Romantic Lakeside Ceremony With Peach and Moss Details in San Luis Obispo

An elegant and magical alfresco destination wedding unfolded amidst the picturesque wine country landscape, as moss green and peach tones elevated the ambiance. Surrounded by breathtaking views and lush greenery, the ceremony exuded enchantment, with a custom florals framing the romantic lakeside ceremony. The reception continued the enchantment, with tablescapes adorned with pink accents and bespoke printed menus, tying together the romance of the day.

In September 2022, during a trip to Mexico City, Brian proposed unexpectedly. Despite encountering challenges in finding the perfect spot, we ended up in a serene garden where he popped the question on a simple park bench, fulfilling my desire for an intimate moment. Following the heartfelt proposal, we celebrated with friends at a surprise brunch and enjoyed a memorable dinner at Quintonil, later incorporating its cookbook into our wedding plans, a cherished reminder of our engagement.

When choosing her perfect wedding gown, Shannon knew she wanted something fairly form fitting, yet something light that wouldn't restrict her when it came time to dance the night away. Her vision was feminine and romantic, and her v-neck, fit and flare with delicate floral details couldn't have been more perfect.

While keeping the color tone cohesive, Shannon wanted each bridesmaid's personality to shine through by letting them choose the style and fabric of their dress. From satin to velvet, there was a beautiful mix of variety and continuity.

Brian chose a custom navy SuitSupply suit and even had the nickname he calls Shannon embroidered under the collar. He gifted each of his groomsmen a floral tie to wear on the wedding day.

As we are big cooks and huge foodies, we wanted to make sure that translated to our guests. Our friend and family know us as always cooking or hosting elaborate meals with fun cocktails and enjoying the flavors of life! Our wedding planner made the wonderful suggestion of displaying our collection of cookbooks as if we were inviting everyone into our home. We loved this idea! We were able to rent a beautiful wooden hutch which housed all of our favorite cook books and framed photos of us, along with personalized small bottles of olive oil with everyone’s names and table number on them. We encouraged the guest to peruse the shelves for their name and take their bottle to their seat. We still have friends today text us photos when they are using their olive oil to cook. It’s been fun to receive updates from friends saying they used our wedding olive oil. Your wedding is over in a heartbeat, so having something to love and reminisce on beyond the day has been a welcome surprise to us. We hoped people would use it but every time we get a text or someone mentions it, it feels like reliving it all over again and that’s been a welcome gift that keeps on giving back to us! When it comes to cocktails, we don’t mess around. Brian immediately took this as his first vendor task. He researched all over for top of line mixologists across the central coast and we were so lucky to meet the talented folks at Flair Project. Ivo and George immediately understood Brian’s passion for making memorable show stopper drinks and they exceeded our expectation. They even did a tasting with us two months before the wedding so we could test out of top options. We ended up with three signature cocktails: His drink, a spin on an old fashioned with coconut fat wash bourbon; Her drink, an herbal, fruity vodka cocktail with yuzu lemon foam; and an Our drink, with tequila as an ode to our engagement in Mexico City. We wanted fun cocktails: something you’d see at a speakeasy, not just any drink you could order. I’m happy to say everyone seemed to love them and we were over the moon with the response to our delicious cocktails.

We wanted our wedding to be “elegant, magical”. We said that while we were on a ranch and there was a barn, we didn’t want the word “rustic” to be in the vocabulary of our wedding. She understood that, while we loved the outdoors and vineyard aspect of the ranch, we wanted to be sure to soften any hard edges and make the space soft and warm. With a November post-daylight savings wedding, your sun is setting at 4:45pm and we wanted to make sure to lean heavily into string lights, up lighting, and draping on the barn, and pin spotted disco balls to keep the party and the evening reception still lively and bright.

Brian and I are not cake people. We like cake but if you want us to indulge in a dessert, it’s ice cream. Now Ice Cream on a cold night in November didn’t exactly scream the best idea but we figured we’re only getting married once and we want ice cream at our wedding. We reached out to a local shop in Paso Robles, Negranti Creamery, they were able to accommodate our ice cream dreams and served up some delicious ice cream at our reception and everyone loved it after dancing the night away in the barn!

We were honored to have one of our best friends, who is an amazing writer and director, lead our ceremony as our officiant. She managed to put every detail she could into our ceremony. It was so thoughtful and personal. We were so grateful to be married by someone who has watched our love story unfold from day one and who has been a supportive pillar in our relationship. In addition, we wanted to add a cultural piece as well to honor our heritage, so we decided to add in a traditional Scottish Quaich ceremony. Shannon’s family has deep Scottish roots, and Brian and Shannon both have Irish backgrounds. We found this ceremony in our research and quickly agreed it suited us. We had a quaich made for us - a small silver bowl with detailed handles and engraved etching with our family name and the date of our wedding accompanied with a Claddaugh ring engraving in the bowl. At the ceremony, we had our fathers pour whiskey into the bowl and then Brian and I both drank from it. A cultural communion of sorts, while also creating our first family heirloom. A beautiful piece for us to hold from our marriage and we plan to take a sip from it on every anniversary as tradition.

Choosing the music was a huge deal for Shannon. Music has the power to control every setting. The intention, the energy, and the memories. Shannon’s dad is a musician and had a live band for many years playing weddings across LA. It’s actually how her parents met - her dad was playing music at a wedding and her mom was a guest of the bride. She always wanted live music at her wedding and finding the right band was important. We interviewed a few different group, and even got Shannon’s dad involved. We found an amazing band that knew exactly what we were looking for. We also added in the DJ for the end knowing that some of the music we wanted to play wasn’t exactly band specific. We wanted to keep it timeless but also energetic as the night got into the later hours. It was the perfect blend of genres. They worked with us and had us make playlists to show them our style: what music we wanted at dinner; what music we wanted for early night reception; what music we wanted for late night. We spent a lot of time curating those playlists but it was worth it. We had the BEST band. We got so many compliments and people were packed on the dance floor. Our fear was always that people wouldn’t dance or the barn would be empty but we were wrong. The right music brings the right vibes and it got the people going! We couldn’t get people to stop dancing even when the night was through! One of the best parts of the night was getting up on stage and dancing in front of our guests while singing with the band under disco balls and twinkle lights. This moment we will always remember. A good band changes everything!! Don’t skimp on the music! We had three guys rip their pants at the wedding from dancing and to us, that’s a sign of a good time!

At our reception, we had a beautiful sweetheart table where we sipped champagne from the same Irish crystal champagne flutes that Brian’s parents drank from at their wedding. Brian’s parents are kind and giving people who have always supported us. They have a wonderful and loving relationship and have been married for 36 years. To share that tiny detail with them was very important to us.