A Blush Wiederhoeft Look and a "Haunted Saloon" After-Party Made This California Wedding Unforgettably Personal

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It all began with a red Ford Mustang, a pandemic-era road trip across the gator state, and a mutual leap of faith. "We matched on Hinge in early March 2020 when our locations were set to Brooklyn, but we both somehow ended up in crazy Florida for several months," writer and editor Hadley Mendelsohn recalls of her impromptu meet-cute with her now husband, media planning and sales director Charles Lewis III. According to Mendelsohn's brother-in-law, the officiant at their wedding, the couple courted each other for two months through texts, navigating uncertain times with messages of comfort and possibility.

When Mendelsohn and Lewis finally made plans to meet, they did so in epic fashion, with Mendelsohn renting a red Mustang convertible for the occasion. "I drove three hours (I hate driving) across a road called Alligator Alley to meet him," shares Mendelsohn. Zoe, one of Mendelsohn's friends, called it "the Mustang trip to your love" in her speech at their reception. While she was worried about her best friend taking off to "meet a man from the internet," she was relieved when it went well—great actually. "I ended up staying the whole weekend," Mendelsohn says. Although they didn't have to stay in touch or see each other when they returned to their post-pandemic lives in New York, they did, deciding to make their relationship official.

Four years into their relationship during Labor Day weekend, the couple visited upstate New York, their first travel destination together. "I knew it was happening, but [Charles] thought it was a total surprise," Mendelsohn shares about their engagement. "It was rainy, and I was reading outside on our porch. He kept reentering the room to 'change his shirt.' I knew somethin' was up, but I was trying not to give it away that I knew. Eventually, he told me to come inside for a pre-dinner drink and asked me to look under the porch swing for the cider. I saw the box with Liv Luttrell's branding, then he proposed. The rest is a blur."

After the proposal, Mendelsohn wasted no time. "I started planning the wedding immediately because I love the heat and didn't want a winter wedding but also simply because I was eager and decisive," Mendelsohn says. Together, the couple chose September 6, 2025, at Straus Home Ranch—a working organic farm in Marshall, California, nestled in the rolling hills of Point Reyes. "We love exploring Marshall, where Straus Home Ranch is, as an escape when we're visiting my family in the Bay Area," Mendelsohn says. Plus, the venue struck the perfect balance between charm and soul. "So many venues felt corporate, both in their communication styles and aesthetic," Mendelsohn shares. "This place felt refreshing. The family who owns and runs it is so kind, authentic, and funny. It felt as if we could hang out with them, stay in their childhood home, and maybe get married while there too."

Read on to admire Mendelsohn's Saks Potts and Wiederhoeft looks, the charming décor, and a handful of other meaningful touches that made this wedding one of a kind.

"The Friday welcome party was held in the garden behind a lovely little hotel called Olema House. I love BBQ (one of our first dates in NYC was at Hometown BBQ, where we still like to go), so we chose a BBQ dinner."

"A scene-setting welcome. Equal parts abandoned and menacing, beguiling and beautiful. I'm projecting a lot onto that sweet little welcome sign."

"I wore a Gabriela Hearst dress because I knew I could rewear it again and again and style it in different ways. I also liked that it looked a bit spooky with the black lace detailing. I paired it with my mom's black Manolo Blahnik 1990 kitten heels with a pearl tassel and a black patchwork-sequin Dries Van Noten coat from the 2010s. Dries ended up being a big designer this weekend—my mom and sister wore it, and Charles's suit Friday night was from the brand too. My sister lent me our paternal aunt Jojo's ring (she's no longer with us) to wear on my index finger. It's a gorgeous gold bauble ring with a center diamond. I also spritzed myself in Byredo Animalique."

"My mom, Pam, sourced all the vintage vases at various flea markets, eBay, estate sales, and antique shops because I told her I wanted eclectic, grandma-chic décor with moody, romantic florals that'd look at home on the set of Nosferatu or Only Lovers Left Alive. She then passed this along to her very talented friend Heidi Lorne, who did the floral arrangements per our Americana-gothic theme. We asked guests to choose their favorite one and take it home. I kind of wish I had snagged this one myself!"

"Two of my best friends, one of Charles's, and his parents did speeches that night, and they were so fantastic."

