Katrina & Michael

Redwoods as Witness

The Bride: Katrina Koslov
The Groom: Michael Morris
Date: July 23, 2011
Venue: Nestldown (Los Gatos, CA)

As a psychophysiologist, Katrina Koslov researches stress for a living. Though she thought she understood the emotion well, she developed an even better appreciation of it during the early stages of planning her July 23rd wedding to then-fiancé Michael Morris, a software engineer with a passion for racing cars. Their sometimes-stressful and fast-paced lives led them to choose a wedding venue where they knew they could slow it all down and relax. With sprawling gardens, two ponds, waterfalls, and a rustic, refurbished barn tucked into the redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Nestldown was just the place. Once a working fruit ranch, the 180-acre property offered ample space for the couple and their 120 guests to relax and celebrate.

Bride’s Gown

The bride’s Priscilla of Boston gown suited their fairy world setting to a T. The sheath silhouette, embellished straps, sweetheart neckline, and beaded empire waist combined with her very turn-of-the-century Gibson tuck updo made Katrina appear as if she just stepped out of a classic novel.

Bride’s Gown

The bride’s Priscilla of Boston gown suited their fairy world setting to a T. The sheath silhouette, embellished straps, sweetheart neckline, and beaded empire waist combined with her very turn-of-the-century Gibson tuck updo made Katrina appear as if she just stepped out of a classic novel.

Wedding Ceremony

Katrina and Michael exchanged vows in a fairy-like redwood clearing near one of the Nestldown ponds. Natural stairs carved into the earth led down a hill into a large open area with a stone floor where couple and their wedding party stood under a sizeable arbor, swathed in green, leafy vines.

Wedding Ceremony

Katrina and Michael exchanged vows in a fairy-like redwood clearing near one of the Nestldown ponds. Natural stairs carved into the earth led down a hill into a large open area with a stone floor where couple and their wedding party stood under a sizeable arbor, swathed in green, leafy vines.

Wedding Flowers

To work with the purple, worn by the bridesmaids and seen throughout the couple’s color scheme, H & L Flowers used iris, sweet pea, and delphinium in varying shades, offset with some ivory roses and white orchids.

Wedding Flowers

To work with the purple, worn by the bridesmaids and seen throughout the couple’s color scheme, H & L Flowers used iris, sweet pea, and delphinium in varying shades, offset with some ivory roses and white orchids.

Wedding Reception

A garden reception took place outside, sans tent, with round tables spotted across the lush, green lawn. Guests enjoyed a Mediterranean dinner there before moving into the barn for dancing and dessert.

Wedding Reception

A garden reception took place outside, sans tent, with round tables spotted across the lush, green lawn. Guests enjoyed a Mediterranean dinner there before moving into the barn for dancing and dessert.

Wedding Dessert

Satura Cakes of Los Altos, California, provided a simple, single-tier creation to sit atop the tower of specialty cookies, tarts, and single cake slices, featuring four different and unique flavors like mango–passion fruit with fresh cream and flourless chocolate soufflé with bittersweet whipped ganache.

Advice from the Bride

For her research, Katrina creates “protocols” that detail all the steps of running a study from start to finish. So, she obviously created a protocol for her wedding. It was a 29-page master document, which she circulated to all parties involved. In the end, it was indeed helpful, but everything ran late anyway. “Plan as much as you can in advance, but do your best to just relax on the actual day, it will all play out just as it’s meant to,” Katrina says.

Redwoods as Witness

The Bride: Katrina Koslov
The Groom: Michael Morris
Date: July 23, 2011
Venue: Nestldown (Los Gatos, CA)

As a psychophysiologist, Katrina Koslov researches stress for a living. Though she thought she understood the emotion well, she developed an even better appreciation of it during the early stages of planning her July 23rd wedding to then-fiancé Michael Morris, a software engineer with a passion for racing cars. Their sometimes-stressful and fast-paced lives led them to choose a wedding venue where they knew they could slow it all down and relax. With sprawling gardens, two ponds, waterfalls, and a rustic, refurbished barn tucked into the redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Nestldown was just the place. Once a working fruit ranch, the 180-acre property offered ample space for the couple and their 120 guests to relax and celebrate.