Those close to Maida Stupski and Josh Brankman have come to expect the unexpected from the design-savvy couple, who succeeded in holding a decidedly modern wedding celebration set amidst the rustic charm of California’s wine country. The pair chose the Cornerstone Gardens in wine country’s Carneros region for its contemporary elegance, warm climate and most importantly, its innovative use of space and design. “Cornerstone perfectly matched our design aesthetic in renovating our new home—very modern and understated,” says Maida. The couple’s shared enthusiasm in combining their San Francisco dwellings influenced the visual direction of their wedding decor. 

“I fell completely head over heels fast!” Maida says about meeting Josh through their mutual teaching profession. “He always kept me in hysterical laughter, and for me, a sense of humor is the most attractive trait in a man,” she says.  A year into their romantic courtship, Josh proposed to Maida in his characteristically sweet and spontaneous way while vacationing in a quaint fishing village along the Ucitan Peninsula in Mexico. “It’s amazing that one can be completely surprised while anticipating that  big moment of their life!” she says of Josh’s proposal. 

The weekend festivities began on the eve of the wedding with a cordial dessert party held at Maida and Josh’s newly renovated home in San Francisco. The casual souiree gave out-of-town guests a chance to get acquainted. “We were excited to show everyone around the city streets that we call home,” Maida says. The mother-of-the-bride arranged for a day of beauty and relaxation for the ladies at Bliss Spa in the W San Francisco.   

The day of the wedding guests arrived at the gallery-style gardens delightfully astonished to find an iconic “Blue Tree”—a 150’ tree covered with plastic blue ornaments creating a truly surreal vision in nature. “The Blue Tree was the big design inspiration for the entire day!” Maida says.  Maida turned to coordinator Alison Hotchkiss of Alison Events and event designer Nicole Sillapere to handle all of the unique details of the unconventional celebration. “I admired Alison’s creativity and her fresh way of presenting weddings,” Maida says. Everything about the event, from the sky-blue color palette to the unique lighting design and offbeat charm of the location, reflected the couple’s personal style.  

As the ceremony commenced, guests made their way to the festive display gardens designed by renowned landscape architect Topher Delaney, known for her fun, yet sophisticated approach to environmental design. Minister Hank Basayne presided over the intimate ceremony held amid white birch trees and playful giant balls of rope. “We furthered the dreamlike environment by choosing crisp white slipcovers for the ceremony seating, each with three pockets containing a flower, a pen, and an intriguing ball on which guests were asked to inscribe a wish for the couple, which they later hung on a sculptural tree,” Sillapere says. The bride looked especially beautiful that afternoon in a mauve silk Ristarose gown carrying a bouquet of fuchsia dahlias, a bright contrast to the serene space. “Something about wearing a nontraditional wedding dress was appealing to me,” says Maida. “I thought ‘this is my opportunity to wear something fantastic—my red carpet moment!’” Josh was handsome donning a pinstripe Italian suit and Prada shoes. 

To make their wedding day particularly memorable, the pair incorporated clever and meaningful ways to pay tribute to their parents. In honor of Maida’s dad who often vacations on the island of Oahu, the couple presented fragrant ginger leis during the ceremony in the spirit of Hawaii. The bride had Sillapere incorporate the delicate Australian kangaroo paw flower into the floral arrangements in tribute to her mother’s second home in Australia. “It was a fun way of acknowledging an important and special place in her life,” Maida says. And in recognition of the groom’s mother, diners were treated to  one of her famous Puerto Rican dishes that Sage Catering adapted for the large wedding party. 

Hotchkiss and Sillapere softly transformed the rustic barn with white fabric panels that created a “blank” canvas for the artful decor. Simple arrangements of chocolate cosmos sat in sky-blue vases atop chocolate-brown linens for a sophisticated look. Clusters of blue paper lanterns were playfully displayed throughout the space that captured the couple’s contemporary style in an old setting. “We suspended planks from the ceiling for an unexpected and whimsical escort card display which later held an abundance of cupcakes and candlelight for the dancing and reveling,” Sillapere says. 

Even the newlyweds’ departure was truly original. Maida and Josh cuddled in the back of a vintage Cadillac convertible as they were chauffeured beneath the flickering lights of the Golden Gate Bridge, reveling in a night they will always remember.