Destination Bliss: Carmel by the Sea

Photographs and art direction by Pete Henze

Destination weddings allow wedding couples and their guests to escape the trappings of daily life during the days leading up to the most magical of all days. For Danelle Selinger and Brent Griebenow, the destination was Carmel by the Sea, just 300 miles up the coast from the South Bay, where they, their families and many of their closest friends live.

Danelle and bridesmaids Casie Formiller, Jamie Romero, Gayla Moghannam and Heidi Wolf gather after the wedding in the stone walled garden of the 100-year-old Spindrift estate.

Carmel’s rocky, flower-covered seascapes are a soothing antidote to visually, over-stimulated South Bayans. But at the same time, Carmel offers the comforting familiarity of the ocean the couple and their friends grew up alongside of.

Junior groomsman Jakob Cotter-Eaton waits for the start of the ceremony in the entryway of the Spindrift estate.

The wedding took place at the Spindrift Estate, located on a scenic cove with a cliff-side trail leading down to the beach. Spindrift Estate provided both a magnificent outdoor location for the wedding ceremony and accommodations for the wedding party and family.

Junior bridesmaids Morgan Cotter-Eaton and Carli Moghannam await the start of the ceremony while looking at an iPhone photo of their soon-to-be new Uncle Brent.