I love, love, loved this wedding and know that some of you will die for it too. So it’s only appropriate to make it our next sneak peek! The full gallery of images can be found right here. And even though there are tons of steal-worthy details, I have to admit, it’s the adorable paper goods that really got me.
To see the full wedding, click here!
We didn’t want a ‘traditional’ wedding in many ways. We really wanted a fun, relaxed, creative wedding that didn’t cost us a fortune. Owning my own letterpress business {Flora and Fauna Press} and loving any sort of creative project, I knew I was going to be crafting the majority of this wedding myself.
Knowing that many of our guest were flying from the midwest, we wanted to make sure they had a good time. Once we found our venue, a lot of our decisions were based on the style of the ranch. We served BBQ ribs, chicken and smoked sausages. The caterers brought in the giant BBQ, and started grilling during cocktail hour, the spectacle really built up the excitement for dinner. I was a bit concerned about the messiness prior, so I found BBQ themed wet-naps and bibs, tied them with grossgrain ribbon and placed them on each plate.
The dress. I had a hard time finding something moderately priced, not too fancy but not too casual. I fortunately found Elizabeth Dye via Etsy. She was fantastic! We worked over email and she helped me create a unique dress within my budget. I was a bit nervous, not seeing it in person, but when it arrived I was delighted! I originally had the jacket made for the reception, but I liked it so much I decided to wear it the whole time.
The invites were inspired by the swiss-dots on my dress and of course, the ranch. I opted for more of a vintage-country chic, opposed to a rustic vibe. Many of the decor decisions were influenced by the invites. The colors were mostly black and white with pops of color: dark orange-red, with a bit of sap green.
The ranch provided mis-matched China, so I played off of this by buying mismatched glass and milk-glass vases and votives for the tables. I made the polka dot table runners, and collected vintage wooden salt and pepper shakers for the tables.I letterpress printed the escort cards, table numbers, cocktail napkins and candy bags. I decorated the dog collar and flower girl basket too.
Creating the flower arrangements was the biggest risk for me. I found a wholesaler and she helped me pick out some flowers and filler to suit my vision and color scheme. I chose Dark Milva roses, Rununculas, Black Millet, Scotch Broom, Green Mist and and Green Amaranthus. The orange berry clusters were picked on site, on the suggestion from the ranch owners, and were a perfect nice accent. My junior bridesmaid {my niece } made her own bouquet, I just helped her wrap it. I had practiced making my bouquet a few times prior, and it helped tremendously.
We are so lucky to have wonderful friends who pitched in to make it a very special day. The sound, the music, my hairstylist, our photographer, and our officiant all are dear friends. Not to mention the help prepping and setting up from our families. Planning your own wedding is a lot of work!
Vendors: Invitations + Stationery: Flora and Fauna Press / Event Design & Flowers: Bride / Venue: The Condor’s Nest Ranch / Photography: Michael Underwood / Catering: Smokin Mo’s BBQ, Huntington Beach / Cupcakes: Baby-cakes Cupcakes, Temecula / Brides Dress: Custom by Elizabeth Dye Brides Shoes: Givenchy / Grooms Suit: Christian Dior / Grooms Shoes: Paul Smith