As an interior designer, Heather Dewberry Stoller makes decisions all day, so the idea of a destination wedding where someone else takes care of all the details was rather appealing — especially at one of her favorite places: Santa Barbara, California.

She and Steve Stoller had both been married before, and this time around, they each had children to include. “We actually thought about having a wedding and party in Atlanta, but we had so much on our plates to figure out with combining families, shopping for houses, moving out of my previous house and all the busy projects at my firm,” says Heather. “We just decided that it would be easier to go away and have a smaller ceremony. I think with kids in tow, the keywords are flexibility, ease and having fun.”

Talk about no drama? The Stollers decided to hold a simple 9 a.m. ceremony on the beach this past June, which meant that by 11 a.m. that morning, they were out of their fancy clothes and splashing around in the resort swimming pool together.

Atlanta couple Steve and Heather Stoller chose this destination coastal setting for their small family wedding. They planned the entire wedding about a month in advance.Pin
Atlanta couple Steve and Heather Stoller chose this destination coastal setting for their small family wedding. They planned the entire wedding about a month in advance.
Picturesque Santa Barbara is often called the “American Riviera.” “Destination weddings are big business out there, and they know how to handle the smaller weddings beautifully,” says Heather. “A lot of people go there for affordable first weddings or for vow renewal. Our entire wedding probably cost what many people would spend on a nice wedding dress!”Pin
Picturesque Santa Barbara is often called the “American Riviera.” “Destination weddings are a big business out there, and they know how to handle the smaller weddings beautifully,” says Heather. “A lot of people go there for affordable first weddings or for vow renewal. Our entire wedding probably cost what many people would spend on a nice wedding dress!”
With other members of their extended family living in far-away places, the new couple chose to keep the ceremony small and celebrate the union with just their blended children: Millie Burke, Preston, Mary Mobley, and Brooks.Pin
With other members of their extended family living in far-away places, the new couple chose to keep the ceremony small and celebrate the union with just their blended children: Millie Burke, Preston, Mary Mobley and Brooks.

Flashback to four years ago, when Heather and Steve were each navigating the world of single parenting (Steve is father to daughter Millie Burke, 12; Heather has a son, Preston, 13, and twins Mary Mobley and Brooks, both 11). They first met at the Swan Coach House’s Flea Market at the Atlanta History Center, and they talked for a few minutes. “I thought he was cute, but he didn’t get my number,” Heather recalls. Two months later her dog, Chase, got loose in the neighborhood. When she answered the neighbor who had found Chase from a local email chain, it turned out to be Steve. He emailed Heather: “Is it possible you are the girl that I met at the Flea Market?” As another coincidence, he lived four streets over from Heather. Their first date was a few weeks later, and they dated three years before deciding to merge families.

Steve proposed at Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara. “He asked me during a stunning sunset on Thanksgiving Day last year,” says Heather. “We were relaxing having a bottle of our favorite Santa Barbara Pinot Noir and walked over to the cliff overlooking the pier.”

Shades of blue and turquoise (with several items from VineyardVines.com) provided a common thread to the wedding party.Pin
Shades of blue and turquoise (with several items from Vineyard Vines) provided a common thread to the wedding party.
A succulent sprig as a boutonniere reflects the rugged coastal flora.Pin
A succulent sprig as a boutonniere reflects the rugged coastal flora.
A bridge links the Bacara Resort with Haskell’s Beach next door, where the ceremony took place. As a way to ensure the event would be uncrowded and also get the best prices from vendors, the couple chose a Thursday morning. “It didn’t matter to us what day it was because we were out there all week,” Heather says.Pin
A bridge links the Bacara Resort with Haskell’s Beach next door, where the ceremony took place. As a way to ensure the event would be uncrowded and also get the best prices from vendors, the couple chose a Thursday morning. “It didn’t matter to us what day it was because we were out there all week,” Heather says.
Heather’s feminine dress from Ted Baker rings just the right note of elegance and casual.Pin
Heather’s feminine dress from Ted Baker rings just the right note of elegance and casual.

