This couple wanted their wedding to be an oasis for their guests, allowing their loved ones to connect with others and relax for several days rather than stay for just a few hours and rush back to their busy lives. Rancho Pescadero, which the couple stumbled upon while on vacation in Mexico, was the ideal location for the getaway they envisioned. With the help of the resort staff, their wedding weekend captured by Dev Khalsa Photography was one to remember filled with bonfires, yoga, relaxing by the pool, and celebrating!
From the Bride… Evan and I are two professionals living in San Francisco. We met the old-fashioned way, through a mutual friend who thought we would have a lot to share with each other. She was right! We love being outdoors and traveling the world together.
We discovered Rancho Pescadero at the end of a dusty dirt road by accident while on a vacation in Mexico a few years ago. I knew it was where I wanted to get married. I really wanted to create a space where people could take some time away from their daily lives, meet or reconnect with other good people, and make new lifelong memories. Having our wedding at this remote oasis allowed people to stay for days and relax rather than a local wedding where people would stay for a few hours and then rush back to their busy lives. With the help of the great staff at the resort, we put together a wonderful weekend of bonfires, yoga, volleyball, laying by the pool, eating, drinking, and celebrating!
Evan comes from the Jewish tradition, and I come from a yoga tradition, and we created our own ceremony that honored both our cultures with two friends officiating and representing each. During the weekend I taught yoga class, and we had yogic chanting during the ceremony, but we also broke the challah bread to start dinner and, my favorite, danced the hora. We also did the lavaan rounds, blessing of the wine, breaking of the glass, and flower petal shower as we exited the ceremony. It was certainly a unique event and a perfect blend of our traditions. My favorite moment was standing under the canopy during the ceremony looking at each other, the whole world seemed to disappear and there was nothing but the two of us in that moment. After the ceremony I felt such a high walking back down the aisle while our friends cheered and showered us with flower petals.
A couple of my favorite details were our place cards and our table numbers. Our place cards each had a yoga posture or meditation and the explanation of its benefits. Instead of table numbers, each table was named with one of the qualities we want to bring to our marriage – Love, Kindness, Humor, Passion, Trust, etc.
I didn’t have a color palette or a style vision; my goal was to let the natural beauty of our location be our backdrop. The color palette that came out of nature was perfect – the fuchsia bougainvillea flowers growing on the property, the driftwood and billowy white cotton canopy for our ceremony, and the soft beige sand and blue water of the ocean. Instead of cut flowers for our centerpieces, we bought potted plants at the local nursery that the owners of Rancho Pescadero planted on the property afterward.
My gown was Ulla-Maija, purchased second hand from another Bride. It was classic, and the soft cream lace with sand colored lining was perfect in the setting. After the wedding, I passed the gown on to another Bride. I really liked this sharing and continuity. If I could give a Bride any advice, it would be to relax and just be present during this special time. It’s not the details that matter, but the experiences you’ll have with friends and family and the memories you’ll keep for a lifetime.
Photography: Dev Khalsa Photography | Wedding Dress: Anna Maier | Venue: Sandra Scandiber