Welcome Party

Montecito Club

Wedding Day

Spring

Our Wedding

Despite both growing up in Tennessee, Alex and Stevie’s journey began in the vibrant midwestern city of Chicago. Alex, a graduate of The University of Chicago, started his career in investment banking, while Stevie, a University of Tennessee alumna, moved to Chicago from Knoxville in September 2019 for a new adventure. Although Stevie knew only a few people in Chicago, she was excited to make more friends and live in a city she used to dream of living in! &nbsp;In March 2020, her coworker Carly Mayrose invited her to a free happy hour promoting a local business. That evening, Stevie was also planning to meet Nicholas Heim, his sister Maddie, her now-husband Ryan Deveikis, and Alex for dinner. Seizing the opportunity, Stevie invited Nicholas and Maddie to join her at the happy hour, hoping Nicholas would extend the invite to Alex. Stevie knew of Alex through Nicholas and always thought he was cute, so she was excited that she was finally getting to meet him! Alex accepted the invitation to join everyone, and it was at this gathering that their love story began. Their next&nbsp;encounter was on St. Patrick’s Day, just before Chicago went into lockdown due to COVID-19. During quarantine, Alex and Stevie’s relationship deepened, and they cherished the time spent together. Their timing of meeting was perfect!&nbsp;They made their relationship official in May of 2020. Fast forward two years, and Alex and Stevie were settling into their first apartment in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood. They loved their new home and the process of making it their own. However, three months later Alex received a job offer that required them to move to Newport Beach, CA. In November 2022, they embarked on another adventure, this time across the country! California living quickly became a favorite lifestyle for Alex and Stevie, with frequent trips to the beach, Lake Tahoe, Catalina Island, Mammoth Lakes, Big Bear, and San Francisco. In November 2023, while Stevie was in LA for a work trip, she invited Alex to join her so they could meet up with his sister Courtney and her boyfriend Brian Murphy. Though they had often talked about visiting Santa Barbara, they never seemed to find the time. But they thought now could be the opportunity since they were halfway there. Unbeknownst to Stevie, Alex had already picked up her engagement ring and booked a hotel in Santa Barbara. He suggested they spend the weekend there alone, despite Stevie’s attempt to include Courtney and Brian for a couples trip. They drove up to Santa Barbara, enjoying a delightful evening at San Ysidro Ranch. The next day, Alex suggested a day filled with their favorite activities: coffee, hiking, wine tasting, and a sunset view. Stevie, thinking it was a typical day out, eagerly agreed. They hiked Cool Spring Loop, enjoyed wine at Deep Sea Wine Tasting, and headed to the beach just in time for sunset. As they were taking some photos, Alex got down on one knee and proposed, making the moment unforgettable.

Our Story

Alex and Stevie are choosing to marry in Santa Barbara to share the beauty of the place where they pledged their lives to each other. The date, July 12, holds special significance as it marks the anniversary of Stevie’s Nana, Flora Turski Bassett, and her grandfather, Stefan Turski’s wedding at St. Andrews Cathedral in Dundee, Scotland, on July 12, 1945. July 12, 2025, would have been their 80th wedding anniversary.

July 12th Significance 

Photos

Bridesmaids

Cara Hall

Caitlin Watson

Courtney Dunn

Madelynn Thrasher

Rachel Spangler

Sydney Dennis

Groomsmen

Nicholas Heim

Jeremy Atos

Noah Goldblatt

Silas Dean

Grant Myers

Flower Girl

Eloise Hall

Officiant

Michael Watson

Wedding Party

Breakfast

- Oak Bakery- Jeannine's- Caje- Lighthouse Coffee- Goat Tree- Dart Coffee- Chad's Cafe

Lunch/Dinner

- The Lark- Barbareño- Augie's of Santa Barbara- The Black Sheep- Tres Luna- Toma- Finney's Craft House- Sandbar Cocina y Tequila- Oku Sushi- Zaytoon- Loquita- Corazon Cocina- Bibi Ji- Miramar Beach Bar- San Ysidro Ranch $$$

Places to Eat

Drinks

Head over to the Funk Zone and check out some highly recommend places for a cocktail or to boogie! *Some places may charge a cover fee on weekends*

