Elegant Wedding at the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe

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January 13, 2016

When we first came across Rachel and Tanners wedding on Instagram we just knew that theirs was a story worth sharing. For it's their sweet collection of love letters that crossed the sea that brought these two pen-pals together, and the rest as they say is history. History complete with one gorgeous ceremony by Amorology that you're sure to love and thanks to Jonathan Canlas it's all waiting in THE VAULT! P.S. Have an amazing love story with your own. Share with us using #SMPShareYourStory

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From The Bride...Tanner and I met at college and fell in love. Early on in our relationship, I felt strongly that I needed to give back to God and serve as a volunteer missionary for our church. My missionary assignment was for 18 months, giving all time and energy to teaching people about Jesus Christ and doing service. During this time away, Tanner and I wrote emails and letters every week, as phone calls and visits were not possible. We have kept every single note and they are real treasures to us! We both grew up a lot in the time away, and also grew closer togetherness through our letters. When I came home from my mission, we continued dating and we were married within a year. Being wed to my dedicated, honest, caring, goofy, best friend was the happiest day of my life.

Our wedding day was April 25th, 2015, in sunny San Diego. Southern California was in the middle of a drought (and unfortunately still is), but it just so happened to pour rain on our wedding day! We had to adjust all our plans for an outdoor reception. I was really quite sad at first, but then I decided to see the rain as a symbol of the outpouring of love we felt from our family, friends, and God.

And our wedding day reflected that love! We couldn't have pulled it off without the help of my mother and our amazing, sweetheart wedding planner, Heather Balliet with her team at Amorology. I wanted our guests to eat well, enjoy good company, and dance like crazy. We spent a lot of time with the staff at The Inn at Rancho Fe, perfecting the menu. I also felt the need to capture the moment. We had Amorology make an escort table covered in florals, where guests exchanged their escort card with a Polaroid photo and written note on the bottom. Everything that day was a wonderful mix of elements- elegance, blush florals, dusty blue and gold accents, romance, twinkly lights, comfort, and fresh rain. Even with the storm, it was the most magical day!

Now that it's all over, what I have left to remember the day is our photos. Thank you, thank you Jonathan Canlas!! Aside from his incredible photography skills, he is genuine, kind, and freaking hilarious. (And somehow crowd control and direction comes very naturally to him.) Jon puts his whole, great big heart into his photography and it is apparent in each photo. I had total trust and confidence in him! His photos of the day captured the feeling of love and joy. They tell the story behind relationships and friendships that I want to remember forever. It was the happiest, most beautiful day and I'm so grateful.