support of our friends and family around us, as we said our vows with the sun shining through the tree branches, was a dream.

Also, our wedding party gave some of the most heartfelt, beautiful and hilarious speeches, ever. Hearing the blessings and memories from some of our dearest friends was super cool.  And I really do need to mention the food. We are so food oriented that it would be wrong not to salute our fantastic kitchen crew that made one of the best meals of my life.

We didn't really have any rituals but we did dance our asses off. Dancing with my mom, twirling and sobbing, will always be one of my greatest memories. 

ANDREW:  Our wedding was magic.  It was a DIY Oakland style affair.  We had the ceremony in Joaquin Miller and the reception a the Starline Social Club.  Having so many family and friends in one place is almost overwhelming.  The actual event went by so fast its like one great moment in time.  It makes me feel lucky to have so many people willing to give us love and support.  We had lost some important people in our lives in the previous couple of years so it was important to keep them in our thoughts.  

photo by Dustin Cantrell

photo by Dustin Cantrell

photo by Dustin Cantrell

5// The magic ingredient is: 

SEQUOIA:  FIRE! I'm Spanish and he's Italian so there's never a dull moment. But we follow the golden rule of never going to sleep mad at each other. OH and SALT! Andrew always says- when you think you've added enough salt- add twice as much!

ANDREW: We are partners in life.  We stick together with unconditional love and affection.   But we don't kill each other because we know how to fight and compromise.  


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LOVE/MAKE

I love this time of year.  The weather is warming, the light is drawing out the day, and lovebirds are abound for the beginnings of wedding season.  The shop has been busy with all manner of lovers coming in to get prepared for nuptials, celebrate anniversaries, and pop by with new babies.  The energy is fueling, alive, and so fun to be around.  

This April 27th, Kate Ellen Metals will be at LOVE/MAKE, The Bold Italic's first ever wedding expo. I'm especially stoked about it because I love the content The Bold Italic rocks on their blog, and can only assume that their wedding guide/expo will not let you down-- especially for those who are looking for a combo of DIY and local talent to make the day super unique. I'll be there with a roster of Bay Area heavy hitting vendors like Western Editions, Ritual Coffee, Taylor Stitch, Magbooth, and Hunt and Gather.  

Get your tickets here

Check out the Wedding Guide here

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LOVE STRUCK // Jon + Lindsay

  



Meet Lindsay and Jon, a cute pair of creatives who just got married this summer.  I was lucky enough to help them design their wedding rings to accompany the ring Jon proposed with, an heirloom that he inherited.  I love working with jewelry that has a history in the family-- it makes everything so special.  Lindsay wanted a white gold band, slightly irregular, with rosecut pinkish/greyish diamonds circling around.  Jon opted for a sturdy squared edged band with a weathered finish.  I love their story, enjoy.

1// How did you meet?  What was your initial impression?

Lindsay: We met while I was in beauty school and Jon was in film school.  One of my friends wanted to set us up - she was dating a friend of Jon's at the time.  She was much younger than I was and assumed Jon was her age as well (I was 24 and Sarah had just turned 20 I think).  I had assumed we wouldn't have much in common but I thought it would be at least fun to meet someone new. 

My first impression was that he needed a haircut!  And that he was cute and shy.  We didn't get together right away but I went back to the bar a few weeks later and invited Jon to a party I was going to later that night with my best friend.  Little did I know my friend was pissed at me for inviting a third wheel out to our night, but she forgave me when she realized what a big deal he would turn out to be in my life.  He and I talked in the corner all night, forgetting that anyone else existed.  Turned out he was actually a couple years older than I was and we had a ton in common (both bay area transplants, both close with our families, etc.) He called me the next day (!) and we've been together ever since.

Jon: My film school buddy was dating one of Lindsay’s friends Sarah, and she brought Lindsay into the bar I was working in at the time. Once Sarah asked both of us if we were interested, she decided to bring Lindsay in one night after I got off and Linds asked me if I wanted to go to a party with her.