Beach Bars/Restaurants 

- Miramar Beach Bar- Shoreline Beach Cafe- Reunion Kitchen + Bar- Coral Casino and Beach Club

Breweries:

- Validation Ale (serves cocktails and wine as well)- Lama Dog- Third Window Brewing- The Mill- Night Lizard Brewing Company&nbsp;

Cocktail Bars: 

- Test Pilot- Bobcat Room- The Pickle Room- Rodeo Room- Shaker Mill- Pearl Social- Lab Social- Good Lion

Bars for dancing:

- Backstage- Red Piano- EOS Lounge- Wildcat Lounge- Indochine- Studio Bar

Sports Bars/Casual Bars:

- Elsies Tavern (cash only)- Sandbar - has live music -O'Malley's- Dargans- Sharkeez- Joe’s Cafe - known for having strong cocktails! - James Joyce&nbsp;-Whiskey Richards- Press Bar - Mel's Bar and Grill - The Tully

Did someone say wine?

Here are some tasting rooms we enjoy plus some highly recommended options! **Some of these places require a reservation so be sure to check that out!** - Deep Sea- Grassini Family Vineyards- Pali Wine Co- Santa Barbara Winery- Corks n' Crowns- Whitcraft

Celebration Cruises of Santa Barbara

The Funk Zone has a plethora of shopping, food, and drinks!

The Funk Zone

Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

You can’t go wrong at any place named&nbsp;<a href="https://santabarbaraca.com/itinerary/the-definitive-guide-to-hiking-inspiration-point-in-santa-barbara/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Inspiration Point</a>. There are a couple of ways to reach the panoramic views about 1,800 feet above Santa Barbara. Taking San Roque Road to the Jesusita Trail is just under an 8-mile round trip, with about 1,400 feet of elevation gain. A shorter alternative is to take Tunnel Road to Jesusita, which is about a 3.75-mile round trip, but you don’t have the ocean views on the way up. Whichever way you decide to get there, you’ll enjoy hiking through the oaks and sycamores at lower elevations, and the views at the top are, well, inspirational.

Inspiration Point Trailhead

The&nbsp;<a href="https://santabarbaraca.com/businesses/santa-barbara-botanic-garden/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Santa Barbara Botanic Garden</a>&nbsp;is a great place to explore on your own or with a docent to help you discover everything to see in this 78-acre preserve. You’ll find more than five miles of paths to explore everything from cool redwoods&nbsp;groves to meadows full of wildflowers in the spring.

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

Known for its many pools and perennial streams that move through coldwater and Matilija sandstone. Several trails are accessible including East Fork, West Fork, and Tangerine Falls.&nbsp;

Cold Spring Trailhead

Head to San Ysidro Ranch to check out their gorgeous gardens! If you are feeling hungry they have 3 fantastic restaurants on-site.

San Ysidro Ranch

Santa Barbara Zoo

Superior Court Of California County Of Santa Barbara

Butterfly Beach

East Beach, Santa Barbara, CA

This will be a whole day excursion!

Channel Islands National Park

On this site you can find any and everything to do in Santa Barbara!

Santa Barbara The America Riviera

Things to Do

July is one of the busiest months for Santa Barbara, so please book your accommodations sooner rather than later! I have some options listed here but feel free to look at other options in your price range on your own! There are plenty of hotel options in the area. The welcome party (exact location TBD) will be in Downtown Santa Barbara. The ceremony and reception are in Montecito, roughly a 5 minute drive from downtown Santa Barbara. We recommend staying downtown but you can look for accommodations as far south as Carpinteria (20 mins from downtown, 15 minutes from Montecito Country Club), I do not recommend staying more south than that unless you are okay with driving/ubering 30 minutes or more.

Coast Village Inn

The Inn at East Beach

Agave Inn

Hotel Milo Santa Barbara

The Upham

Best Western Plus Santa Barbara

Hyatt Place Santa Barbara

Hampton Inn Santa Barbara/Goleta

Hotel Santa Barbara

Comfort Inn & Suites Ventura Beach

Clocktower Inn Ventura

Hotel Californian

Airbnb or Vrbo

Hotels

Santa Barbara Airport

We advise on flying into this airport out of convenience. If you do not want to rent a car or drive 2 hours this will be more cost effective. You may have a connecting flight as this is a smaller airport.