FROM THE BRIDE & GROOM // We could not have asked for a more perfect day or location to get married. We got married at the beautiful Calipaso Winery in Paso Robles. It was the most beautiful and etherial destination wedding in Paso Robles, ever. On our day, the sun was shining and the temperature was a perfect 78 degrees. Our wedding party stayed with us at Calipaso Winery & Villa. My girls came over to our “Winemakers Suite” to get all dolled up and more importantly, to spend quality time with me drinking bubbly in our matching robes while the boys relaxed by the pool. The hours before the wedding turned out to be better than I could have imagined. Knowing I would likely be anxious, Nick surprised me with little notes, cards and meaningful gifts throughout the morning. We both finalized our vows and prepared for a moment we had both dreamt about for our whole lives— the first look.
Even ‘Mother Nature’ was excited during our “first look” moment as gusts of wind swept through the property as I approached my husband-to-be. Although both my veil and hair we a bit unruly due to the wind, it made the moment even more memorable. My heart was racing from both nerves and excitement. Despite instructions to tap him on the shoulder, I was too eager to his smiling face and decided instead to run and hug him. One of the most incredible moments was when we took a moment to look around to see our vision come to life. After a few romantic photos, we went to our staging areas before the start of the ceremony. It was surreal walking down the aisle to see all our friends and family sitting there, dressed to the nines, to support us on our special day.
Our flower girl was adorable, our ring bearer waved to the crowd while cruising down the aisle in his red Radio Flyer Wagon and our dog, Nala, stole the show when she came down the aisle in in her white doggy wedding dress to the “The Circle of Life” song from the Lion King. Our best friend presided over the wedding and knocked it out of the park. Listening to the beautiful vows we wrote to each other for the first time was the highlight of the ceremony. Before we knew it, we were kissing as husband and wife and heading off to party. The appetizers, the food, the specialty cocktails were perfect…even better than we imagined. Another special moment was when we got to sit together at our sweetheart table, alone, looking around at all of our closest friends and family, together at once, to celebrate with us. It was magical. After beautiful toasts from our siblings, cake, and an amazing donut bar we all danced the rest of the night away. The entire day was a dream from beginning to end. In fact, everyone had so much fun they have asked us to get married every year.
If I could say I had one favorite moment from our day was our first dance. Neither of us is the best dancers and only got to practice a few times before the wedding. But when our song came on, we forgot everything we practiced and just had fun with it. We sang the words to the song to each other and just danced as if nobody was watching. We even did the “Dirty Dancing” lift at the end.
The theme of our wedding was lemon and lavender. Calipaso is a beautiful Tuscan inspired yellow villa surrounded with vineyards and lavender. Being that my mother’s side of the family is from Italy, and lemons are plentiful in Italian decor, it was a fitting theme. Our cocktails, food, cake, invitations, decor etc. all drew upon our lemon-lavender theme. It all came together so beautifully. The best part about wedding planning was spending a year planning every detail of a wedding together brought us so much closer. Often times, we thought to ourselves, “if we can plan all of this together, we will be able to do anything together. We were there for each other every step of the way. Nick even helped with the arts and crafts!!!
I would love to offer a little advice to upcoming brides planning their weddings. Organization is critical…especially if you are not going to have a full-time coordinator. We created spread sheets to track invitations, guests, budgets and we also created a very detailed itinerary and style board to help our vendors understand our vision. Most importantly, although it is no doubt stressful, try to enjoy it all. It truly is the most exciting time of your lives. If it gets overwhelming, step away and share a bottle of wine or go on a great date with your fiancé…it will help to remind what all the hard work is for.
I need this wedding to take up more space on my grid, because it was just phenomenal. Cape Horn Estate SCREAMED of natural beauty and incredible landscaping with the mountain view of the Columbia Gorge and the brilliant florals that surrounded the entire property. It is unmatched with its unique and jaw-dropping scenes.
But far past the beauty of the estate, MacKenzie and Dan just shined with their love for each other and their family&friends all day long. Their focus was on the beauty if the environment and their love for adventure.
Minus the sunburn, I would do it ALL over again just to rewatch their unhindered joy shine everywhere.
I only deliver about 5% OR LESS in black and white. But when they make their appearance, they are chosen with intention and lots of love. These little gems from Morgan & Cole`s dreamy engagement session spoke to me in an extra special way that felt even better completely colorless.
Something about black and white just makes the energy change and my eyes to see a completely different part of an image compared to full color. I really love it.
I have waited TWO YEARS for someone to finally let me take them up to my favorite place... and WOW it did not disapoint.
Moulton Falls Is one of the most incredible spaces that I have been to. I`m not sure if its the unreal teal-colored water or the serenity thats washes over every inch of the space, but it makes me stop and just stare every which way I turn. Its beauty called to me since the first time I visited and I`m FINALLY able to share a few images that reflect its beauty with this amazing pair for their engagement session.
Morgan & Cole showed up ready for anything and they made magic. They traversed the rocky terrain with more grace and romance than I could have imagined and turned this session into their engagement fairytale. I`m so impressed with them! Just keep swiping and see what I mean.
I just cant decide which image is my favorite. Once again, I`m giddy with these two and how their pictures came together.
Outstanding!!! Big Tree Little People amazingness.