Thanks to pro-gay vendor Michelle Warren of MW Foto for sending this warm, sunny CA wedding pictures.
The night before the wedding a light rain fell, but in the morning the skies opened up and revealed a bright blue sky. The campers rolled out of their tents, drank coffee on the porch, and made themselves busy helping get everything ready while we got ourselves pretty inside. Guests began arriving in the afternoon and drank lemonade and played horseshoes while they waited for the ceremony to begin. The sun took a perch just above the mountains as we walked out and made our vows in front of family and friends.
We danced our first dance, and then with our fathers, and then our mothers, and then everyone, and then we danced a horah off to dinner. We feasted on ribs and toasted and toasted and toasted until finally the full moon beckoned us to the dance floor. There was Lebanese belly dancing, a serenade from a sister, and guest appearances with the rock band that jammed until midnight. The last shuttle made its way down the hill at one, but quite a few folks kept hanging out under the stars telling stories long after we had gone to bed.
For both of us, it is the same moment, just as our ceremony began. Our guests were seated in a field of golden grass with a breathtaking backdrop of the mountains beyond the chuppah. We were waiting in the farmhouse, where we’d been cooped up getting ready. When the farmhouse doors opened, everything changed. The sun was just starting to dip in the sky and the mountains were glowing. We stepped outside and saw everyone waiting and heard a collective gasp. It was like time slowed down in that moment. Everything was absolutely beautiful.
We were hopeful that same-sex marriage would be legal by the time of our wedding, though realistically we expected the court battles over Prop 8 to last for some time. This legal uncertainty helped bolster our belief that we would be responsible for building meaning into our ceremony.
We searched for a long time for an officiant who felt appropriate. Ultimately we settled on our wedding party, and this ended up defining the nature of our ceremony. Our three sisters and two close male cousins each took on a role through storytelling, song, and the reading of our ketubah, which they each signed. Music played an important role in the beginning of our relationship. We reflected this by creating “mix tape” wedding vows made up of song lyrics that hold meaning for us. Finally, our dog Lola delivered our rings, and howled on cue when we kissed.
Our wedding held some traditional elements of ceremony and culture, which was important to each of us and helped to establish the occasion as a wedding. However, the elements we brought in made the event uniquely ours. Our goal was to provide an experience for our guests that conveyed our joy and inspired theirs.
Once we settled on an autumn date at Figueroa Mountain Farmhouse, a 200 year-old Appalachian farmhouse on 150 oak-dotted acres in the hills above the Santa Ynez Valley, we let the environment direct our design for the wedding. We wanted to create a feeling of being off the grid in the California wilderness but also make the event comfortable for our diverse group of guests.
Some of our friends and more adventurous relatives camped on the property and spent time hanging out on the porch of the farmhouse where the wedding party stayed. Our parents and other guests found nice hotels in wine country and took shuttles to the wedding location. We featured local wines and found a caterer who gave us farmer’s market fresh greens and barbeque ribs, and served pie instead of cake. For our ceremony and cocktail hour we hired an all-female bluegrass band with an Appalachian flat footer percussionist. We absolutely lucked out on finding a florist who embraced our aesthetic and featured local flowers and lots of produce. We even wore cowboy boots under our wedding gowns!
1. Set your priorities early and let these guide your budget. We knew we wanted to feature good food and wine and excellent music for our guests, and we knew it would be important to find a talented photographer to document the moment. This meant we had to sacrifice first choices in other areas, but helped us keep our focus.
2. Something will go wrong and someone is likely to get hurt feelings. You can’t avoid this so while it is important to put a lot of energy into planning, once the day comes it is essential to be able to let go and enjoy the experience. If you can afford to, hire a planner or a day-of coordinator to help take some of the stress off of you and your wedding party.
3. Slow down! Breathe. This is only going to happen once, so make sure you remember to be in the moment. And, don’t forget to eat.
Planner: Gretchen Beeke
Photographer: Michelle Warren Photography
Venue: Figueroa Mountain Farmhouse, Santa Ynez CA
Florist: Michelle – Passion Flowers, Ventura CA
Caterer: Duo Events, Santa Barbara CA
Dress/Suit/Accessories: Dresses – Jobyna’s Bridal, Montrose CA and Les Habitudes, Los Angeles CA (originally Tracy’s mom’s gown); Jewelry – Audrey K Boutiques, Burbank CA; Wedding Rings – L’Oliphant, Santa Monica CA; Boots – Country General Store, Van Nuys CA
Cake: Decadence (http://www.decadenceweddingcakes.com/)
BAND (multiple): Daniel Formica, Honeysuckle Possums and Kingsize (Thisiskingsize.com)
Gorgeous! Congrats!
What a fabulous celebration! Who wouldn’t want to be there? Congratulations!
This is one of my favorite weddings ever. Michelle Warren did a stunning job capturing the golden light that comes off that beautiful mountain. There’s so much joy that comes through in these photos. I love how you got your entire wedding party to be involved – I can barely get mine to help me pick a dress! You’ve got some committed friends and families ladies. Give’m hugs! And thank you for the inspiration. I just can’t get over how beautiful your wedding was.
Absolutely beautiful. I love the dark red dahlias and all of the rustic touches. Congrats to the lovely couple!
Wow! I’m not one for weddings – going to them that is – but this one looks like it was a blast! Both of you are just stunning. Okay, let me play wise old man for a second since I wasn’t there to dole out this sage advice. I’ve been married for 20 years. There are going to be some rough patches (Like running off to VS for a year and leaving my wife behind to deal with the children and everything else on her own) but stick with it. Keep these pictures handy. Let time work it’s magic and forge the bond even stronger. Marriage really is like wine – getting better with age. All my love and best wishes to you two – Rock on! P.S. Get some kids into this mix sometime down the road – it is the element which initiates the sublime.
Jaw dropping beautiful photos.
Wow what great pics…from the first with the sun at your front and a gorgeous dog at your side to the mountains as a backdrop!! What a wonderful time it must have been!!
Gorgeous Brides!! I love your beautiful pictures so much!
This is just absolutely breathtaking. You ladies are so blessed to have family and friends who are accepting to have surrounded you on this most important celebration in your lives. These pictures are stunning- never let them go!
Your wedding was beautiful! Brides looked gorgeous!