Chantal and Jason's Elegant Carmel Mountain Wedding

By Jordan Lemke

An unfortunate haircut nearly made Chantal pass by her future groom, Jason, without a second thought. In his defense he, a swimmer for their mutual college’s swim team, had just shaved his head for the season. A couple of months later, “When his hair was grown out,” Chantal says she was, “MUCH more interested!”

Graduation, a long distance relationship and some subsequent time apart all passed before the couple realized how much they wanted to be together. It was after an anniversary kayak trip and sunset dinner that Jason proposed to Chantal with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. A few of their friends were hiding in the bushes taking photos to capture the moment.

They landed on Carmel Mountain Ranch Estate for their wedding day, which Chantal was quick to pick up a few tips and tricks to make the planning as pain free as possible. Try to book as many of the details ahead of time as possible, she says, to really weigh out what you’re willing to spend the bulk of your budget on.

“I focused more on what kind of atmosphere I wanted to evoke,” says the bride. The wedding was filled with personal details and classic touches to accomplish the elegant, yet intimate feeling. The traditional Catholic ceremony was followed by a simple reception, during which Chantal and Jason’s dads performed a Vietnamese song together—there wasn’t a dry eye in the house, Chantal recalls. The father/daughter dance was another showstopper: a choreographed dance to the Bee Gees’s “Staying Alive!”

Looking back, the newlyweds fully agrees, not even a bad hair day could have ruined their big day—but, for the record, she was glad it as grown out!