"Olema House was built in 1988, but the adjacent restaurant was an 1865 tavern, so it surely hosted some Barbary Coast troublemakers passing through for ale, roasted meats, and hotcakes. This inspired me to make the dress code 'Americana gothic lite,' like if a vampire was also a pioneer who loved BBQ before getting turned."

WWW Weddings tip: "If you're having a welcome party, try to get all the obligatory hellos, catch-ups, and small talk sorted out then. It can free up a lot of your time on the wedding day."

"My mom surprised us with live music that turned into karaoke once the drinks started flowing. My songs of choice were 'Creep' by Radiohead and 'What's Up?' by 4 Non Blondes. (Their drummer, Dawn, was my drum teacher during a short-lived fifth-grade phase.) I have a pretty grating singing voice but plenty of chutzpah… and YOGMO (you only get married once—hopefully). Charles sang Harry Styles. Then our braver guests took the mic throughout the rest of the night."

"I didn't have bridesmaids, so I invited about 10 friends over in the morning. It was chaotic, but I didn't mind. I only regret not starting to get ready earlier because I made my friends sit on the bathroom floor while I showered—they weren't phased since many of us went to all-girls school together or grew up going to summer camp and having weekend-long slumber parties throughout high school. I was definitely getting super distracted and dillydallying, but I didn't want to miss out on the fun."

"To get ready, I wanted to wear my Relax Lacrosse shorts and a hoodie, but everyone warned me I'd regret smudged makeup, so I changed—luckily borrowing a vintage robe from my sister."

WWW Weddings tip: "For your beauty look, work with what you've got instead of fighting it. I kept showing my makeup artist, Katie Nash, examples of people like Hunter Schafer looking drop-dead gorgeous and glowy. Though I love that ethereal look, it doesn't really work with my features. I pivoted and started looking for inspiration in women who had more similar coloring and features to my own."

"This was a Wiederhoeft corset that I paired with a [matching] skirt. I had a gut feeling ever since I saw this one online. During my fitting, the designer, Jackson Wiederhoeft, was such an absolute delight—a mix of dogged, attentive, fun, approachable, and knowledgeable. Jackson told me this story (I'm paraphrasing) about imagining themselves scrolling Tumblr back in the day and stumbling on a painting of a Victorian brunette lounging in her boudoir in a similar dress. They fell in love with the image (or the image they imagined), but when they tried to reblog it, the photo disappeared into the ether. That elusive, half-remembered beauty became the inspiration for the design: poetic and timeless yet also perfectly relatable to an earlier version of myself—a moody, literary, and nostalgic millennial teen. My shoes were by Maryam Nassir Zadeh, my favorite shoe brand. They're always so comfortable and last for years."

"Placing the hefty girls with a little help from my other girls. And there's my big sister Mal tying the final knot and looking simply stunning while doing so."

"I can always count on my best friend, Glo, to have a fan handy."

"A moment alone for Charles before our first look. Just himself and the ol' man in the mirror. He wore a Paul Smith double-breasted tuxedo and shirt with J.Crew shoes."

"I was determined to make Charles laugh during our first look with a Halloween mask, but first, a serious moment (semi) alone with said mask."

"My man giving me a post–mask reveal twirl."

WWW Weddings tip: "Our first kiss looks so awkward in photos. I wish I had researched or practiced posing, but maybe I don't? We were in the moment, and it didn't feel awkward, and that's what counts, right? But that leads me to another tip: Just enjoy and laugh at yourself when small things go wrong because I promise they will go wrong. A lot didn't go as planned—for example, we couldn't take many photos before the ceremony (like with my friends) because I was an hour late getting ready, there was a seating-chart mishap, and the printer broke."

"The 'wedding day happy tear' tap has officially been turned on."

"Kissing my husband under the eucalyptus tree tunnel."

"The weather was divine [on our wedding day]—70° and sunny with a bit of a breeze. I would've tricked myself into loving the moody fog if that were the card we were dealt, though."

"Tamborine Press did the invitations. She's based in Australia and is so sweet and patient. She also kept things very organized on Trello, which I appreciated. I was drawn to the little characters she includes in her designs and how her work is whimsical yet elevated. I had fun choosing vintage stamps. I found a Mustang stamp (a nod to the car I rented to go meet Charles), some featuring Grant Wood's 'American Gothic' (a nod to Friday's dress code), some with shells (which were on our tables), a box of crayons (also part of our tablescapes), old literary ones (since I love reading and writing), and others that were simply beautiful, like some with lace. My main inspiration for the save-the-dates was the mermaids on the tiles at Da Luigi in Capri. My family and I have been going there every summer since 2002."

