I wish I could tell you more about this beautiful dreadlocked bride with her neo-tribal feather and bone headpiece.
All I know is that her name is Sonya, she got married at a beautiful outdoor location in Santa Barbara, and I think this might be her bridal lingerie. If so: whoa.
…Everything else you'll have to infer for yourself from photographer Chris Hansen‘s Facebook album.
UPDATE: Go feast your eyes on all the amazingness and get the full scoop on Sonya & Jeffery's wedsite. You'll find so much inspiration over there that your head might EXPLODE!
wow – stunning!
Absolutely beautiful. I am extremely intrigued by the mysterious undergarment photo – I want to see more of her gown, know the backstory, etc!
More photos and story would be awesome! I don’t want to sign up for a facebook account just to see the photos, but I’m tempted!
One word: Yum. That is all.
Rest assured that I’m in touch with a photographer who attended the wedding — hopefully he’ll share more photos and more story!
Believe it or not, i think a friend of mine was at this wedding. She was telling me all about the symbolism of the canopy, and all the amazing things these people did to make their wedding filled with meaning. If it is the same wedding, i can’t wait to hear more and see more. From what she was telling me, it was incredible.
That lingerie makes me want to wear bridal lingerie, which is not something I was previously considering.
I was at this wedding, and all I can say is that it was as stunning as the photos make it look.
The lingerie in that picture looks a lot like something I saw on this website. http://www.skingraftdesigns.com/
I thought y’all might like to see it, there is some awesome stuff on that website!
Oh my goodness, Erin! Can you share some stories with us?
Also, rumor has it the lingerie is from Skin Graft Designs, makers of insanely beautiful/insanely expensive neo-victorian/steampunky/post-apocalyptic/burner couture. If you want to check out their designs, head over here. I recommend it mostly just for inspiration though — you don’t want to know how much this stuff costs.
[Updated: JINX, Diana!]
Well, tell me more about what you want to know, and I’ll do my best to answer…
I’ve also let the bride know that her wedding made it on here, so perhaps she’ll comment herself.
hi 🙂 it’s me. thanks, erin, i wasn’t aware of this before. i feel bashful…
but seriously, it was an incredible wedding- the best day of my life, and it was definitely the result of a massive collaboration between us and our amazingly talented community!
You can see more pics at
http://www.angeladam.com/SonyaJefferyWedding
p.s. it’s kind of funny that you found this, ariel, because i’ve read your book and you might recognize some friends in the pictures 😉
Yay! Sonya made it over here!
p.p.s. yes, the lingerie…and everything else (my corset, skirts, headpiece, and jacket as well as jeffrey’s jacket) was made by jonny and cassidy of skingraft designs. they are the best!
Aha, Sonya! You’re right: I did recognize a lot of faces. Not a surprise, really, since I found your wedding photos on Facebook after my friend Maggie commented on one them. And I see that Brian DJed at both our receptions! 🙂 Long live left coast hippie/raver weddings!
Fabulous photos. Sonya, i love your style. I am floored by how much style you packed into your wedding. I’m generally not a huge fan of dreads but yours look absolutely beautiful in every photo. Skingraft designs did an amazing job on your clothes too!
All I could keep saying is wow!
Ive looked at the wedsite – wow Sonya what a day to remember – it all looked so beautiful! did you hire the fantastic shelters or did you and your creative friends make them – I’d so love something similar at my wedding
Thanks…the pods are from our friends at the do lab (http://www.thedolab.com)…
Holy hell that lingerie is gorgeous. In that super-hot Tank Girl badass sort of way. Wow.
Holy crap that is the HOTTEST COUPLE EVER. If you’re going to spend a fortune on a wedding, that is DEFINITELY the way to do it. Oh my god. That is a seriously amazing wedding.
Wow… that was awesome!
And Beautiful too!
serious head spinnage – what an incredible collaboration.
I don’t mean to be annoying about it, but actually we didn’t spend a huge fortune…we spent some, of course, but our friends contributed a lot. In fact, we didn’t use any vendors at all, aside from paying for dance lessons at the community center for our tango. We really started the planning by taking Ariel’s book seriously 🙂 and looking around at our community, seeing what kind of wedding we could put together based on everyone’s special gifts and talents. We are extremely lucky in that we have an amazing amount of talented and beautifully gifted friends, and so it all came together to be huger than anybody ever imagined, but the principle was entirely organic.
I feel that’s important to add here because it was extremely intentional, and it created an amazing vibe that everyone could feel. I have a sense you guys can tell from the pictures.
Another thing that made it so special was the way we crafted our own ritual. Jeffrey and I just completed a year-long priest and priestess training where we learned how to lead ritual and hold ritual space for transformation, so that made a big difference. For more info on our teachers, who also are our dear friends and the priestesses who married us:
http://www.robinclark.org
http://www.suzannesterling.com
Anyway, what I’m trying to say here is that I think anyone who looks deeply within, doing the personal work required to burst through years of conditioning to create a ceremony perfectly suited to the kind of world you want to create in your union, can can come up with the most beautiful wedding for them. For the other stuff, reaching out to connect with your community, seriously asking for their blessing as well as their participation in your union, is priceless–and often surprising…it might not look like anything you’ve seen before, but it will be spectacular!
Absolutely beautiful.Great article.
Oh my God. This is the most beautiful wedding I’ve ever seen. You can just feel the overwhelming happiness of these two. The photography is amazing!
I am more than a little bit in love with this look!!!
Completely stunned, their wedding was incredibly beautiful.
I love love love this bride. I kindof want to to be her. And I’m not even engaged. Or in a serious relationship. Also, I just found this website and am now totally addicted.
I just looked up the Do Lab guys that did the tent – they are amazing – now if only I could find the equivalent brilliance here in Australia 🙂 (anyone know of amazing pod makers … let me know) = again congrats on what looked like a wonderful and never to be forgotten celebration!
I love the lingerie!!! I totally want it. Might even get in touch with the the people who made it. That is right up our alley as well. Amazing pictures!
GAH!!!!!! Love love LOVE their wedding like WHOA!!!!!!!!!
@~>~~
By far the most stunning wedding I’ve ever seen. It reminded me of Burning Man in all the best possible ways; uninhibited self expression and pure joy. It’s thrilling to see a collection of people so thoroughly embracing and completely at ease with themselves. I’m not only jealous of the wedding itself, but of the pure joy and happiness each and every person embodies. We can only hope everyone continues to bless us with their boundless inner brilliance.
I want to marry these people. As a dready bride i am so very inspired by this.
sigh, if only we could all live in socal and be devastatingly attractive.