There are times that we get submissions and the words of the bride are so eloquent that I just cannot do them justice with my own recap. So for the very first Wedding Wednesday of September, Melissa is providing the recap about her wedding. Please pull up a seat, and enjoy.

For Jeff and I, we really wanted to provide an experience for people that felt intimate and special. We felt that doing all of the planning ourselves would help us to keep the wedding in line with what we were aiming for. When we found the Flying Caballos Ranch, we knew it was exactly what we had been hoping for. We were excited that it was a place that we could have the freedom to do what we wanted . . . since it’s not officially a wedding venue. We wanted everyone there to feel that they were there because they are important pieces of our lives, so we had photo frames that had pictures of most of the guests. We also personalized the experience by having our friends perform key parts – the service, the music, the hair/makeup, the invitations, the photography, etc. We wanted to share with people what we love so much about wine country and California (most people were traveling there from out of state, which inspired us to have a guest book made of vintage postcards that people could write on). We were motivated by the landscape and foodscape of the area, so we gave out handprinted California wildflower seed packets and a bbq rub recipe from a local restaurant which we replicated and packaged in handprinted bags. Alcohol was from local brewers and wineries, and the food was locally grown. We tried to make every detail one that we’d touched or had some creative part in, so that everywhere you looked you knew that we had put our hearts into it.

DETAILS

Location: San Luis Obispo, CA

Photography: Michelle Feileacan Photography

Venue: Flying Caballos Guest Ranch

Cake: Enjoy Cupcakesd