• Real Weddings

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.

• Bridesmaid Dresses: Azazie
• Dress & Apparel: Pronovias
• Cakes & Catering: Chef's Table Catering
• Cakes & Catering: Just Baked SLO
• Flowers: Adornments Flowers and Finery
• Groom & His Men: Calvin Klein
• Health & Beauty: Danielle Roberts
• Lighting & Entertainment: DJ Sota Entertainment
• Paper Goods & Calligraphy: Amy Wanninger
• Paper Goods & Calligraphy: Erik Bue
• Paper Goods & Calligraphy: Wedding Chicks
• Photographers: Ken Kienow
• Rentals: SLO Party Rentals
• Shoes: Badgley Mischka
• Venues & Officiants: Spanish Oaks Ranch