Inspirational DIY Boho-Chic Wedding!

Matt and Maddie had a gorgeous fall wedding here at the Ranch, and we loved all the intricate DIY details they incorporated into their special day!

These lovebirds were the perfect couple to get married here, and they were so kind as to answer some follow-up questions we had about their special day!

What was the inspiration behind your day? Did you have a specific theme, style, or color palette?

Maddie: “We were inspired by the bohemian beauty of Leo Carrillo and Southern California sunsets. We wanted our wedding to be fun, have a lot of texture and color, and be full of details that represented our guests and us!”

Maddie: “We incorporated a range of terra cotta, light pinks, and pops of yellow and white throughout, as well as palms and pampas grass!”

How did you decorate your space for the ceremony and the reception? Was any part of the decor DIY?

Maddie: “We had such a blast designing with our amazing florist KO Floral Designs! Leo Carrillo is so effortlessly beautiful, so we wanted to just highlight and play off of the character at the Ranch.”

Maddie: “We wanted to focus our ceremony décor on the tree by using a garland with palm fronds and pampas grass.”

How did you meet? Tell us about the proposal.

Maddie: “Matt and I met when we were 15 years old in high school biology class! We started dating shortly after and have been together ever since! Fast forward ten years, and Matt decided to surprise me with a day of all my favorite things. He took me on a scavenger hunt around all my favorite places in LA and ended the night with a surprise in Malibu. We hiked to the top of a mountain and at the top, he lined the path with candles and rose petals and had a “will you marry me” sign, then he quickly got down on one knee and proposed!”

Tell us about your wedding!

Maddie: “At our ceremony, we included a wine box tradition, where we included letters to each other that we will read at our first anniversary, and replace every year to reflect on our relationship grew over the years.”

What was the most anticipated or special moment of your wedding day?

Maddie: “We loved our ceremony!! It was so emotional and fun, and really captured our love for each other (we thought we wouldn’t cry…and we all cried a ton!)”

After this heartfelt ceremony, guests were encouraged to move down to the reception area for the rest of the evening’s festivities!

Personal Touch Dining worked in collaboration with the newlyweds to whip up some fun signature drinks!

Cam Ham Photo Booth delighted guests with their vast array of photo props and instant prints to take home!

Maddie: “We also incorporated a ton of DIY projects, such as:”

• Our seating board
• All of our signage
• Our custom laser-engraved coasters with each guests’ name
• Our table numbers
• Custom dyed table runners
• Our laser-engraved cake topper

We were in awe of this gorgeous and unique seating chart!

It’s such a personalized touch that makes guests feel special for seeing that bit of extra effort for them.

Every guest just needed to find their customized antiqued polaroid to find their seats.

Imagine looking up pictures for every guest!

Maddie: “For the reception, we wanted everything to look warm and blend with the sunset. One of our favorite décor items were our peacock chairs during our reception!”

The Grand Entrance, after some romantic sunset pictures, was immediately followed by the First Dance!

We love this shot by Vee Taylor Photography!

It visibly shows the tidal wave of love a Bride and Groom receive from their friends and family when they’re announced as Husband and Wife.

Always such a beautiful moment!

As soon as the Bride and Groom sit after their first dance, Personal Touch Dining offers them their tray of appetizers.

That’s when our Event Coordination Team plates-up their dinners for them, so they can take a minute to relax.

Maddie: “Matt and his groomsmen and friends also choreographed a dance for the wedding, and it was such an epic moment! It was such a fun and exciting part of the day, and our guests loved it!”

Bill Calhoun Mobile Music took over for the rest of the evening, always keeping the dance floor grooving!

This adorable Couple’s Cake had the customized cake topper mentioned earlier!

Personal Touch Dining made sure to have plenty of other desserts for the hungry guests to nibble on.

Here we see Red Velvet Cake Shooters, Cannolis, and Churros with whipped cream and chocolate sauce, all made fresh on-site!

What were some of your favorite parts of your wedding?

Maddie: “Ahhh – all of it!! Haha, we absolutely loved every part of our wedding, from our awesome vendors and décor to our fun-loving guests, to the music, and the amazing food  – everything was even better than what we had envisioned! We had so much fun dancing with family during the reception and loved getting to sneak away for romantic sunset photos!”

Do you have any wedding planning or marriage advice that you’d like to share with other couples planning their day?

Maddie: “The advice out there is true! The day goes by so quickly, but you will have memories for the rest of your life. So, prioritize what will bring you and your partner joy as you celebrate the beginning of your future together! Having an amazing vendor team makes all the difference!”

There aren’t enough words to properly thank this gorgeous couple for including us on their special day!

We loved working with them and wish them nothing but the best in their future together!

