‘Mad Men’ probably helped Jon Hamm secure stunning Big Sur wedding spot

A lot of couples planning their weddings may have eyed with envy the photos of Jon Hamm exchanging vows with Anna Osceola in a particularly stunning location: on a cliff in Big Sur, overlooking the Pacific Ocean at sunset.

Anderson Canyon, the location of Hamm’s star-studded wedding Saturday, has long been a popular Monterey County wedding venue, though this private, 90-acre estate is longer available for rent on a regular basis, said a local wedding planner. If the property was made available to Hamm, that’s probably because of his “Mad Men” connections, said Heidi Tinuviel, owner and director of design at Coastside Couture.

Jon Hamm marries fiancée Anna Osceola where they filmed ‘Mad Men’ finale https://t.co/nbcbDE81Ub pic.twitter.com/AZ4wgLX04m

— Page Six (@PageSix) June 25, 2023

As has been noted by multiple outlets, Hamm filmed the 2015 series finale of “Mad Men” on that cliff at Anderson Canyon. He also met Osceola at Anderson Canyon; she had a small part in the “Mad Men” episode. In the episode’s final scene, Hamm’s advertising executive character Don Draper comes up with the idea for 1970’s iconic “Hilltop” Coca-Cola TV ad while mediating on the cliff.

“It’s a stunning property about 40 minutes south of Ventana,” Tinuviel said. “Being so remote, it’s the perfect location for celebrity celebrations. Jon has a connection with the property after filming the finale of ‘Mad Men’ there. Love that they said I do there!”

Jon Hamm Marries Anna Osceola in 'Mad Men'-Inspired Wedding https://t.co/gI85yTvh9u

— TMZ (@TMZ) June 25, 2023

Unfortunately for Hamm and Osceola, the property’s remote location off Highway 1 didn’t stop at least one paparazzo from getting some photos and video of the cliffside ceremony, and of the arrival of his famous guests, who included Tina Fey, Brooke Shields, Larry David, Billy Crudup and John Slattery. Those photos ended up in the Daily Mail, Page Six, TMZ and People.

Tinuviel said her company planned a handful of weddings and other events at Anderson Canyon, which also features the architecturally distinctive Staude house, according to a 1997 Architectural Digest profile. The bluff-top home was built of glass and reclaimed redwood timbers in the 1960s by longtime owners, businessman Tony Staude and his sculptor wife Marguerite Brunswig.

Before that, the property, which includes the deep gorge of Anderson Creek, was the site of a work camp for convicts laboring on Highway 1 in the 1920 and 1930s. In the next decade, the convicts’ shacks became the makeshift home for novelist Henry Miller and other artists living a Bohemian lifestyle, according to the Henry Miller Library. The Staudes purchased the property in 1965, and held onto it until the mid-2000s.

The property was sold again in 2014 for “a staggering” $31 million, what was then one of the largest sale prices for residential real estate in Monterey County history, the Carmel Pine Cone reported. 

After that, the property was no longer regularly available for rent, Tinuviel said. Still, some weddings have continued to take place there in recent years, including a 2018 celebration that was featured in Martha Stewart weddings.

For Hamm’s wedding overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the actor, 52, looked dapper in a classic black tuxedo, while Osceola, 35, wore a plunging, strapless white gown with a high-slit skirt, Page Six reported. Osceola walked down the aisle as musicians played the theme to the 1967 James Bond film, “You Only Live Twice,” which the Daily Mail said probably was appropriate, given that “Mad Men”  was set in the 1960s.

In fact, Osceola’s vows during the ceremony included her seeming to point to a location on the property where she and Hamm filed a “Mad Men” scene together. In the show, Don Draper has fled his problems back in New York City by staying at the coastal spiritual retreat, which was based on the famed Esalen Institute. Osceola appeared as Clementine, a receptionist at the retreat. Her apparent reference to “Mad Men” in her wedding speech prompted the gusts to clap and smile