Both Steve and Heather are big fans of this coastal city an hour or so north of Los Angeles. “The Mediterranean architecture is stunning, the mountains are beautiful and the beaches are amazing,” says Heather. “It really looks like you are in Europe, but no passport is needed.” Since Steve is from Los Angeles, the couple had visited Santa Barbara once before, and Heather immediately felt a kinship with the area. “It’s a relatively small city with very friendly people and beautiful design shops that feel like what we have in the South,” she adds. “I would equate it to a Charleston, Savannah or New Orleans-type town — great for a getaway, wedding or girls’ weekend.”

She soon discovered that it’s also a popular wedding destination, and particularly works well for small ceremonies. Shauna Timmons with Santa Barbara Elopement knew just how to handle the long-distance wedding prep, sending Heather potential venues and vendors to choose from, then coordinating all the details. “If Steve and I were getting married by ourselves, we probably would have chosen one of Santa Barbara’s gorgeous vineyard locations,” she says, “but having children with us changed the dynamic, so we wanted to do something easy and relaxed. We decided to head back to Bacara Resort since it is right on the beach and has a lot for families to do.”

“My earrings were my favorites, from Kendra Scott's bridal collection,” says the bride. “With the golden starburst-type shape around the stone, they looked like Tony Duquette (tonyduquette.com) could have designed them, one of my favorite California interior designers. I just wore them to a cocktail party last week and received tons of compliments.”Pin
“My earrings were my favorites, from Kendra Scott’s bridal collection,” says the bride. “With the golden starburst-type shape around the stone, they looked like Tony Duquette could have designed them, one of my favorite California interior designers. I just wore them to a cocktail party last week and received tons of compliments.”
Sentimental items decorate the beachside table. Heather ordered monogrammed napkins back in Atlanta from Bella Latella https://www.facebook.com/BellaLatella/. “I made sure they would go with our new dining room wallpaper, and also blended with our wedding color scheme,” she says. “I also felt like a southern wedding needed something monogrammed, too—although the Californians did seem a bit bemused with all the silver and monograms.” A “cake comb” given to Heather by her grandmother is the most-used silver she owns. A shell box will hold rocks gathered by the new family as a memento back in Atlanta.Pin
Sentimental items decorate the beachside table. Heather ordered monogrammed napkins back in Atlanta from Bella Latella. “I made sure they would go with our new dining room wallpaper, and also blended with our wedding color scheme,” she says. “I also felt like a Southern wedding needed something monogrammed, too — although the Californians did seem a bit bemused with all the silver and monograms.” A “cake comb” given to Heather by her grandmother is the most used silver she owns. A shell box will hold rocks gathered by the new family as a memento back in Atlanta.
A cake and rose help the beachside setting look festive. The cake was from local bakery Crushcakes www.crushcakes.com. “It was gluten-free, but you would never know it…a vanilla bean frosting with vanilla cake,” says Heather. “I bought the ‘S’ topper on etsy.com, again embracing an abundance of monograms.  I look forward to using the topper when we have parties, maybe on a cheese and crackers platter next time.”Pin
A cake and roses help the beachside setting look festive. The cake was from local bakery Crushcakes. “It was gluten-free, but you would never know it … a vanilla bean frosting with vanilla cake,” says Heather. “I bought the ‘S’ topper on Etsy, again embracing an abundance of monograms. I look forward to using the topper when we have parties, maybe on a cheese and crackers platter next time.”
Stoller wine isn’t related to Steve’s family, but they enjoy the name connection and honestly love the wine, too, making it an obvious choice for the wedding day.Pin
Stoller wine isn’t related to Steve’s family, but they enjoy the name connection and honestly love the wine, too, making it an obvious choice for the wedding day.

