As I’ve done before, I wanted Katharine and Jeff to tell me about their wedding, in their own words. I love the Mountain Mermaid and think it’s the best venue for a Topanga Canyon Wedding Photographer to shoot at, but it’s so great reading why it appealed to these guys and to know what moments stood out most for them.
Kath and Jeff are legends, plain and simple, and it was a blast working with them. In fact, the whole team responsible for making this one a huge success was pretty legendary. Full team credits at the end of this post.
Why Mountain Mermaid?
I (Kath) grew up in Topanga, and it’s such a special place – definitely an “LA secret”. We wanted to give our out-of-town guests a real California-wedding experience, and for our LA friends, perhaps have it feel like a mini-destination wedding. The Mountain Mermaid is very Topanga – beautiful & bohemian, very unique, a bit funky, elegant and antique, all at the same time. We loved the outdoor ceremony spot, as well as the gorgeous great room with its huge windows looking out to the outdoor bar area. The reception space was very inclusive and allowed people to remove themselves from the dancing to chat & have a drink, but
Our Focus
Our main focus was to bring people into our love for one day. We wanted everyone to feel drawn in – like they were part of our wedding instead of just watching it. Personal touches were important to us, especially in the ceremony, such as having one of our best friends be our officiant, giving shout outs to all our friends and family who were there, writing our own vows, and especially performing the original song. We wanted to share our love with everyone and hopefully inspire them to feel the love more in their own relationships.
Favorite Moments
Kath: It’s very hard to choose a favorite moment, but one was definitely right after our first look when Jeff and I were taking some photos in the bridal suite. Not many people were around (except Richard!) and it was so lovely and calm compared to everything that was happening outside. That was a super special private moment for me, before the craziness of the rest of the day, and so nice for Jeff and I to simply be together. But of course… dancing with all our crazy singer friends towards the end of the night… was a highlight, to say the least.
Jeff: The best moment of the day for me was our first dance. Kath & I had planned that day together for over a year and put so much of ourselves and our love into creating a day that would bring all our loved ones together. And in that instant everything else fell away, and it was just the two of us. It was right in the middle of everything, with all eyes on us, yet we were totally alone. There was electricity
