There are those affairs that bring the term white wedding to a new level of beauty and then there are weddings on the opposite end of the spectrum. The ones that infuse every detail with coral peonies and oranges and an all around smorgasbord of color. This San Ysidro Ranch wedding is a color lover’s dream whipped up by Hello Gem + Flor Vida along with images by Esther Sun, who is back again (remember this number from earlier in the week?). It’s a definite SMP HQ favorite and you can see even more here.
From the Bride… When my husband Jeremy and I first got engaged, we didn’t really know too many specifics in what we wanted for our wedding. We did know, however, that we didn’t want a long engagement, we wanted a small low-key wedding, and the ocean had to be involved. As we started looking at venues in Santa Barbara (where I’m from and where we currently live), we realized that it would be a harder task deciding on one than we thought. Since Jeremy is from Georgia and that’s where we met, we wanted our friends from the South to see Santa Barbara in all its glory. Another thing I knew is that I didn’t want to spend all my free time during the months leading up to the wedding working on DIY projects (the only real project we took on were the wooden signs made from stained fencing panels), and we didn’t want a venue where we had to provide everything. Choosing the venue proved to be the most challenging part of the whole planning process! Things finally fell into place when a family friend graciously offered her house as the location for the ceremony, and it just happened that it was right on my favorite beach. After having the ceremony location decided on, choosing San Ysidro Ranch was easy. It is the loveliest place ever. Not only that, but they provide everything, and the food is amazing. Maxine at the Ranch was such a pleasure to work with! We decided to hire Hello, Gem! as our day-of coordinators, and it was so nice having them making sure everything ran smoothly on the wedding day so I didn’t have to stress about anything. The wedding was planned in about six months.
Since the beach house and the San Ysidro Ranch are so beautiful on their own, the only thing we really needed were flowers. I am so thankful we found Erica Moreno of Flora Vida she was truly a savior! I didn’t have much of a specific plan for the look of the day, and I didn’t have set colors, I just knew I wanted something natural and bright. Erica took that and ran with it, and I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the results. She also hand-built the bower, which turned out so beautifully. It consisted of 8-foot birch tree trunks with floral groupings and curly willow. At the San Ysidro Ranch, she filled the tables with orange tree branch runners with groupings of oranges, mercury glass pedestal vases filled with coral peonies and dahlias, vases with single poppies, and she even filled the chandeliers with orange tree garland and oranges. The fireplace decor was strikingly beautiful vases filled with single poppies. It was all so dreamy and romantic! It fit the feel of the SYR seamlessly. Erica was so helpful, she even met with the company dropping off the ceremony chairs and made sure everything was set up correctly. The wedding definitely would not have been the same without her. Our friend, Trent Watanabe, helped us so much by making the save the dates and the program.
Jeremy and I wanted things to be really simple (no first dance, no bridal party, no bouquet toss, etc) and wanted it to just feel like a big dinner party. After the ceremony at the beach house (Jeremy’s best friend Matt officiated and did such a great job), we headed up to the San Ysidro Ranch for a cocktail hour with passed hors d’oeuvres then a sit-down dinner. After the delicious three-course dinner (and truffles from local chocolate shop Chocolate Maya), we cut the amazing cake by Christine Dahl, then Santa Barbara Trolley picked us all up in a big red trolley and we kept the party going downtown.
Photography: Esther Sun Photography | Event Design and Planning: Hello Gem | Flowers: Flor Vida | Wedding Gown: Jenny Packham | Cake: Christine Dahl Pastries | Invitations: Hello Gem | Shoes: Frye Boots | Hair and Makeup: Dreamcatcher Artistry | Favors: Chocolate Maya | Groom's Suit: J.Crew | Wedding Venue: San Ysidro Ranch | Chairs: The Tent Merchant