Santos Soirée Planning Part 2

Our wedding website tells me there is only 33 days to go.

THIRTY THREE DAYS.

Where has the time gone? And yet, at the same time, how are we not married yet?

My excitement for the big day is building – things are coming together, details are falling into place, and the wedding festivities have officially begun! We have turned the corner on wedding planning and I feel as though I can finally take a deep breath.

Wedding planning as a whole as been overwhelming, but I have loved the little details… Details are what I thrive at, and I have immersed myself in creating an experience for our guests. From the invitations, down to the cocktail napkins, I have intentionally chosen each color, texture, and design. My vision is best described as “western elegance meets timeless classic, with a hint of vintage flair”. But I also love synergy and consistency, and have labored over how to meld these seemingly different concepts into one cohesive look.

And I’m pretty excited to share what I’ve come up with!

Unfortunately for Jared and our family, my “special little details” and unyielding perfectionistic tendencies, have created a lot of work for them. Thank goodness I’m marrying a man that can build, fix, and do just about anything, and loves me enough to make my wildest ideas come to life. Our families are also exceptionally phenomenal. My heart overflows when I think of how much our families and friends have shown up to help us. When it comes to design, Jared’s mom in particular has been a godsend. She has an amazing eye for design and details, and we are on the same page when it comes to what we want things to look like day-of. While I don’t often give up control or delegate tasks (my friends, family, and coworkers are vigorously nodding their heads), I’ve been able to relinquish tasks to her. And good thing, because she’s taken everything to the next level and exceeded anything I had in mind!

So what are these special, exhausting, beautiful, and fun details that we’ve come up with? I can’t share everything just yet… but a few of the biggies that I am loving are:

Save the Dates and Invitations

Some people looked at me like I was crazy for spending so much time and energy on these, but they were especially important to me. I feel as though our save the dates and invitations set the tone for everything to come at the wedding. And you know what people say about first impressions…

My key here was working with amazing vendors. Starting with our engagement photos, I had a specific vision in mind (shocking, I know). We worked with Zulie at Zulie Blair Photography for our engagement photos, and are so excited to have her shoot our wedding, too! I’ve always loved Zulie’s work and know we’ll treasure the photos she captures forever. She’s a seasoned professional and really listens to what you want, and helps execute.

For our shoot I wanted to lean in heavy on the elegant aspect. So, Jared got shoved in a tux, and I in a floor-length, emerald velvet gown. Over the top? Maybe. But I think tuxes are sexy so there was no budging on that (no matter how hard Jared tried to weasel out of it). When it came to my dress, I wanted something that gave an ode to our wedding color and texture. I find velvet to be elegant, and green is a floral neutral (which is a main reason I chose it – I wanted our flowers to be the big pop of color at the wedding) in addition to being one of our favorite colors, so green velvet just made sense.

Because I love our venue so much, I wanted our photos done there. I also thought it would be really special to have a sort of “before and after” of the venue, and us as a couple (engagement photos to wedding). They turned out amazing and will be used not only on the save the dates, but on the invites, and around the wedding.

Note: We opted for save the dates that were printed on magnets, they are easy for people to keep and serve as a good reminder, since most throw them up on the fridge!

For the invites, I worked with another amazing vendor. Savvy (at Ranchology Design) was a friend of a friend, and now one of my most favorite people ever. She and I collaborated back and forth on the invites, and I love what she came up with! They check every box for me, and truly set the tone for the wedding. A number of the details featured on the invites will be carried into other aspects of the wedding.

I wanted our invites to be special and a little different, but also functional. For the main invitation, we opted for a simple, formal invite on one side, and a sketched photo from our engagement shoot on the other. A subtle detail that turned them from a plain, throwaway piece of paper, to a feature. Savvy also created an RSVP postcard (so easy for guests!), that incorporated a photo from our engagement shoot. Since our venue is off the beaten path, she also created a map with instructions that added a nice, functional detail. My dad (he is probably regretting opening his mouth now) suggested we do a brand guest book – have people bring their brands and brand a bench as a keepsake. Savvy took this to the next level by sketching a calf with Jared and I’s brand on its left hip (you can absolutely expect this to show up again). It turned out adorable and made the invites that much more unique. Last but not least, I am so glad we chose to do an envelope liner. It tied in the western aspect and is one of my favorite photos that my sweet friend Callie (Callie Alexandre Photography) took.

These gals made dreams come true and I love what they created!

Food and Drink

Jared has forgone opinions on most aspects of the wedding, but this was the area of the wedding that was most important to him. So, I needed to hit his “musts” here. Meat and bread are the glue that hold him together, so those were of utmost priority and needed to be delicious and aplenty. Tri tip and chicken are pretty standard meat options at events around the county, so naturally I wanted to go as far from those as possible, which actually worked out! My mom raises a steer and a couple hogs every few years to fill the freezer, and she was having them processed about the time we got engaged. So, our guests will be enjoying home-grown, home-raised beef and pork (and probably some local lamb!). Ah, but how are we going to cook all this meat, and ensure it was cooked properly (Jared hates over-cooked meat)? Deep pit barbecue! It is an effective way to cook a lot of meat, and is a little different than traditional ol’ barbecue. We will be working with some local friends at Cooks Catering to get the meat pitted for the big day! They do so many events, and it is always tasty (plus I’ve known them forever), so this aspect of dinner fell right into place.

