A long, long time ago way back when, I was in design school and one of the very first things I learned was grey makes other colors POP. I thought this was so strange at the time but if you think about it, it's completely true. On a grey day, the trees look greener, the flowers seem brighter and this California Ranch wedding is the perfect example. It is an explosion of pretty color all captured by Acres of Hope Photography and we are loving every second of it. In fact, grey just might be our new favorite color. Who are we kidding, it totally is. See more of the bright, happy details in the gallery.
Nate and I got married on a very misty afternoon at my grandfather's ranch in Potrero, California. We chose my grandfather's property because of its beautiful oak trees, large boulders, and we felt his red barn would be an awesome place for a reception. For a do-it-yourself bride, this was the perfect place to plan a wedding. The venue was owned by family, who invited me to come and set up things before hand. My grandpa also helped immensely with heavy duty tasks in getting the barn in ship shape. This made setting up the day before the wedding a lot less hectic.
I wanted my wedding to be a little bit country, and a little bit vintage, and thought the barn would be the perfect place to do that. Country details we used included bales of stray used as tables for galvanized buckets that held the drinks, a large chalk board for the seating assignments, and burlap runners made by with the help of my friends Ann, Sandy, and my sister-in-law Kandra. I also used mason jars to display assorted orange flowers, as well as candles filled with blue and orange buttons. To bring in my love for all things vintage, I used antique children's books and antique glass for the cake table. I also love feed sack fabric from the 1930's and decided to use a variety of prints with orange and blue tones in them for bunting flags (thanks mom) that hung in the doorways of the barn. I am also a lover of old vintage sweaters, and thought it would be fun to switch things up by wearing a blue vintage cardigan during the reception. My favorite detail of my whole wedding, which was an idea my groom came up with when he was in Iraq, was a root beer float bar. To achieve the root beer float bar, we ordered a keg of beer, a jockey box, and set it up on a table with a vintage table cloth on it. The table was decorated with little fabric flags, displayed in orange soda bottles filled with colorful jelly beans. Even though it was outdoors, it was fun to give my guests a retro feel of going to an old fashioned soda fountain. All in all, my wedding day was perfect! I was surrounded by people who love me, details that make me smile, and a man whose hand I will hold forever.
Photography: Acres of Hope Photography / Flowers: Jasmine Creek Florist / Ceremony and Reception Location: WestStar Ranch (private) / Caterer: El Indio Mexican Food / Cake: Twiggs Bakery