What do you do when the Groom wants a small, rustic wedding and the Bride dreams of a formal affair, big band and all? Compromise. And in the case of this duo, that compromise led to a Holman Ranch wedding more beautiful than either of them could have originally imagined. From the Seascape Flowers‘ arrangements to the Bride’s Oscar De La Renta gown, this wedding is proof that compromises can lead to great things. See all the pretty from Erin Hearts Court in The Vault!
From The Bride…My husband I had completely different visions for our wedding. He wanted an outdoor affair that was small, casual, rustic, and in a remote location. He would joke that he wanted to get married somewhere that our guests would have to hike to! I wanted something more formal, with a seated dinner, big band, and guests in long dresses and tuxes. Zero chance I was going to hike anywhere! We were able to find a great compromise with Holman Ranch. As soon as we arrived at the venue for a tour, my husband insisted that we get married there. It turned out to be the perfect place to create the “classy casual” wedding which embodied both of our styles.
I chose a neutral color palette for the bridesmaid dresses and flowers in order to complement the stucco and stone buildings on the property. Laurie from Seascape Flowers far exceeded my expectations. The bridal party bouquets were adorned with hand-dyed silk ribbons in champagne and white. We kept the flowers simple for the ceremony, with ivory petals down the aisle and hobnob jars filled with a simple mix on the chairs. For cocktail hour, Laurie decorated a large plant stand with olive branches and our caterer filled it full with champagne flutes. For the reception, we used a combination of vessels and tied the look together with gold lanterns and a sprig of olive at each place setting.
In the end, the biggest compliment that we received was that the wedding was “so us.” Perhaps I let my husband get his way too much – after all, I did agree to Coors Light as the “groom’s drink”! However, my hope is that the following DIY / personal touches had something to do with it.
• Invitations: We splurged on letterpress for the invitation and RSVP cards, but created our own stamp for the return address labels. We also added a casual touch by hand-tying gold twine I purchased on Etsy around each invitation suite.
• Tribute to groom’s father: My husband wore cufflinks with his late father’s name on them. In addition, on our ceremony program, we included a poem his father wrote to his mother while they were dating.
• Handwritten notes to guests: We penned a note to each guest thanking them for attending and used small clothespins to attach them to a rod iron railing adorned with olive leaves. These notes also doubled as a way to tell our guests which tables they were sitting at.
• Guestbook: We love animals and therefore we had our guests sign a large ceramic pig. It now sits on top of our china cabinet and is a great reminder of our day.
• Dessert and Aperitifs: Instead of a traditional cake, we opted for an ice cream truck featuring custom flavors. In addition, we created our own “scotch and cigar bar” which turned out to be a real hit. I was able to purchase old cigar boxes to display the scotch bottles (one from each region in Scotland) and wrote the names of each on a small chalkboard.
Photography: The de Jaureguis | Event Planning: engaged & inspired | Floral Design: Seascape Flowers | Wedding Dress: Oscar De La Renta | Invitations: WedSpring | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Monique Lhuillier | Catering: Paradise Catering | Makeup: Lynn Yee | Hair: Pins & Curls | Groom's Attire: Thomas Pink | Venue: Holman Ranch | Bride Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Earrings: Ippolita | Groom's Shoes: Salvatore Ferragamo | Ice Cream Truck: Negranti Ice Cream | Rentals: Chic Event Rentals | Robes: BHLDN