Natalia Renna & Zachary Nathanson

Even before the main event, Natalia Renna (28 and a digital marketing strategist) and Zachary (Zach) Nathanson (30 and a small-business owner) infused their wedding weekend with unique personalization. The Los Angeles–based couple invited 210 loved ones to California’s Ojai Valley for three days of festive events to celebrate their marriage. First on deck? A special event that honored their heritage.

Family ties have always been central to the couple’s relationship. So much so that Natalia and Zach looked to their respective family matriarchs for inspiration for the rehearsal dinner.

As a nod to their grandmothers’ Jewish and Italian roots in the Bronx, New York, the couple created an old-school Italian pizza joint meets Jewish deli in the middle of a field for their prewedding celebration. “Our vision for the rehearsal dinner was to honor our families and heritage, specifically our grandmothers,” says Natalia. While the grandmothers didn’t know each other during their youth, they share similar life journeys.

“We recently discovered that they grew up a few blocks from each other in the Bronx,” Natalia says. “That inspired a theme that tied together Jewish and Italian design components.” Additionally, the Renna family’s food business started as a pizzeria in San Diego, making the rehearsal dinner theme all the more meaningful.

Natalia explains that the inspiration board for this event included “menus and signage from restaurants, pizzerias and delis that fit the look of what we were going for. We envisioned a lot of checkered prints and playful fonts. Our amazing vendors brought everything to life.” The team certainly didn’t disappoint with the red, black and white event.

“We brought in restaurant booths, a 1957 Porsche Speedster, red-and-white checkered tablecloths, a black-and-white dance floor and custom bars to create the vintage feel we wanted,” says Natalia. Vinyl banquettes formed booths that looked right out of an eatery. A backdrop anchoring the vignette showcased photos of relatives going back to the early 1900s. As another nod to the grandmothers, a street sign bore the names of the roads where the women grew up. Natalia says that “everything felt so custom and thoughtful.”

Of course, no Jewish deli meets Italian pizzeria event is complete without a fantastic menu. Guests enjoyed a madeto-order pasta station, while tunes by Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Lou Monte played in the background. Natalia’s grandmother Sara also made her famous pignoli cookies.

And what does one wear to a deli-slashpizzeria event? Natalia rocked a multicolor red-and-orange slip dress befitting the palette. Zach looked dapper in a dark green suit and knit polo.

Event Site: Ojai Valley Inn, Ojai, CA

Photography: Logan Cole

Videography:

Quail & the Dove Event Planning + Design: Details Darling

Floral Design: Going Steady Studios

Dress: Cult Gaia

Suit: Suitsupply

Hair: DIY

Makeup: Shadi Malek

Invitations: Suite Paperie

Rentals: Bella Vista Designs; Theoni

Catering: Ojai Valley Inn

Rehearsal dinners are special since they give to-be-weds a little extra time with loved ones who are in town for the big day. Natalia recalls how meaningful and stressrelieving it was to just spend time with the very family members who inspired the event. “The second we saw everyone having fun, all our prewedding stress melted away,” she recalls. “It brought tears to our eyes to see everything we planned come to life and everyone we love in one place.”