My initial reaction was one of somewhat skepticism after Lindsay told me that the party was in the Marina (this is not a neighborhood I frequent often). Once we got to the party, Lindsay and I just sat in the corner all night chatting. I feel like I got to know her pretty well fairly quickly and decided she was a super rad chick. I called her a day later and asked her out. I’m pretty sure we moved in together like 3 months after this.



2 // What is a memorable moment from your courtship prior to getting engaged?

Lindsay:  Oh man, there are so many!  Traveling to North Carolina to meet Jon's family for the first time was really great.  I met him after he had only been in California for about 6 months so all of his friends that I met were new friends.  He didn't even have Facebook!  I wasn't sure that this guy even existed before I met him, so it was nice to have confirmation that he did.  Like myself, he is very close to his family and they were so welcoming.  We went to Hilton Head together and had a great time.  It made me feel so much closer to him to know the people who loved him most.  

Jon: After only dating for 3 weeks, I went back to NC for the holidays and Lindsay went back to Cleveland. We decided that we missed each other so much that we couldn't stand it, and I rented a car and drove from NC to Cleveland (an 8 hour drive) Once I finally was up there, we both kinda got a little freaked out that I drove that far to hang out with a girl that I had only been dating for three weeks, and we couldn't decide if I was a total creeper or not. Luckily, we got married so instead of it being creepy, it was just really sweet.




3 // How did you become engaged?

Lindsay: Jon proposed on my 28th birthday with a ring his parents had given him more than a year before that used to be his great grandmother's.  We had been living together for 3 years and had talked about getting married a lot.  He knew that I had been waiting for him to propose for at least a year!  Since it was my birthday, we had plans to go to Sonoma for lunch and wine tasting.  I had a feeling the night before that he was going to propose - I could tell something was up with him.  But I didn't know how or when.  He got down on one knee in our bedroom before we left.  I was just getting out of the shower and was so focused on what I was going to wear, I almost didn't respond right away.  But then I caught on to what was happening.  He was very nervous and shaky and said some really sweet things.  He said he wanted to propose somewhere beautiful and the most beautiful place he could think of was the home we had built together.  I started laughing because the apartment was a mess.  Then he told me how much he loved me and asked me to marry him.  I said yes and he put the ring on the wrong hand.  I laughed again.  The first thing he said afterwards was "we have to call your mom right now - she's been holding this in for 24 hours."  We went up to Sonoma as planned, and had an amazing day filled with wine, food and phone calls.

Jon:  I proposed to Lindsay in our apartment on her bday, before going to Sonoma. I got on one knee in the bedroom while she was getting ready in the bathroom, and waited for her to come in. I actually waited for a decent amount of time. I think she was asking my opinion on some earrings.





4 // What was one of the highlights from your wedding?

Everything.  I think having friends and family involved in parts of the wedding made it really special.  We had a friend design the invitations, another friend sang as we walked down the aisle and another took the photographs.  Our ceremony also felt really intimate - we had collaborated with the minister to come up with something that felt really personal, and had a lot of family and friends involved.  Having so many groups of friends and family from all over the country come together was amazing.  The food was amazing.  We had a bacon caramel chocolate wedding cake - that was a definite highlight.  Really everything.  We were both pretty cynical about having a big wedding beforehand, but I think that there is no real way to describe what an incredible feeling it is without going through it.  It all came together perfectly to give us the most amazing day of our lives.  

5 // The magic ingredient is: 

Lindsay: Humor.  Letting your guard down and showing your partner your real, true, deep-down dorky self.  And unconditional support.

Jon:  Being able to let your guard down 100% percent around your partner and not being afraid to be as dorky as she is.



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Rosecut Rarities

Yummy rosecut black opaque diamond set in 14k gold.

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Custom Schedule is Packed

Blurred to protect the recipients surprise factor!

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Constellation Bling

Stack 'em up

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Congrats to Angie and Dave!

Angie says YES! to Dave with this custom engagement ring

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