Ashley Hollister and Andrew Norton exchange vows amid the sprawling natural beauty of the 14,500-acre oasis acquired by her great-great-grandfather
Photography by KAPE PHOTOGRAPHY
Words by ELIZABETH VARNELL
The couple takes a spin above the Pacific at Hollister Ranch.
Ashley Hollister, who runs an international development consultancy primary working with the United Nations, had flown back from Rwanda for a friend’s wedding when flights were canceled and airports closed because of the pandemic. She found herself on her brother’s Santa Barbara front porch across the street from Andrew Norton, whom she’d known since middle school. Norton, an engineer working for a retina imaging company, says, “I looked up and saw Ashley and thought, ‘That’s fantastic; Ashley’s back in town.’”
After 10 years in East Africa, Hollister spent most of the pandemic on Hollister Ranch, where her father had spent much of his childhood. She and Norton hiked the rolling ranch land on the Gaviota coast, a 14,500-acre oasis acquired in the 19th century by her great-great-grandfather, rancher and entrepreneur Col. W. W. Hollister, and now run by an owner’s association. “We would just walk and talk and run from bees,” says Hollister. The area’s secluded trails are also where Norton proposed.
Given their ties to the land, the pair staged an intimate wedding at Hollister House. “My dad married us and my mom walked me down the aisle,” says Hollister. Her mother, Joanne Hollister, also draped the back entrance of the house with proteas and rhododendrons. The following day, the couple led a hike into the Santa Inez mountains and held a larger reception at Rancho Feliz, Hollister’s aunt’s avocado ranch in Carpinteria. “The whole weekend was a community effort,” says Hollister. “It made us feel so supported as a couple.”
A sunlit brunch following the ceremony at the Ranch.
Flowers arranged by the mother of the bride with Tsugumi Rew.
A moment alone under the oaks.
Cutting the cake at a larger gathering in Carpinteria.
Dress: Vivienne Westwood
Veil: Georgine
Makeup: 805 Makeup
Hair: Cédric Charneau of Xavier Scordo Salon
Catering: Ursula O’Neill, Catering Connection
Venue: Hollister Ranch
Cake: Room for Cake
Feature image: The wedding at Hollister Ranch.
This story originally appeared in the Winter 2023/2024 issue of C Weddings.
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