Following her mantra of “keeping it simple,” Heather and the rest of the family bought wedding clothes off-the-rack, choosing items they can wear again. She found a Ted Baker dress from his bridal collection with a gorgeous brocade bodice that reminded her of something she’d choose as a textile for one of her beautiful interior design projects. To make the dress a better fit for a casual morning ceremony, she had it altered from tea-length to a more fun above-the-knee. Earrings by Kendra Scott and gold shoes from M. Gemi rounded out the look. After Millie Burke found a Vineyard Vines dress in aqua and cornflower blue, the rest of the family’s outfits fell into place easily with a similar color scheme. Blue thistle used in the wedding flowers picked up the color palette in a casually rustic way.

Heather made sure to pack a few well-chosen items with meaning for the special day. “I only took a few things with me: a silver cake comb my grandmother gave me and that we use for all the kids’ birthday parties, Stoller Vineyards (no relation, but we love their wine!) rose for a toast, monogrammed napkins and a shell that the kids deposited rocks they found on the beach into to symbolize our new family,” she says.

Adorable children are good sports to be dressed up on the beach, but know they’ll have the rest of the day to relax as a family, thanks to the 9 a.m. wedding.Pin
Adorable children are good sports to be dressed up on the beach, but know they’ll have the rest of the day to relax as a family, thanks to the 9 a.m. wedding.
Flowers by https://www.ellaandlouie.com feature a variety of local blooms, and pick up the spectrum of blues and greens in the wedding party’s outfits.Pin
Flowers by Ella & Louie feature a variety of local blooms, and pick up the spectrum of blues and greens in the wedding party’s outfits.
Steve and Heather were able to choose blessings and verses for their wedding vows.Pin
Steve and Heather were able to choose blessings and verses for their wedding vows.

When their photographer Anna J suggested that outdoor photos look best either early morning or late afternoon, Heather and Steve came up with the idea to check “get married” off their to-do list right off the bat the day of their wedding. The couple’s reasoning: it’s harder to pull kids out of the pool or other activities as the day goes on. This meant that Heather’s make-up artist (coincidentally from Marietta, Georgia) arrived at 6 a.m., but the early start was a small price to pay for a relaxed day.

After a brief ceremony with a local Presbyterian minister, Heather and Steve said their vows, and then had a quick unity ceremony to involve the children. “We wanted the children to have some sort of ceremony involvement since we were blending families,” she explains. “I bought a ceramic hinged clamshell on Etsy with a pretty golden painted interior. My plan was that each of the children would find a shell on the beach and deposit it into our new ‘family shell’. Of course, I forgot that there were no shells on that beach so we ended up finding really neat beach rocks/pebbles and used those instead. The clamshell and pebbles are now very pretty in our bookcases back in Atlanta and serve as a nice memory from that day.”

Afterwards, the new family cut the cake right on the beach and enjoyed a nice glass of rose, took a few more photos and then hit the pool around 11 a.m. For this new blended family, keeping it fun and being together seems like a perfect start to chapter two.

“Why are we a good fit? I would say that Steve is the kindest guy I've ever met, we have a great time together, and both love to travel,” says Heather. “He's also a great dad, which is a huge bonus when a family is involved!  He is truly my best friend!” Pin
“Why are we a good fit? I would say that Steve is the kindest guy I’ve ever met, we have a great time together and we both love to travel,” says Heather. “He’s also a great dad, which is a huge bonus when a family is involved! He is truly my best friend!”

We wish Heather and Steve a life filled with happiness and love! Thank you for sharing your special day!

RESOURCES

Venue: Haskell Beach at Bacara Resort, Santa Barbara
Wedding coordinator: Shauna Timmons with Santa Barbara Elopement
Cake: Crushcakes
Flowers: Ella & Louie
Photography: Anna J
Bride’s dress: Ted Baker
Bride’s earrings: Kendra Scott bridal collection
Bride’s shoes: M. Gemi

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Grab your tissues. We have lots more beautiful Atlanta brides and Southern weddings in our “Weddings” section. Prepare to be moved …

Author: Lisa Mowry
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Lisa Mowry