DIY Santa Cruz Wedding at Rancho Soquel

Can you even imagine the pressure two wedding photographers must feel when it's time to pick the perfect person to capture their big day? Talk about a hard planning desicion. But these two talents (he's the genius behind Patterson Films and she of Majesta Patterson) knew exactly what they were doing when they asked Evynn LeValley to capture the magic of their big day. Their DIY wedding is one you'll want to spend some serious quality time with, and you can do so here.
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From The Bride...Being wedding photographers, we’ve seen A LOT. We knew what worked, what didn’t and were able to make our wedding personal and meaningful. So when we started planning, we knew we really wanted our wedding to be an elegant but fun event that kept some tradition with crafty, organic and romantic touches. That being said, we took on a lot of projects! Once we knew where we wanted to get a married, a lush garden/country estate, I grew my list of ideas:

From chalkboard signs made from thrifted picture frames & window panes to making our apricot jam from my parents backyard; we made it all! We made the wood ceremony arbor out of trees from my parents yard and $30 worth of supplies; we thrifted an old wooden ladder to paint fun signs with directions (since the estate was large and we held different events across the property); and made all painted signs from old wood and palettes on my parents property. Yes, I wrote all the signs with a paint brush.

I made our guestbook from an antique photo album featuring all of our engagement pictures; as well as, our cake topper, table numbers and we bottled and labeled our own wine from a local winery. It really was a labor of love.

My advice to future brides: make a list and ask for help. Know what’s a priority and if you can’t handle it all, delegate! Aside from our ceremony arch and jam favors, our other BIG task was to create our table runners. I simply didn’t have time and while it was cheaper to make it in supplies, it was worth the money to pay a rental company and relive me of my stress! We ended up loving our tables with the pink runners versus my original plans.

Lastly, put your time into the decor and hire someone to bring your vision to life. While we built, painted, ordered, boxed and prepped everything, I could not have executed my vision without my wedding coordinators. They really brought my vision to life and I’m so thankful!

Our wedding came to life beautifully. Our guests loved our signature drinks, bluegrass band, amazing DJ and our perfect ceremony. It was also really important to us that we included our guests in our ceremony and we wanted them to feel special. After all, they are our most loved! We asked a close friend to marry us, made sure we took a minute to look around when we finally stood at our ceremony arch, wrote our own vows and LAUGHED, cried and just had an amazing time. Even forgetting my vows back in the bridal suite (my brother ran and got them for me), our ceremony was nothing short of perfect and it’s one of my favorite memories from our wedding.

The whole day, it was just the best. And now, we have amazing pictures and video to look remember it by!
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Photography: Evynn LeValley Photography | Photography: Majesta Patterson | Cinematography: Patterson Films | Wedding Coordinator: Nicole Audrey Events | Florist: Natasha Kolenko | Wedding Gown: Pronovias Benicarlo From Trudy's Bridal | Cake: Heathers Patisserie | Caterer: Feast For A King Catering | Makeup: Cherise Gowan | Hair Stylist: Yvette Guerriera | DJ: Paul From Big Fun Disc Jockeys | Venue: Rancho Soquel | Party Rentals: Alexis Party Rentals | Suit Rentals: Selix Formalwear | Site Coordinator: The Wedding Connection