"My mom surprised me by booking an accordionist! The accordion is an instrument of the highest esteem in my book—so evocative."

"I dreamt of a cauldron-esque punch bowl. If only a sip of the witch's brew could cast a spell, like temporarily turn us into fog."

Lewis watching his soon-to-be wife walk down the aisle.

"The first loves of my life and fashion icons, my mom and dad."

"My brother-in-law Sam was our officiant for the ceremony, and he did such a fantastic job. Charles and I both read our own vows, and they oddly mirrored each other's, but that was totally unintentional! Proof we are indeed similar in certain special ways."

Mendelsohn and Lewis share their first kiss as husband and wife.

A closer look at the elegant venue where the ceremony unfolded.

"We walked out to 'Only You' by Steve Monite. I wanted it to feel upbeat and unique but still reverent in our own way. My mom surprised us with these little silk hankies that guests swung."

"Here, Charles is supporting me down the deceivingly steep hill."

"Full disclosure: I ended up wanting to change out of my corset pretty much right after the ceremony. My second dress was a vintage Saks Potts piece, a brand I love. I stalked The RealReal until I found the perfect one. To make up for switching out of my gown early, I milked my second look into a third by layering a statement coat over it. It was a long, transparent white Simone Rocha coat stuffed with pink carnations, which kept the pink theme alive, and it covered the dress I wore for the rest of the night. I kept it on during the cake cutting and dinner."

"This is when the night really starts to whiz by. There was an awesome Afro-Cuban band, Pellejo Seco, playing during cocktail hour. Then they transitioned out, and our DJ played music curated mostly by Charles during dinner, which included dishes inspired by our favorite restaurants in Brooklyn, where we live. The brown-butter mortadella appetizers, for example, were inspired by a favorite app from Ingas Bar in our neighborhood."

"Charles's primary goal for the day, besides marrying me, was to have oysters, which came from right across the road. (The venue is across from Hog Island.)"

"My mom had maracas hand-painted and then tirelessly tied the ribbons herself."

"Everything my dad says is either comedic gold, a swear word, or an unsuspecting nugget of wisdom. I'm grateful we shared so many intimate laughs this day. Charles did his mother-son dance at the same time as the father-daughter dance to disperse the attention."

WWW Weddings tip: "If you don't fancy the idea of everyone staring at you while you trip over your two left feet during a choreographed first dance, consider a joint parent-child dance, each of you dancing with an in-law, or just a big group first dance."

"Pearl Holmes did such a beautiful job with the flowers. I love how she spliced in some ikebana arrangements. We also had chamberstick candleholders so everyone can channel their inner Victorian ghost running off into the night. I also knew I wanted butcher paper over the tablecloths with crayons set out in silver gravy dishes so our guests could doodle. Our planner cut out [the designs] and saved them all."

"Another must for me: quoting Black Phillip from The Witch on our lovely menus created by Tamborine Press. 'Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?'"

"Showing my sweet pal Gus my ring, which is custom-designed by the inimitable Liv Luttrell."

"I believe I'm requesting a napkin post–cake smash. Oh, and you can peek at the little napkin with a drawing of a mustang, a nod to the rental car I drove to meet Charles for the first time!"

"I had everyone gather in a circle to sway and swing to 'Goodnight Sweetheart' before heading out to the after-party."

"One last whisper kiss before we headed out to the saloon."

"Our after-party was at a local dive bar (which is definitely haunted, so that's a plus), the Old Western Saloon in Point Reyes Station. My mom organized a taco truck to be parked across the street, and that was a hit—honestly lifesaving the following morning. There was also a live band (Kevin Meade and Highway One) and lots of locals, which made it so much more fun and lively."

"I changed into Carel silver heels and grabbed a blue-gray patent-leather purse to have with me."

"We came in hot and ready to boogie with the band."

"Can't stop smooching!"

Photographer: Michelle Pullman of St. Chelle
Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: Katie Nash
Coordinator: Katy Oursler
Saturday Florist: Pearl Holmes
Wedding Caterer: Katie Powers Catering

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