When North And South Collided That Day Only Happy Tears Were Shed

A Southern California girl married a Northern California boy. When North and South collided that day only happy tears were shed! What better way to bring both sides together than on the central coast. Spanish Oaks Ranch is a ranch style barn located in Santa Margarita, a gorgeous property just outside of San Luis Obispo that provides elegant romantic indoor decor and endless breathtaking landscape.

Adornments Flowers and Finery took inspiration of lush organic beauty from the
central coast by incorporating olive leaves and
hypericum berries into the centerpieces. The use of a coral color palette with a peach accent tied it all together for a natural look. See everything we couldn’t fit into this post in the full gallery.

You Might Want A Pair Of Dancing Shoes

I
would say for brides it is so nice to have a change of shoes for
dancing. I feel brides think they can pull off wearing their heels all
day, but the day doesn’t feel long until you sit down for the first time
for the reception and it’s nice to give your feet a break!
I loved that I had a change of shoes for dancing, made the evening so
much easier than having to worry about my feet hurting. More it was the
small hike I did in my heels to take our amazing sunset photos in the
hills. Same went for guests, we bought cheap flip flops and provided an
array of sizes for guests. People were so thankful we had those handy.

Do Your Rehearsal At The Same Time Of Day

I feel the only issue we had at our wedding was unexpected wind prior
to the ceremony. I would highly
suggest rehearsing at the same time the day before to get a good
weather prediction. We found during rehearsal the wind was a lot
stronger than we thought and the dirt was slightly hitting the wedding
party in the eyes. A couple of hours before walking down the aisle they
watered the dirt area to keep the ground more packed. When I purchased my veil I did not take
account for wind at the time and me trying to tame it during the
ceremony provided some humor for everyone.

Some Great Advice: Book Your Vendors Early!

Another
word of advice is if you’re getting married in a smaller city I would
recommend booking your vendors early! Right after we picked our venue we
booked our photographer and caterer. When it came to trying to find a
hairstylist and make-up artist, I found that I was booking a little late
roughly 5 months prior to the big day since a good amount were booked.
Thankfully I came across my amazing HMU Danielle from recommendations
from other stylists that had worked with her. Once you have to look
outside of the area, they add an additional charge of driving distance
by the mile to your location.

Fun Cocktail Get Together For Breakfast

A great thing we did
was the night before after rehearsal was a small cocktail get together
in our hotel’s breakfast area with beverages, snacks, and desserts. This
was great from a bride standpoint because I could talk to guests longer
than you normally would at the wedding and especially a time for family
members to catch up. This
was also a nice ice breaker for both sides to meet each other prior to
the wedding. I found that family and friends that didn’t know each other
became great buddies the next night.