Saddlerock Ranch Wedding from B&G Photography and Hustle & Bustle
When the talented team at Hustle & Bustle pair up with a DIY bride the results are nothing short of magic. The planners and designers produce some of the most amazing weddings on their own, but add a ridiculously talented and resourceful bride into the mix and you've got this. A stunning outdoor wedding at Saddlerock Ranch, captured by B&G Photography that I'm predicting is going to be a trendsetter.
From the beautiful bride... Our wish was to make sure everyone had a blast and saw elements of "Caitlin + James" everywhere they looked. What really helped us achieve both was a theme throughout that represented us, lots of DIY touches, and making sure humor was sprinkled throughout. That last item served two purposes because I knew there would have to be lots of jokes to stop me from balling uncontrollably.
We looked at venues all the way from Tahoe to San Diego,but when we visited the Chateau at Saddlerock Ranch and Vineyards it was almost as natural of a decision as us knowing we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. Amazing Malibu hills views, wine and zebras...what more could you want?
Next, we started thinking about possible themes...hmmm James designs airports, I fly every week for work, James has his private pilot's license...oh, airplanes and travel! I started designing a stamp incorporating an airplane and our initials that we used on all of our invitations and wedding decorations.
I wanted one fabric that i could use throughout the wedding so I spent weeks perusing every online fabric store and dragging James to the LA fashion district. Finally I chose one and used it to create all of the table runners (thanks to some help from my mother in law), bridesmaid belts, groomsmen pocket squares and as an element of our invitations. It was really neat to have our guests see the stamp and fabric before the wedding and then tying it all together at the actual wedding. However, the most important fabric at the wedding was the lace I took from my mom's wedding dress to be wrapped around my bouquet. I also create all of the stationary myself (PPT can do wonders!) so it was personal and really from us: the witty program to guest mad libs to thank you cards at each table setting.
When i saw that renting a chandelier was $95 I decided to make my own...out of wax paper - totally sane decision, right? This was definitely James' least favorite project because it involved him cutting out hundreds of wax paper circles as I sewed them together and hung them from a wire frame. I loved it and am still trying to convince him to let me hang it in our bedroom. His favorite project was the 70+ wine bottle hurricanes candles I decided to create because it involved "being forced" to drink an excessive amount of wine and then cutting glass by dipping it in boiling and then freezing water.
To stick with the travel theme, we created a baggage claim ticket for each guest that let them know their destination for the night. Each of the tables were named after a place James and I have gone together and marked with a framed picture of us in that location. For our guest book we had a globe that everyone signed and is now sitting on our bookcase.
The day was made even sweeter with an amazing dessert spread our friend created just for us and the beer her fiance (and our best man) created for our wedding. Although our 90 lb lab Kona was not invited to the wedding, she was able to make an appearance on our cake topper.
I could not have imagined a more perfect day with friends, family and the man of my dreams.
We looked at venues all the way from Tahoe to San Diego,but when we visited the Chateau at Saddlerock Ranch and Vineyards it was almost as natural of a decision as us knowing we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. Amazing Malibu hills views, wine and zebras...what more could you want?
Next, we started thinking about possible themes...hmmm James designs airports, I fly every week for work, James has his private pilot's license...oh, airplanes and travel! I started designing a stamp incorporating an airplane and our initials that we used on all of our invitations and wedding decorations.
I wanted one fabric that i could use throughout the wedding so I spent weeks perusing every online fabric store and dragging James to the LA fashion district. Finally I chose one and used it to create all of the table runners (thanks to some help from my mother in law), bridesmaid belts, groomsmen pocket squares and as an element of our invitations. It was really neat to have our guests see the stamp and fabric before the wedding and then tying it all together at the actual wedding. However, the most important fabric at the wedding was the lace I took from my mom's wedding dress to be wrapped around my bouquet. I also create all of the stationary myself (PPT can do wonders!) so it was personal and really from us: the witty program to guest mad libs to thank you cards at each table setting.
When i saw that renting a chandelier was $95 I decided to make my own...out of wax paper - totally sane decision, right? This was definitely James' least favorite project because it involved him cutting out hundreds of wax paper circles as I sewed them together and hung them from a wire frame. I loved it and am still trying to convince him to let me hang it in our bedroom. His favorite project was the 70+ wine bottle hurricanes candles I decided to create because it involved "being forced" to drink an excessive amount of wine and then cutting glass by dipping it in boiling and then freezing water.
To stick with the travel theme, we created a baggage claim ticket for each guest that let them know their destination for the night. Each of the tables were named after a place James and I have gone together and marked with a framed picture of us in that location. For our guest book we had a globe that everyone signed and is now sitting on our bookcase.
The day was made even sweeter with an amazing dessert spread our friend created just for us and the beer her fiance (and our best man) created for our wedding. Although our 90 lb lab Kona was not invited to the wedding, she was able to make an appearance on our cake topper.
I could not have imagined a more perfect day with friends, family and the man of my dreams.