Sarah & Dylan’s Coastal Western Wedding
Coastal Western vibes, eclectic midcentury style, and a whole lot of heart on Tomales Bay
When Sara and Dylan started planning their wedding, they knew exactly the feeling they were after: the sun-bleached ease of the California coast colliding with the dusty, storied warmth of the desert West. The result was a June 7th celebration at Nick’s Cove in Tomales Bay that was equal parts rugged and refined, wild and warmly personal, a party that felt like a road trip, a love letter, and the best dinner you’ve ever had at a waterfront dive bar, all rolled into one unforgettable night.
THE SETTING: TOMALES BAY AT ITS BEST
Perched on the edge of the bay in Tomales, Nick’s Cove carries that rare combination of weathered character and effortless beauty that only a place with real history can pull off. Salt air, fishing boats in the distance, and that long golden light that Northern California does better than anywhere else, it was the perfect backdrop for Sara and Dylan’s vision. Natural, unpretentious, and quietly spectacular.
THE AESTHETIC: COASTAL WESTERN WITH AN ECLECTIC MIDCENTURY SOUL
The design vision for this wedding was one of the most distinctive we’ve had the pleasure of bringing to life. Described as “Coastal Western Vibes Paired with Eclectic Midcentury Influence,” the palette drew from two distinct but surprisingly harmonious worlds: the earthy tones of the California coast and the dusty sunset hues of the desert interior.
At its foundation: cream and natural wood tones that grounded everything in warmth and texture. Layered on top, secondary colors of Desert Palm, Poppy Orange, and Sea Kelp carried that organic, sun-soaked energy. Tertiary pops of Evening Sun, Bay Blue, Wild Manzanita, and Golden Canyon added depth and personality, those unexpected moments of color that made you feel like you were wandering through a particularly well-curated vintage shop somewhere between Bodega Bay and Joshua Tree.
To give it that eclectic edge, the design leaned into vintage pieces with an intentional mismatched feel, warm brass and copper accents throughout, and paper goods from Taylor W Rushing with an illustration style all their own, think tiki drinks, cowboy skeletons, mermaids, and California nostalgia rendered in a bold, hand-drawn aesthetic. The save-the-dates and stationery suite had the energy of a vintage concert poster meets a classic roadside attraction, with a poppy orange and gold palette that made every piece feel like a collector’s item.
The lounge space drove the midcentury vibe home: a caramel velvet channel-stitch sofa, woven leather sling chairs, a weathered trunk as a coffee table, and a black bookshelf stocked with vintage books and custom Sara & Dylan keepsakes. It was the kind of lounge that made guests want to linger.
THE FLORALS: WILD, ORGANIC, AND DRIPPING WITH COLOR
Three Summer Days Events brought the floral vision to life with arrangements that felt like they’d been gathered from every garden, meadow, and tide pool along the Northern California coastline, and then artfully arranged by someone who really, truly loves flowers.
The ceremony featured a five-piece semi-circle meadow installation framing the bay view, constructed to grow organically out of the landscape, layered with tropical and coastal greenery, wild grasses in Desert Palm and Sea Kelp, and statement florals in hot pink, muted red, and poppy, vibrant enough to stop your breath without blocking the water.
The bridal bouquet was a small-to-medium arrangement centered on statement hot pink peonies, surrounded by accent florals in periwinkle, muted red, poppy, and golden canyon. Not wild, not tight and traditional…somewhere beautifully in between, with the peonies doing exactly what peonies do best.
At the bar, bold arrangements pulled in Birds of Paradise alongside the bright color palette, leaning into the coastal tiki energy that ran as a thread through the whole event. Across the reception, mismatched bud vases held individual arrangements in colored glass, each one slightly different, each one beautiful, paired with pillar candles in hurricane glass and mercury and clear glass votives that glowed all evening long.
THE TABLESCAPES: TEXTURE, COLOR, AND CHARACTER
The tables at Nick’s Cove told the story as much as anything else. Natural wood surfaces anchored everything, with linen pin striped napkins adding that layered, collected feel. Amber and olive glassware caught the evening light. And right in the center of each place setting: a custom illustrated menu in that bold, vintage-Western-Tiki graphic style, the kind of detail that guests absolutely kept.
THE CELEBRATION: MUSIC, FOOD, AND A NIGHT TO REMEMBER
After vows exchanged against the backdrop of the bay and that wildflower meadow, the party shifted into high gear in the best possible way. This wasn’t a wedding that felt like a production, it felt like the best night you’ve ever had with people you really love, in a place that understood exactly what was being celebrated.
Heart of Gold DJ set the tone from the very beginning, carrying the music seamlessly through the ceremony, cocktail hour, and dinner with the kind of playlist that made every moment feel intentional and warm. By the time the Coffis Brothers took the floor, the room was ready, roots, soul, and storytelling that felt completely at home on the Tomales Bay waterfront, the kind of live music that turns a reception into something you talk about for years.
In between, Nick’s Cove’s culinary team did what they do best: a feast rooted in the seasonal, coastal bounty of the region, the kind of dinner that slows everyone down in the best possible way and reminds you that there is nowhere else you’d rather be. Long tables, good food, the people you love most, that’s the whole thing, really.
And that’s what made Sara and Dylan’s celebration so special. Every detail, the custom illustrated menus, the mismatched bud vases, the tiki bar arrangements, the lounge that invited people to stay and stay, added up to something that felt unmistakably, completely them. Not a wedding that happened to have their names on it, but a genuine reflection of who they are and how they love the people in their lives. Their closest friends and family felt that from the very first toast to the very last song, and that’s the kind of thing no amount of planning can manufacture. It either is or it isn’t. For Sara and Dylan, it absolutely was.
THE TEAM THAT MADE IT HAPPEN
A wedding with this much personality and detail takes a team that truly gets the vision from the first conversation. Enormous gratitude to every creative partner who helped bring Sara and Dylan’s coastal western dream to life:
- Beauty: Calm Salon
- Cake: A Little Luster
- Entertainment: Coffis Brothers & Heart of Gold DJ
- Photography: Caleb Rippetoe Photography
- Planning, Florals & Wedding Design: Three Summer Days Events
- Rentals & Decor: Encore Event Rentals & Theoni
- Stationery: Taylor W Rushing
- Catering & Venue: Nick’s Cove
From the wildflower ceremony meadow framing Tomales Bay to the vintage tiki bar arrangements, the hand-illustrated stationery, and the mismatched bud vases glowing with candlelight, Sara and Dylan’s wedding was something else entirely. Earthy and electric, nostalgic and completely now. A true reflection of two people who know exactly who they are and had the very good sense to celebrate it surrounded by the people they love most.
The ultimate resource for crafting the most unique celebration.
A behind-the-scenes look at how we bring a love story to life.
Take a look at some of our favorite stories and celebrations.
Get inspired
| Website by Grey & Gold Creative
© 2024 Three Summer Days Events
