Elegant + Organic San Juan Capistrano Wedding
Where do we even begin to gush over this Southern California wedding, because each and every thoughtful detail is completely gorgeous. From the Bride's sweet pup in her pretty flower collar and the stunning ceremony set up to the adorable cake toppers (a nod to the Bride and Groom's alma maters) and the end-of-the-night In-'N-Out surprise, there's so much to love about this day. See it all from Sposto Photography in THE VAULT!
From The Bride...Tad and I got engaged in stunning Big Sur, CA in January 2015. We both share a passion for being outdoors and taking in beautiful views, so we knew right away that we wanted to get married at an outdoor venue. As we began to discuss potential venues and our vision for our wedding, it was clear to us that we wanted our big day to feel intimate, relaxed and romantic. Growing up in Orange County, I knew that the historic, charming city of San Juan Capistrano would be the perfect destination. And when we found Hamilton Oaks Winery, we knew right away that it would be the perfect venue to host the best day of our lives.
With such a beautiful backdrop of the rolling hills and orange groves, we knew that we wanted to keep the decor clean and soft so that we didn’t compete with the natural beauty around us. We chose white, ivory, green, subtle blush, grey and navy blue as our color palette. From there, with the help of our wonderful wedding coordinator, we got to work on all of the planning. Our wedding coordinator, Sanya, recommended our amazing photographer Shauntelle and our makeup artist Lettie, and I’m friends with our incredible hair stylist, Heather — all of whom are the absolute best and we will without a doubt find an excuse to use again.
For me, figuring out all of the details was so much fun… I mean, you only get to do it once, right?! Getting inspiration from Pinterest and wedding sites is so helpful, but I found that the most exciting moments were when we found things that were truly unique to us. Even though they were a small detail, perhaps the item we got most excited about were our adorable cake toppers. Tad and I both have a lot of school pride — he played football at the University of California-Berkeley and I went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Go Badgers!). So what better way to pay tribute in a way that felt natural than to put our mascots, a bear and a badger, on top of our cake. Our custom, little friends brought us so much joy and it was so fun to see all of our guests enjoy them as much as we did.
Getting ready with all of my girls was so much fun — we opened gifts, drank a little champagne, and relaxed as much as we could before heading to the venue. One of the highlights was a special appearance from my dog, Lily. I’m a huge dog lover, and having her there with me on my wedding day was a moment I will forever cherish. I think she somehow knew it was my wedding day — she was excited, happy, wore a flower crown, and posed for pictures. If you can swing it, I highly recommend making your special pet a part of your day in some capacity.
We got married in October, and in true Southern California fashion, it was a beautiful, warm, sunny day. The ceremony was so special. I’ll never forget the first time I looked out at all of the ceremony decor and all of our family and friends sitting, waiting for us to exchange vows. It’s a special moment seeing everything you have envisioned actually come to life. One of our favorite parts of our wedding was our special musical guest — Maiya Sykes who appeared on The Voice. Instead of walking down the aisle to traditional music, Maiya sang “Hallelujah,” my all time favorite song. Now, I’m a crier… I cry at every single wedding, all movies, and even commercials, so I thought I would for sure cry throughout the entire ceremony. But instead of tears, I walked out with the biggest smile on my face. I was just so happy. So happy to have my dad next to me, to hear the most hauntingly beautiful song as we walk, to see our family and friends, and most importantly, to see my future husband smiling up at the alter.
It was amazing to see our venue transformed for the reception. All of our vendors were absolute rockstars — they brought every single detail we envisioned to life, and then some. The first time Tad and I saw it, we were breathless. It was exactly what we had hoped for. We wanted the space to feel romantic, and that’s just what it was. We had lots of candles, white lights above all the tables and on all of the surrounding trees, and even the stars and moon came out for us. Maiya performed a few of our favorite songs as everyone was seated and getting their food (Tad picked the menu). The speeches were fabulous — there were tears, laughs, and even a little rap from my dad. The best part was seeing all of our family and friends — everyone smiling, eating, laughing, loving, and tearing up the dance floor. Exactly what we had hoped for.
The cherry on top at the end of the night was surprising all of our guests with some In-N-Out, a much appreciated gesture :)
With such a beautiful backdrop of the rolling hills and orange groves, we knew that we wanted to keep the decor clean and soft so that we didn’t compete with the natural beauty around us. We chose white, ivory, green, subtle blush, grey and navy blue as our color palette. From there, with the help of our wonderful wedding coordinator, we got to work on all of the planning. Our wedding coordinator, Sanya, recommended our amazing photographer Shauntelle and our makeup artist Lettie, and I’m friends with our incredible hair stylist, Heather — all of whom are the absolute best and we will without a doubt find an excuse to use again.
For me, figuring out all of the details was so much fun… I mean, you only get to do it once, right?! Getting inspiration from Pinterest and wedding sites is so helpful, but I found that the most exciting moments were when we found things that were truly unique to us. Even though they were a small detail, perhaps the item we got most excited about were our adorable cake toppers. Tad and I both have a lot of school pride — he played football at the University of California-Berkeley and I went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Go Badgers!). So what better way to pay tribute in a way that felt natural than to put our mascots, a bear and a badger, on top of our cake. Our custom, little friends brought us so much joy and it was so fun to see all of our guests enjoy them as much as we did.
Getting ready with all of my girls was so much fun — we opened gifts, drank a little champagne, and relaxed as much as we could before heading to the venue. One of the highlights was a special appearance from my dog, Lily. I’m a huge dog lover, and having her there with me on my wedding day was a moment I will forever cherish. I think she somehow knew it was my wedding day — she was excited, happy, wore a flower crown, and posed for pictures. If you can swing it, I highly recommend making your special pet a part of your day in some capacity.
We got married in October, and in true Southern California fashion, it was a beautiful, warm, sunny day. The ceremony was so special. I’ll never forget the first time I looked out at all of the ceremony decor and all of our family and friends sitting, waiting for us to exchange vows. It’s a special moment seeing everything you have envisioned actually come to life. One of our favorite parts of our wedding was our special musical guest — Maiya Sykes who appeared on The Voice. Instead of walking down the aisle to traditional music, Maiya sang “Hallelujah,” my all time favorite song. Now, I’m a crier… I cry at every single wedding, all movies, and even commercials, so I thought I would for sure cry throughout the entire ceremony. But instead of tears, I walked out with the biggest smile on my face. I was just so happy. So happy to have my dad next to me, to hear the most hauntingly beautiful song as we walk, to see our family and friends, and most importantly, to see my future husband smiling up at the alter.
It was amazing to see our venue transformed for the reception. All of our vendors were absolute rockstars — they brought every single detail we envisioned to life, and then some. The first time Tad and I saw it, we were breathless. It was exactly what we had hoped for. We wanted the space to feel romantic, and that’s just what it was. We had lots of candles, white lights above all the tables and on all of the surrounding trees, and even the stars and moon came out for us. Maiya performed a few of our favorite songs as everyone was seated and getting their food (Tad picked the menu). The speeches were fabulous — there were tears, laughs, and even a little rap from my dad. The best part was seeing all of our family and friends — everyone smiling, eating, laughing, loving, and tearing up the dance floor. Exactly what we had hoped for.
The cherry on top at the end of the night was surprising all of our guests with some In-N-Out, a much appreciated gesture :)
