There’s nothing like a beach wedding – and we love how Neysa and Tom made the most of their seaside setting on the California Coast with bright colors, beautiful tropical flowers, and a chuppah right on the cliffs above Pismo Beach!
Keeping with the vibrant color scheme, Neysa and Tom chose a beautiful ketubah by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor 1800ketubah.com. The brightly colored Tree of Life design was personally meaningful to the couple, and aesthetically it fit right in with the joyous look of the day! Don’t miss it in the photos by Stephanie Secrest of Secrest Weddings.
Looking at this glorious day, you’d never guess Neysa and Tom pulled it off while adjusting to life as new parents – but that’s exactly what happened: they welcomed their first child just two months before the big day, and little Tyce was an adorable VIP at the wedding!
Now over to Neysa…
How We Met
Neysa and Tom met in South Bend Indiana in 2014 while Neysa was in law school and Tom was in business school. Tom likes to say he helped Neysa move into her apartment. Neysa likes to say that he put a box in an elevator for her and went on his way. Tom was wearing a cut off tank top, which is why the thought of dating Tom did not initially cross Neysa’s mind.
Over the next year, Neysa and Tom would occasionally run into each other around campus, mostly at the local bars. Neysa could easily spot Tall Tom’s head sticking out from across the bar and come up to say hi and Tom would buy her a drink. After a few of these chance encounters, Tom finally worked up the courage to ask for her number. But it wasn’t until finally hitting it off at a joint MBA-Law School tailgate at a Notre Dame game that Tom and Neysa really caught each other’s attention. Tom asked Neysa on a first date, dinner at Rocco’s (pizza obviously) and drinks at ‘That Place’ (yes, that’s the actual name), which was followed by a second date…Neysa’s first time ice skating. And that leads us to where we are today.
About 6 months after their first date, Tom and Neysa both graduated from Notre Dame but unfortunately moved to completely opposite sides of the country. Tom moved to Washington, D.C. for a Management Consulting job and Neysa to Los Angeles for 2-year fellowship working with foster youth. The long-distance was hard but Tom and Neysa did everything they could to make it work and took FULL advantage of all the travel points that Tom racked up with his consulting job. Over the next 2 years, Neysa would come to DC, Tom would travel to LA, and they would meet everywhere in between (Banff, Denver, Florida, Dallas, Chicago, etc.).
After a long 2.5 years (and a LOT of patience from Neysa), Tom finally convinced his company to transfer him to a project in Calgary, Canada that would allow him to be based in Los Angeles. Tom finally completed his move to Los Angeles in May of 2018. Either way, neither of them could have known that a short random encounter would lead to forever.
A Wedding by the Sea
We got married at Dolphin Bay in Pismo Beach. Neysa is from San Luis Obispo and loves the beach. We toured many venues along the California coast but instantly loved the beauty of Dolphin Bay. The ceremony took place right on the cliffs by the beach, which was Neysa’s dream wedding. It also was close to her family and allowed a lot of her friends and family easy access to the wedding. Since Tom is from Indiana, it was a bit more challenging for his friends and family to come, but since our wedding took place right as things were opening up after COVID, people seemed to jump at the chance for a beach vacation!
Beach Vibes
We really tried to focus on the details to make the wedding special for us. A friend of Neysa’s played music for the guests before the ceremony and then his band performed at our happy hour. We incorporated a lot of beach themes into our wedding, including beautiful tropical flowers and lots of bright colors.
Since we met at Notre Dame, we had Notre Dame themed cookies. Tom loves honey so we gave our guests some small honey jars to take home as well as delicious chocolate from Tom’s favorite place in Indiana, DeBrand Fine Chocolates. Lastly, we had In N Out burgers and fries as a late night snack for guests since so many were from the Midwest and might have never had it before. We did not have a wedding planner but the wedding coordinator for Dolphin Bay was extremely helpful and a joy to work with!
Dress
Neysa does not even remember the dress designer, that was not really important to her. She spent a whole day with her friends and family looking for a dress in Los Angeles but never found one. The next day, after everyone but her mom and aunt had left, they went to a dress shop outside of downtown Los Angeles and it was one of the first dresses she saw. It was the first dress she put on and immediately said she loved.
Ceremony & Chuppah
Tom’s uncle, also named Tom, was our officiant and he wrote the whole ceremony on his own, it was beautiful. We also had Neysa’s aunt talk about what the ketubah meant and read a portion of it. Neysa and Tom wrote their own vows and both of them had a few tears in their eyes after hearing their partners. The chuppah was donated by the floral designer and there were beautiful tropical flowers along the sides of it.
Ketubah
We ordered it from 1800ketubah.com and the design was The Tree of Life. The symbol of the tree of life was meaningful to both bride and groom and they had several items with it prior to their wedding so it seemed like a natural fit. It was also beautifully crafted with bright colors, another detail the bride especially loved.
Our music choice
Neysa walked down the aisle to an acoustic version of ‘Baby I Love Your Way’. Tom and Neysa danced to ‘Never Stop’ by SafetySuit and it was perfect. We had a DJ and he took requests from the guests, which was the best idea because EVERYONE was dancing. The next day, the hotel staff told us that they had never seen so many guests on the dance floor and that it was such a blast!
Flowers
We asked the florist, Fluid Bloom for bright, tropical flowers and she did not disappoint!
Photographer and videographer
We used Stephanie Secrest of Secrest Weddings as our photographer. Honestly, because of COVID and then Neysa being pregnant, we had to change our dates a few times. Stephanie was available and really sweet so we went with her. We got lucky and she was great! We used Central Coast Videography for our video.
Extra Details
On July 12 at 9:38pm, our lives forever changed as we welcomed our little man, Tyce Doermer Nankervis Callen, into the world. He is the sweetest and cutest little boy. He definitely has his mom’s eyes, appetite, energy, and curiosity of the world around him, while he has his dad’s good looks, genius intelligence, size (based on how much he’s grown in a few short weeks!), and hairline….unfortunately for him.
Despite having a baby two months before our wedding date, we did not let that stop us. In fact, having Tyce walk down the aisle with Neysa’s mom made it even more special. While we were both tired, we would not have wanted it any other way.
Honeymoon
We went to South Africa, Zambia and Botswana. Instead of asking for gifts from guests we asked for money towards our honeymoon. It was so worth it and we went big. We would never have been able to afford the honeymoon we had without it and it was truly magical.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Just let things go. Neysa wanted to wear a veil in her bun as she was walking down the aisle. However, it fell off in the beginning of her precessional walk. Instead of getting upset or trying to fix it, she just let it go and kept walking. Ultimately, the most important thing is celebrating with your partner, family and friends and no one will remember the rest.
NEYSA & TOM’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Secrest Weddings
Ketubah – 1800ketubah.com {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Videography – Central Coast Videography
Venue – Dolphin Bay
Flowers – Fluid Bloom
DJ – Epic Entertainment Group
Smash The Glass Pouch – Smashing The Glass Etsy Shop {or join Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club and get one for free!}
If you’re a Jewish or Jew-ish bride-to-be, you’ll want to join Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club. Guided by the world’s number 1 Jewish wedding expert, Karen Cinnamon, Brides Club is the private community for Jewish and Jew-ish brides that removes wedstress and indecision and gives you what you need to plan with confidence during these uncertain times. Join our Brides Club here.