When putting together the rest of the menu I wanted it to align with the deep pit barbecued meat, and be down-home, good cookin’. Which is a given, based on the fact that my Auntie and her group of gal pals (I’ve dubbed them the Auntie Posse, they are known for their amazing food and execution!), are doing the catering. One of Jared’s favorite side dishes will be making an appearance (twice baked potatoes), and another rich, decadent, stick-to-your-ribs side will accompany it. We threw in the traditional green salad and fruit salad (there will be a few special additions to those!), and for Jared, a bread tower. I mean, bread, tower? What could be better. Jared’s eyes lit up and we had to lock one in.

Fun spoiler: Savvy is designing some dinner menus that will incorporate aspects of the invites!

And that’s just what is for dinner… we also have a full cheeseboard, dessert board, and bar menu. I can’t give away everything that will be on the cheeseboard, but I can say I have been dreaming of a few features for this board for many years. I will be incorporating my favorite cheeses (most of them local California cheeses!) and pairings. There will be a main feature to the board that I. Can’t. Wait. To. Share! More to come, more to come.

As far as the dessert, it will be a smattering of everything I love. We opted for a
“board” not just one cake, because it’s just a little more fun, and our family recipes fill some of my favorite memories. There is no doubt that there will be something for every sweet tooth. The main feature will of course be our wedding cake (made by one of the best local bakers!), but since we are doing so many desserts (seriously, come hungry) we opted for a smaller, simpler wedding cake. I love all cakes so I don’t know that I could have chosen just one flavor, had it not been for Jared. He isn’t a big sweets eater, so when he does like specific things I try and make those for him. His favorite cake of all time is a Better Than Anything Cake, so Shari was able to work all of those flavors into our wedding cake!

Ya’ll know we love to drink, so there will be a well-stocked bar on the premises. Jared called it out of the gates, our family can’t be trusted with hard booze (ha ha!) so it will be beer and wine only. Which, doesn’t necessarily prevent a full come apart, but may help alleviate some craziness. There will be one signature drink on the menu (still only beer and wine!) but I can’t give that up quite yet, so stay tuned for a full rundown of details after the wedding. It is one of the tastiest drinks ever, though, and the name fits us to a “T”.

Tables and Flowers

Jared’s mom and I spent a lot of time curating the perfect table design and collecting the feature pieces for each table. As a result we look like hoarders, have stimulated the thrift store economy in the surrounding 500 miles, and probably own one of the largest milk glass collections in the States.

There will be two different table designs – one for the round tables and one for the rectangle tables. The round tables will be simple with a calf hide (purchased locally from the Salty Hereford!), a pair of thrift store cowboy boots with a full flower bouquet in them (also featured at the sign in table and down the aisle), and twinkle lights and votives around the base. The rectangle tables are really the show pieces – we are cutting greenery from the venue to fill the middle of the tables, then will add in clear, milk glass, and green candlestick holders, bud vases, and large vases. Different sized white and gold candles will fill in as well. (Oh, and twinkle lights! Have to add pops of light where we can.) There will be lots of dimension and color (we are using all colors and type of flowers!), and no two tables will be the same, adding a whimsical aspect.

Most of you also probably know I’ve been collecting plates (white with flower designs) for the last few months! Every place setting will be a bit unique giving a shabby-chic vibe, but there is something so beautiful about a fully set table.

Again, it is important to work with good vendors. I’ve been in love with everything Lyndsay at Broken Oak Acres does, so I knew I wanted to work with her. She has the sweetest little family (I love her girls! They are precious.), and grows the majority of the flowers and greenery she uses. She will be sourcing/growing all the flowers, doing my bouquet, and was kind enough to offer to put the bundles of flowers needed for each table together (to keep consistency). Lyndsay is so easy to work with and so kind. It was a huge relief when I was able to go visit with her and set up a mock table. We had to fill in with miscellaneous candles and plates that she had at her house, but we were able to get a good idea of how the tables will come together!

Miscellaneous Custom Bits

There is so much to include here! But I’ll try to keep it short and sweet. A big component of the custom pieces around the wedding are due to my dad. He is an amazing woodworker and has built me a few pieces over the years (one of which will be used at the wedding!). Everything he builds is so unique and special. He has his own mill and will be milling slabs for the cheeseboard, bar, and boards for additional seating. He is also building the stage and archway. All of the wood is from the ranch, and each piece is one-of-a-kind. I know I will cherish all of the work he put into these custom pieces forever.

I also love cowhide furniture and the style of vintage furniture, so I purchased a vintage loveseat and recovered it. It is so not perfect, but from a distance looks good! And will be a pretty feature. I am thinking we’ll do some pictures with it and use it for our dinner seats at the head table.

To keep the cowhide consistent throughout the wedding I will also be temporarily stealing mom’s cowhide chairs – she has a ton of them! And they will help tie everything together. I plan on using one for gifts, and two matching ones for the “powder room”.

Which, speaking of… the bathrooms at the wedding were a real design challenge. No matter how you dress them up, a porta potty is a porta potty. They’re an eye sore and I couldn’t settle with it. After much pondering I think I found a unique way to “hide” them, that will double as a design feature. I got my hands on some rusted tin, with which we’ll build a faux wall in front of the bathrooms. Not only will the wall keep the bathrooms hidden (to a degree), we will hang our engagement photos and family wedding photos on the front of it. Some cowhide and horns will also be incorporated. On the bathroom-side of the wall, we’re creating an outdoor “powder room” with a chairs, a mirror, lighting, and a little bathroom basket for anything guests could need (Tide to-go, hairspray, etc.).

Okay! So that was a lot of information (sorry). But I am love sharing this journey with all of you. I hope you enjoyed today’s blog, and stay tuned, there are more wedding blogs in the pipeline! In the meantime, wish me luck navigating the final countdown.

Cheers!