Huge thanks also to our phenomenal team of vendors who helped us put together another dream wedding!

Special acknowledgment to Personal Touch Dining for their multiple roles and faultless commitment to our clients!

Vendors

Bill Calhoun Mobile Music

KO Floral Designs

Vee Taylor Photography

Reel Thread Films

Cam Ham Photo Booth

Personal Touch Dining: Catering, Venue Management, and Event Planning/Coordination

Invitation Designer: Bride DIY

Men’s Attire: Kenneth Cole, the Tie Bar

Dress Store: Ellie’s Bridal Boutique Alexandria

Jewelry: Bride – custom ring made out of family heirloom, Groom – Grandfather’s wedding band

Bridesmaid Dresses: Lulus

Dress Designer: Essence of Australia

Hair: Hair by Jordan

Makeup: Makeup by Nancy J

Valentine’s Day Feature!

We saw the pictures from Chasing Light Photography of Becky and Jared’s wedding here at the Ranch and knew what we wanted to use for our red-letter Valentine’s Day post.

Framing the window in our Bridal Suite, the bridal bouquets from Flowers by Mae Mae welcomed Becky and her bridesmaids with their vivid coral and lush burgundy blooms.

Becky was super sweet and answered a few questions for us about her experience planning!

How did you both choose your wedding day look?

B: “For my wedding day look, I was going for a romantic vintage feel.”

Flowers by Mae Mae also decorated the ceremony space, and we’re in love with this bright burgundy tree decoration!

The flowers continued down each side of the aisle to thoroughly drench the patio in that vibrant color of love.

B: “We met through a dating website in 2015!”

Tell us about the proposal.

B: “Jared proposed to me at a family gathering at my parents’ house. He had both of our families involved, and it was very special!”

Nick Weiss is a mind-blowingly talented DJ.

(Throughout the night, he played guitar and sang during the pre-ceremony, ceremony, cocktail hour, and then finally switched over to traditional DJ techniques for the rest of the evening.)

Becky looked so dreamy and beautiful, walking down the aisle!

While Becky stole our breath, Chasing Light Photography caught Jared in the throws of the moment.

It’s love like this that makes these two perfect for a Valentine’s Day shout-out.

What were some of your favorite parts of your wedding? 

B: “Exchanging vows in front of our favorite people, our first dance as husband and wife.”

The Big Kiss!!

The bridal party had such a fresh take on a classic look here at the Ranch!

(We’re so used to seeing groomsmen in sharp black suits, and bridesmaids in light colors, that we were pleasantly surprised by this group switching it up and looking so good!)

Tell us about your wedding! What was the inspiration behind your day?

B: “Romantic, simple, and a little boho was my inspiration for the day.”

The main floor looked perfect thanks to the hard-working staff at Personal Touch Dining who set all the tables and carried each chair down from the ceremony site!

How did you decorate your space for the ceremony and the reception? Was any part of the decor DIY?

B: “We wanted to incorporate as many personal items to the reception. I made my Grandma’s famous chocolate chip cookies as wedding favors…”

(Who can resist homemade cookies?!)

“We had coasters made of our two corgis…”

(We love little personal touches like this for guests to take home! We know those cookies didn’t last past the end of the night.)

“…and we had a ton of photos of our parents and grandparents at the dessert bar.”

(This area of the Cabana is a favorite for couples who want to display memories of the two families coming together, loved ones who are with them in spirit, or pictures of their relationship history.)

B: “I’d say sharing our special day with all of the amazing people in our lives was pretty spectacular!”

Personal Touch Dining staff brought Becky and Jared appetizers to their Sweetheart Table, just in case they missed any during cocktail hour.

The talented Coordination Team also plated-up the love birds’ dinner, so they could finally sit and relax for the first time that night.

Personal Touch Dining also provided extra desserts for guests to help themselves to off of our dessert bar!

Flour Power baked up an adorable, and delicious, FunFetti-style Couple’s Cake for the ceremonial cake cutting.

Nick Weiss kept the dance floor rocking the rest of the evening as guests danced the night away!

B: “Don’t sweat the small stuff, the day goes by so fast, so try to take it in.”

“Enjoy every minute of it.”

We’re so honored we could be part of this amazing couple’s special day!

Thanks, Becky and Jared, for choosing our Ranch! Thanks also to Chasing Light Photography for sharing these incredible photos.

All the vendors who worked with us this day are fantastic, and we are always so appreciative of their hard work!

Finally, a special thanks to Personal Touch Dining for the Catering, Event Coordination, and Venue Management of all the Special Events at our Ranch!

Vendors:

Personal Touch Dining

Nick Weiss

Flowers by Mae Mae

Chasing Light Photography

Flour Power