Jaclyn Heath and Zach Veenstra, who own men’s wedding ring company Juste, were introduced during her first week of college. “My new best friend and I went to our first party, and it got broken up shortly after,” she explains. “Walking out, I see a very cute guy, and that’s when I met Zach!” After dating for six years, he proposed at a winery in St Tropez.
The engaged couple wanted a venue that connected them to the California environment, so when their planner, Lacy Geary, sent them Cuffey’s Cove Ranch in Mendocino, Zach told Jaclyn to book it for their summer date. “It looked like my home state of Texas, had views of the ocean that Zach wanted, and also looked like a little bit of Europe,” the bride explains. “We wanted a minimal, natural look that created a space for our guests to enjoy while using nature as the primary decor.”
Jaclyn has always loved wedding gowns with sleeves and wanted to create a full look with a headpiece and veil, rather than it be all about the dress. She custom-made the design with Anomalie, and Zach also had a hand in creating his deep blue suit that he wore without a belt and tie.
On the day-of, everyone arrived via shuttle for the 6:00 p.m. ceremony. “My step-brother is a musical genius and composed all of our ceremony music and wrote a special piece for my walk down the aisle,” Jaclyn explains. To introduce their vows, the bride’s brother-in-law, Kramer, mentioned that when he had sent the couple a draft of the ceremony, Zach had emailed saying they’d decided to go in a different direction…with a “just kidding” at the end of the email that Kramer didn’t make it to before showing Jaclyn’s sister. “Shortly after, I received a FaceTime with an unhappy, pregnant sister, but it made for a great memory!”
After the 20-minute ceremony concluded with them being announced as husband and wife, they led everyone to the outdoor reception space, where a family-style dinner made by Assaggiare Mendocino would be served on tables from Bright Event Rentals. La Tavola linens added warmth to the evening along with beautiful florals from Hart Floral Design. Guests found Casamigos shots as their name cards at their seats and minimalistic menus created by Paper Birch Designs, and the party kicked off around 9:00 p.m. with deejays from Dart Collective.
The new Mr. and Mrs. had their first dance to a mash-up of “Adore You” by Miley Cyrus and “Magic” by Coldplay played by Louisa Wendorff. And later in the night, limbo was started with guests’ belts.
Once the reception ended, Zach surprised his wife with a gorgeous hotel room with a view of the water. “We didn’t have an after-party, and after the wedding, we sat in hotel robes and just smiled thinking about the night,” Jaclyn says. For their honeymoon, they went back to their favorite place in Eze, France to relax, explore, and go boating on the riviera.
