Hey there, Matt and Kat here!

We are so excited to celebrate with you at The Santa Lucia Preserve (“The Preserve” for short). Before the big day, we thought it would be fun to share a little bit about us and The Preserve.

First, a little M&K 101 since this day is allllll about us 😇. We met as high school freshmen at Stevenson in Pebble Beach. Matt was a boarding student from Fresno and Kat was a day student, growing up just a few minutes away in Carmel. We became fast friends but life took us on our own paths for college and young adulthood. At the ripe old age of 25, we reunited and sparks flew right away. We found ourselves attached at the hip and have been together ever since.

Next, a quick primer on The Preserve for our guests who will be experiencing it for the first time. It’s an incredibly magical place so we won’t spoil the surprise BUT it’s a roughly 20,000 acre plot of land in the Santa Lucia highlands that is home to only 200 or so properties, an epic pool & waterslide, and a golf course. The remaining 18,000 acres are held in a conservation land trust, leaving the land untouched and beautifully wild. It’s home to wild boar, turkeys, plenty of deer, hawks, grazing cows, pretty horsies, coastal shrub, madrone trees, soaring redwoods, and so much more.

The Kavner family built a home in The Preserve in 2006, and with Bob and Allyson being the prolific hosts they are, it quickly became a go-to gathering place for Kat’s high school buds. Matt made frequent trips to The Preserve to hang with Kat and friends during high school and beyond. And it was a weekend at The Preserve reuniting with some high school friends in July 2017 (hey Doug) that a spark lit between us and kicked off our relationship.

We couldn’t be more excited to share this most special weekend with you in the most special place we know.