• Real Weddings

Who doesn't love chips, salsa and margaritas? Well ... we certainly do! So, it's no surprise that we are super excited to feature Randy and Naomi's rustic Mexican fiesta wedding. Complete with a mariachi band, signature margarita cocktail and tasty Mexican food food served at the reception.
All held at a private berry ranch in Watsonville, California and perfectly captured by Kristen Wood. As always, there are a ton more photos to see in the full gallery here, and Naomi goes into more detail about their special day, so be sure to read more.

From The Bride:Our first look was really special. I got to see Randy from afar while he was getting ready for me to appear, and the first sight of him made me so excited. I felt like a little kid and I couldn’t wait to go see him. At the moment of our first look, there were a lot of things going on in the background with people setting up and people arriving, but I’ll never forget how we locked eyes and the depth of our gaze spoke more love than we had words for. We couldn’t stop smiling.

Advice for couples planning:At times the process is every bit as stressful and overwhelming as people say it is, but it’s all worth it. Decide on what’s important for each of you. For us, it was good photography and ensuring that our guests have fun. If you set the stage for a good party, the pieces will fall into place.

Hire a wedding coordinator. During the planning phase and on the day of the wedding, she was incredibly helpful. We had a few hiccups the day of our wedding and the wedding coordinator was invaluable. She was amazing.
Last piece of advice: Don’t lose each other on your wedding day. You get so caught up in seeing your guests that you easily get separated. So do your best to stay by each other.

My mother and her friends are incredibly talented and did most of the décor. She did all my floral, handmade wooden signs and table numbers from old fence panels and acrylic paint, collected antique milk glass for the centerpieces, used personal furniture for all the specialty tables, and incorporated her own lace linens and doilies throughout the venue.

A friend of mine bought me authentic sombreros, which sat at our sweetheart table. All in all the day was fabulous. I truly didn’t want it to end, and if I could, I would relive my wedding day over and over again! I’d describe our wedding as Rustic Mexican Chic. The blend of lace and antique details with a bit of Mexican flare made the wedding feel conventional yet original.

My aunt is a fabulous baker and us a small confetti cake (her own recipe) topped with a white peony and green hydrangeas made of gum paste.

Photographer: Kristen Wood Makeup: Brieana Kraft Coordinator: Denise Addesso DJ: Santa Cruz Live Music & DJ Flowers: Wendy Lea Flowers Groom's Attire: JC Penny Jewelry: Kendra Scott Design Read More from the bride

From The Bride:1.For something I’d do differently: There were a few things unique to our wedding that I would have done differently if I could do it over again (mainly catering choice). However, those things aren’t applicable advice for all brides. So of the things not unique to our situation, I would have scheduled a little more time for everything…the day went by too quickly. Also, I made a shot list, but I didn’t stick to it. So put someone in charge of that and make sure that person knows who who is who.  

2.It’s a little hard to land on a final number because we were gifted a few things from our parents, and I don’t know those exact costs (specifically the alcohol, the wedding coordinator and the flowers). However I created some estimates. I should also state that we didn’t pay a site fee, as the location was also a gift to us. In total we spent approximately $15K. It may have been a little more but it was definitely under $20K. Our biggest spends were on photography and lighting.