Ahmanson Ranch Wedding from Marlon Taylor Photography
Oh I love this wedding with every ounce of my being. Every ounce. Because not only is it stunning (oh it is), it's such a labor of love. It only takes one peek at the Bride's sweet description to know that every gorgeous moment sitting in this gallery was once a dream floating around in her pretty little head. With the help of her amazing team of vendors (Sweet and Saucy Shop, Just Chic Events, The Little Branch - just to name a few) her dream became the prettiest reality, and thanks Marlon Taylor Photography it's all waiting for you right here.
From the Bride...The day Derek so perfectly and sneakily proposed to me changed the ordinary process of life as we knew it, and shot us unexpectedly, without warning into this spectacular, extraordinary world of what we now understand as wedding planning. Where everything cost 17 times more because the word “wedding” was in it, where you googled things you never fathomed googling prior to that incredibly powerful day, where you tucked yourself in at night and glimpses of the most special day floated and danced above you as you entered into much needed sleep... it's a gloriously fun process. It’s a defining journey. A wild ride. It’s a gift.
To prepare to marry the one whom your soul and entire being and existence loves and gets weak in the knees for, entangled with the discovering of dreams, and creating something out of nothing, TOGETHER… Well, there is just nothing else in the world like it. I’ve never learned so much, dreamed so big, and grown in such intangible ways in any other ten month span of my entire life. I learned the true essence of what “family” means, I learned that family is not limited to sharing the same parent or blood, but rather sharing the same heart, loving unconditionally and laughing uncontrollably.
I am a better person because of wedding planning. I learned to let go of holding on too tightly to every last detail, every last task. I learned that I am human. I learned how to stain a lot (and when I say A LOT, I mean A LOT, a lot) of wood, I learned and rediscovered what a tremendous passion I have for making invitations (and anything and everything paper related for that matter). I learned that I was better off serving cold drinks while Derek and his best man drilled over 10,000 holes for the flowers to be placed in the handmade centerpieces. I learned that it takes a village to plan a wedding. I learned to communicate better, to balance better, to ask for help. I learned that utilizing the gifts God gives you and becoming passionate about them is more effective and wonderfully glorifying than trying to be something you are not. I learned to thank God for the perfectly opposite gifts he gifted my “other half.” I learned I am a dreamer, and I married a man who makes all my dreams come true. I learned the journey leading up to your big day, and pouring your heart into making it what you dream it to be is just as much as a gift as the wedding day itself. I learned that I love Derek more and more everyday and forever will, that is all that matters, and all that ever will.
I am thankful to a team of amazingly phenomenal people who believed in our wedding day as much as we did. From Jessi Kaufman, our fearless and fabulous leader, to Marlon Taylor, who so perfectly captured the sweetest most sacred moments which we will forever cherish, to Meg and Annie at the Little Branch, who were crazy enough to go along with our very out of the box floral dreams, to Joan, the caretaker of Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve, who indeed called me crazy more than once, and I love her all the more for it, and so many amazing vendors (scratch that) FRIENDS who worked tirelessly to bring a very untraditional, very hands on, outside of the box, wedding to life with awe and beauty. I am so thankful for our over-the-top loving families, for the girls who stood graciously by my side, for the men who stood strongly by my husband’s side, and every single remarkable friend… for they demonstrated in truth and in love what God intends being family and being friends to look like.
Photography: Marlon Taylor Photography | Catering: Wood Ranch | Cake & Sweets: Sweet and Saucy Shop | Bar: Liquid Bliss | Hair/Makeup: Alexander's Grand Salon | Cinematography: New Classic Films | Flowers: The Little Branch | Event Design: DIY (Melissa + Derek Weisbender) | Event Planning: Just Chic Events | Ceremony and Reception Location: Ahmanson Ranch, Upper Las Virgenes Canyon, California | Invitations: DIY (Melissa Weisbender) | Shoes: Badgley Mischka | Dress: Maggie Sottero
To prepare to marry the one whom your soul and entire being and existence loves and gets weak in the knees for, entangled with the discovering of dreams, and creating something out of nothing, TOGETHER… Well, there is just nothing else in the world like it. I’ve never learned so much, dreamed so big, and grown in such intangible ways in any other ten month span of my entire life. I learned the true essence of what “family” means, I learned that family is not limited to sharing the same parent or blood, but rather sharing the same heart, loving unconditionally and laughing uncontrollably.
I am a better person because of wedding planning. I learned to let go of holding on too tightly to every last detail, every last task. I learned that I am human. I learned how to stain a lot (and when I say A LOT, I mean A LOT, a lot) of wood, I learned and rediscovered what a tremendous passion I have for making invitations (and anything and everything paper related for that matter). I learned that I was better off serving cold drinks while Derek and his best man drilled over 10,000 holes for the flowers to be placed in the handmade centerpieces. I learned that it takes a village to plan a wedding. I learned to communicate better, to balance better, to ask for help. I learned that utilizing the gifts God gives you and becoming passionate about them is more effective and wonderfully glorifying than trying to be something you are not. I learned to thank God for the perfectly opposite gifts he gifted my “other half.” I learned I am a dreamer, and I married a man who makes all my dreams come true. I learned the journey leading up to your big day, and pouring your heart into making it what you dream it to be is just as much as a gift as the wedding day itself. I learned that I love Derek more and more everyday and forever will, that is all that matters, and all that ever will.
I am thankful to a team of amazingly phenomenal people who believed in our wedding day as much as we did. From Jessi Kaufman, our fearless and fabulous leader, to Marlon Taylor, who so perfectly captured the sweetest most sacred moments which we will forever cherish, to Meg and Annie at the Little Branch, who were crazy enough to go along with our very out of the box floral dreams, to Joan, the caretaker of Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve, who indeed called me crazy more than once, and I love her all the more for it, and so many amazing vendors (scratch that) FRIENDS who worked tirelessly to bring a very untraditional, very hands on, outside of the box, wedding to life with awe and beauty. I am so thankful for our over-the-top loving families, for the girls who stood graciously by my side, for the men who stood strongly by my husband’s side, and every single remarkable friend… for they demonstrated in truth and in love what God intends being family and being friends to look like.
Photography: Marlon Taylor Photography | Catering: Wood Ranch | Cake & Sweets: Sweet and Saucy Shop | Bar: Liquid Bliss | Hair/Makeup: Alexander's Grand Salon | Cinematography: New Classic Films | Flowers: The Little Branch | Event Design: DIY (Melissa + Derek Weisbender) | Event Planning: Just Chic Events | Ceremony and Reception Location: Ahmanson Ranch, Upper Las Virgenes Canyon, California | Invitations: DIY (Melissa Weisbender) | Shoes: Badgley Mischka | Dress: Maggie Sottero