Wedding | Alex & Noah

6 hours ago
6 min read

Tell us a little about yourselves!

Alex was living in New York and Noah was living in Eswatini when the pandemic brought us both back home to California where mutual friends introduced us, and that was pretty much that. From day one we were inseparable, spending hours talking about everything and nothing, and moving in together four months later felt completely inevitable. Our families folded into each other just as naturally as we did. We’ve since lived in LA, Brooklyn, and back to LA — with one year apart while Noah was living in Ghana. Noah is a software engineer and long distance runner who forages mushrooms and makes really, really good Spotify playlists. Alex is a creative strategist and brand marketer who is never without her film camera, loves a boxing class, and lives for any excuse to plan a dinner party. We balance each other out in almost every way, and it works.

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

So much of our family is rooted in California and we wanted a venue that felt like us: outdoor, relaxed, a little tucked away. The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe let us have everyone together all weekend, which was really the whole point.

How many guests did you have?

Just under 200; basically everyone we love all in one place. How lucky are we?

What was your budget?

What mattered most to us was that our wedding felt like a genuine expression of our love and appreciation for the people in our lives, family and chosen family alike. Our people are everything to us, and we invested in the moments (big and small) that celebrated them.

Tell us about your outfits.

We both wanted to look back on photos 30 years from now and still love what we were wearing — timeless but distinctly us.

Alex wore a two-piece by Lein (the Shelley Top and Sarah Skirt) with a custom soft tulle veil edged in matching lace. It struck exactly the right balance: edge and sophistication with femininity and a nod to tradition. The pieces also carried a quiet but meaningful sentiment: the look felt like something her late grandmother, a powerhouse fashion editor, would have loved. And in true Alex fashion, she changed halfway through the reception into custom lace hot shorts (also Lein) that ended up in her honeymoon suitcase the next morning.

Noah wore a Ted Baker tuxedo and leaned into the “classic with a wink” via his boutonnière: a mushroom arrangement (naturally) put together by our florist, Gray. It was very him. And he made sure to have a backup tuxedo shirt to throw on when the first one inevitably got too sweaty on the dancefloor.

For the rehearsal dinner, we both went a little more playful: Alex in a sleek, modern Coperni dress; Noah in a mesh cotton button-up and double-breasted chocolate suit. European al-fresco energy all the way.

What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?

We saw our wedding as an opportunity to celebrate all the special people who had helped us get to that moment. We prioritized making everyone feel genuinely loved, and made sure the whole thing felt like us: warm, handcrafted, a little imperfect in the best way. We built a custom website together (Alex designed, Noah coded), hand-drew a flower couple that appeared in little moments throughout the day, Alex’s mom crafted ceramic shot glasses for every guest, and Noah’s mom made homemade salsa picante that people still talk about today. Our siblings (including our 5-month old niece and nephew) stood under the chuppah with us. The florals followed a “foraged” brief — mushrooms, moss mounds, architectural plants, rock. And we made certain that the dancefloor was big enough to accommodate the entire party. The throughline was always: if we couldn’t make it feel like us, we weren’t going to do it.

Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?

Everything with purpose, and simplicity at the center of it all. The centerpiece was always the people.

Family, in every sense. Both of our parents walked each of us down the aisle. Alex’s grandfather’s tallit was worn at the Friday night Shabbat dinner and then hung above us as part of our chuppah. We displayed framed photographs of grandparents, great-grandparents, and extended family members who couldn’t be there, or no longer were.

We made space for voices we love. Our friends — the ones who set us up — retold the story of how it all started. Alex’s sister officiated (her first time officiating and her first wedding ever attended!). Friends gave informal, heartfelt speeches at the rehearsal dinner. It mattered to us that the weekend felt like a conversation, not a performance.

We spent a long time writing our vows, and agreed early on that we’d say them in front of everyone. It ended up being the most special moment of the day, we like to think not just for us, but for the people in that room too. Professing our love and commitment out loud, together, is what it was all about.

Our Jewish heritage was woven throughout: the signing of the ketubah, a Shabbat dinner, and dancing the hora until we couldn’t anymore.The music told its own story. After we said I do, string musicians broke into Praise You by Fatboy Slim. The final song on the dance floor was Are You Gonna Be My Girl by Jet. The after party was reserved entirely for Bad Bunny, Afrobeats and the Macarena 3x. No notes.

And the F&B had meaning too: Pisco Sours in honor of Noah’s Peruvian family, Nico’s Taco Shop breakfast burritos for the Sunday brunch — a weekend staple in the Wolfenzon household for 25 years — and ice cold dirty vodka martinis because, well, that’s just us.

Oh, and being outside. We wanted to feel the air, move around, frolic a little.

Any tips for couples getting married?

Don’t overconsume inspiration; it starts to drown out your own instincts, which are usually right. There’s no checklist. You don’t have to do something just because “it’s what you do at a wedding.” Make a pact with your partner to stay close on wedding weekend. With so much going on, it’s so easy to get pulled in different directions, but sharing the same moments — the same memories — is the whole point. And make sure you’re both on the dancefloor for that one song that you’ll dance your butts off to.

Leave your phone somewhere you can’t find it. Take the morning after to sit just the two of you, no screens, and relive it all out loud before opening anything.

And yes: ask someone to bring leftover cake and ice cold martinis (or whatever your drink of choice is) back to the room for a night cap. Trust us on this one.

Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?

There are so many creative, thoughtful, talented people that made the weekend what it was. We are so grateful to them all. A special shoutout to White Lace Events, Moonjar Design, and Carr & Senteno.

Our planner Krissie is the most thoughtful, calm, and creative partner we could have asked for. She made every single person feel taken care of — and was the one who made sure there was cake and martinis waiting for us at the end of the night. We didn’t deserve her.

Our florist Gray from Moonjar Design is one of the most imaginative, original, special people we’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. The process was genuinely collaborative, and we can’t thank them enough for going down the rabbit hole with us.

And Carr & Senteno, our incredible photography duo, who we knew we had to work with from the moment we met them. The perfect amount of humor, quirk, and artistry, they are wonderful humans who somehow always managed to get it on the first shot, and who captured moments that felt raw, authentic, and utterly personal.

Photographer: Carr & Senteno @carrandsenteno | Planning & Styling: White Lace Events

@whitelaceevent | Flora: Moonjar Design @moonjardesign | Ceremony Location: The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe @theinnatrsf | Reception Location: The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe @theinnatrsf | Celebrant: Avery, the bride’s sister | Hire/Rentals: MTB Event Rentals @mtb_event_rentals; Adore Folklore @adorefolklore; Catalog Atelier @catalogatelier | MUA: Diane Caranica @dianecaranica | Hair: AML and Company

@kissedbyaml | Catering & Beverages: The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe @theinnatrsf | Cake: Starry Lane Bakery @starrylane_bakery | Stationery: Goods Gang @goodsgang | Entertainment: Angelica Strings

@angelicastrings; Brian Pierini Music @brianpierinimusic | DJ: Dart Collective @dartcollective | Dress:

ratner_jewelry | Scent: Santa Maria Novella @santamarianovella1221 | Welcome Dinner Dress: Coperni

@coperni | Earrings: Sophie Ratner @sophieratner_jewelry ,Mejuri @mejuri | Groom’s Shoes: Hugo Boss

@boss; Scarosso @scarosso | Film Lab: Carmencita Film Lab @carmencitafilmlab | Design Inspiration:

The Studio Wed @thestudiowed | Lighting: Brilliant Event Lighting @brillianteventlighting | VG Donuts:

VG Bakery @vgdonut | Zonkey Paletas: Zonkey @paletaszonkey