Bizzy & Nikhil – Ralston White Retreat

Weddings

Loyal, loving, and kind. These words repeatedly came up during Bizzy and Nikhil’s romantic wedding weekend at the Ralston White Retreat just north of San Francisco. As each family member and friend from different life stages spoke of them it was amazing how many of the exact same words popped up. I’ve been lucky enough to know the couple through my sister Marie and I have to say, in my experience – everyone was spot on. To really get into this dreamy wedding story I think we have to start with the location they chose for everyone to gather and share in their celebration. The Ralston White Retreat is nestled up on a hill in Mill Valley. To get to it, you take a narrow windy road through redwoods. Many members of the wedding party and some family members stayed there the length of the weekend and it had the feeling of one big happy family. On the day I arrived I was greeted with bluebird skies and warm dry California breezes that smelled like pine needles and flowers. From start to finish this weekend blew me away. Bizzy and Nikhil are pretty much the sweetest people you’ll ever come across and the circle of friends and family that surrounded them was a reflection of that. Everywhere you turned old friends were catching up and new ones were being made. Children were goofing off as they do and thankfully I was often able to catch it happening. And in one of the most heart-felt moves, my other two sisters were brought in to play music for the weekend so all of my siblings were there the whole weekend. It was so special. We heard copious amounts of Beyonce (even on their way back up the aisle as arranged by said sisters for violin & cello), took a magical stroll through the woods for the first look, and closed out the reception with a surprise special In-N-Out delivery. The speeches were so moving, the photobooth rocked, there was gold confetti for the first dance, the DJ was incredible and the dinner was under a beautiful tree canopy. I half expected to see fairies and pixie dust appear as everyone ate, it was THAT magical. Seriously, I just can’t even do it justice, although I certainly did my best. What an incredible honor to capture this special weekend for these amazing people. It’s one I won’t soon forget.