The California sun was shining bright on this dreamy and romantic ranch wedding captured by Sarah Maren Photography. The ceremony atop the rolling hills is just breath-taking! Even though it was a summer wedding, the couple infused their love of fall with rich burgundy and plum hues to pair with their light and summery blush, making the perfect combination. And we love that the bride was able to incorporate some of her beloved grandmother’s gown even though it didn’t work out for her to wear it herself!
From the start, Greg and I knew we wanted a rustic wedding with a barn. We love the barn setting and that just had to be a part of our wedding day. We looked into a few before seeing Taber Ranch and as soon as we pulled in to this beautiful little ranch our minds were made up. The rest of the vision kind of came to fruition once that was decided. I knew I wanted a hint of elegance thrown in with the rustic vision so our color scheme was very natural and romantic. My original hope was to be married in Fall because it’s our favorite season but the timing of everything just didn’t seem to work out that way. So instead of having a fall wedding we had a summer wedding with fall floral colors thrown in. I knew I wanted some burgundy and wine to pop from the blush and creme tones of the rest of the wedding and my florist really hit my vision for that spot on. We wanted it to be a comfortable and carefree wedding!
My grandma, mother’s mom, passed away two years ago and it was devastating for me. She was one of the most amazing people I knew and one of my best friends. It was hard for me planning my wedding and knowing that she wouldn’t be there. I had planned to try and wear her wedding dress but it just didn’t work out so instead I had taken a piece of lace from her fabric and had the seamstress sew it to the inside of my dress. It was something that was so unbelievably special to me and it felt like she was right there with me the whole time. For my something borrowed I used one of her beautiful handkerchiefs and held it with me at the ceremony. These little pieces of her close to me on my wedding day brought me so much comfort and love.
For the bridesmaids dresses, from the beginning I knew I wanted them to be long and for the girls to pick them out on their own. I gave them a cream and blush color scheme to go off of and let them choose whatever they felt the most comfortable in. I wanted them to have the choice for the most part. And I didn’t see all of their dresses together until the day of the wedding and for them not shopping together they all looked amazing and perfectly complimentary! I was so happy!
The whole day was just incredible. I would have to say our first look was one of my favorite moments. We had decided to see each other before the ceremony and we were both so glad we did. Gregory and I both felt so anxious and nervous prior to the ceremony, we just wanted to get married! Being able to see each other before was so comforting and gave us a moment to have to ourselves, a reminder of what our wedding day was about, celebrating our next adventure together.
The ceremony took place on top of a hill overlooking vineyards and rolling hills. It was magical to say “I Do” up there with my best friend. My uncle was our officiant and it brought such a loving and intimate aspect to our ceremony. I will never forget that moment.
Our main colors were very natural with creams and blushes and lots of greenery so I wanted some pops of dark burgundy and wine to bring in a little fall color. My flowers came from a local farm near the venue so we didn’t pick certain types, it was all based on whatever was in bloom around the time of the wedding. Having the flowers be dependent on the season was amazing and made it more of a surprise for me when my florist delivered my bouquet on the day. I loved that they were grown just down the road from our venue, it gave it a very organic an natural earthy feel that I love!
Gregory and I had a hard time deciding on favors. We had been to a number of weddings where the favors were either left behind or just never taken by guests. We really didn’t want to spend a lot of money on something that no one really needed and would potentially go to waste. Looking through Etsy one day, we came across an artist who sketches portraits and turns them into temporary tattoos and we were sold! It was so us! We sent a picture of the two of us together and she had sketched it spot on with the date of our wedding below. We set up a little temporary tattoo station next to the bar with a squirt bottle and sponge and a sign that read “Grab a drink and get some ink.” It was such a hit! And it was so fun to see everyone walking around with our faces on different body parts just getting a laugh out of it. The best decision we made!
Another favorite moment for us was during cocktail hour. Everyone else went down to enjoy appetizers and our drink “Rosemarry Me” and we were whisked away in a red convertible cadillac to a hilltop with a huge tree that overlooked the reception. We took pictures up on that hill giving the guests a fun way to watch us take our pictures under the sunset while allowing Gregory and I to have another moment together to take it all in.
Just watching everyone enjoy themselves and dance and have a great time was such a nice feeling. We had so many people come up to us and say it was one of the best weddings they had been to which meant so much to us. I could go on and on but our whole day was really so memorable and magical!
Photography | Sarah Maren Photography | Venue | Taber Ranch | Floral | Full Belly Floral | Cake | Freeport Bakery | Catering | All Seasons, All Reasons | DJ | SILVERADO DJ | Gown | Justin Alexander from Bride to Be Couture | Hair | Natalie Nichols | Makeup | Morgan Merrill | Groom’s Attire | Calvin Klein
