This DIY Ranch Wedding was so full of love and surprises! I adore this couple and it was such a pleasure to coordinate their special day! Our favorite surprise was Jared surprising Sophie with their first dance directly after the ceremony. Not only did they dance, everyone did! A field of lovers dancing, it was truly a beautiful moment. Something out of a spectacular musical! Want to know more? Grab a cup of coffee, get comfy, and read all about this fabulous wedding from the brides perspective below!
♥ Details from the Bride:
We both have large families, large friend groups, and we work with a large youth group. We knew we couldn’t host everyone the way we would like to, so we divided up the day in a slightly unique way. We had a ceremony that was open invitation, a family dinner to host our families (and some people who had traveled), and a dancing and dessert reception in the evening for family and friends.
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CEREMONY: The ceremony and family dinner was at Wildwood Ranch, a Salvation Army camp in Ramona, CA, where close family friends live and work. I wanted to get married under a tree for the simplicity and beauty of being outdoors. Jared knew this, and proposed under a tree, so I’m so glad we found a ceremony location under a tree. The rustic feel fit both of our styles. We chose an open field for the ceremony so we weren’t limited in space. We made it BYOB style – “Bring Your Own Blanket”. People filled in the field with blankets, lawn chairs, umbrellas, even a tent! It gave the whole ceremony a laid back and celebratory atmosphere. There was no stuffy wedding feeling…people even cheered when I walked down the aisle! During communion time someone told us it felt like a music festival.
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WEDDING PARTY and FAMILY: Instead of having our bridesmaids and groomsmen all walk down the aisle and stand next to us (there were 21 of them total!), we just had our siblings stand with us as witnesses. The rest of our friends helped serve communion to the guests and lead worship. We crafted our ceremony very intentionally. To symbolize the uniting of our families we gathered around a small, unplanted tree and each person in our immediate family dropped in a scoop of dirt. We wanted to acknowledge the support of our family as we grow together in marriage. The apple tree is planted near where we got married and we’ll be able to watch it grow over the years.
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SURPRISES: Even though I spent months planning each part of the wedding, Jared (my now husband) managed to sneak in surprises all day. The biggest was that our first dance happened directly after the ceremony. At first I thought the wrong song played for our exit, but he smiled and said “Did you think I could wait to dance with you until tonight?” We love dancing together and it was an amazing moment to be united in marriage and dancing together immediately. (The song was “You Are The Best Thing” by Ray LaMontagne). The guests knew it was coming and everyone was invited to join in the dancing. We were so surrounded by love and joy those four minutes. There were even trumpets that popped out of the crowd like the wedding scene in Love Actually!
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RECEPTION: Our reception was at Marina Village in San Diego. We didn’t want a beach or nautical wedding even in San Diego, and the wood paneled room actually continued the rustic feel of the wedding while we gave our guests a view of the beautiful harbor. We used wood slices, tin cans, mason jars, vintage items, and candles all mixed together. The majority of our flowers were planted, and many people took them home afterwards. Jared’s favorite animal is an owl, so I was thrilled to find those adorable owls (they’re salt and pepper shakers) on
etsy.com.
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GUESTBOOK: Our version of a guestbook was a patchwork quilt where our guests signed fabric squares. It will be sewn together into a quilt we’ll have forever in our home together. It’s a beautiful collection of joyful messages and wisdom from those who were a part of the day. Our friends helped supply the desserts while an incredibly talented friend catered the more savory food. She created an amazing menu and used all local and organic ingredients. We used bamboo plates and flatware, and biodegradable cups.
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DANCE, DANCE, DANCE: We knew we wanted a reception with lots of dancing. But we still had no idea how much dancing there would be. Our friends kept the dance floor filled past capacity the entire night. The remarks I keep getting after the wedding was “that was the best dance party I’ve ever been to” or “I’ve never had so much fun at a wedding reception.”
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THE DRESS: My dress was handmade by Chris Gennero ! I couldn’t find “The Dress” anywhere, and I couldn’t spend much on a wedding dress. It was important to me to have an ethically made wedding dress and I loved being able to support a local designer. It’s actually made out of shower curtains from Anthropologie!
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BOUQUET: I knew my whole life I wanted my mom to make my wedding bouquet. The bouquet was wrapped in a handkerchief from my grandmother (she gave one to each granddaughter who was getting married, and left this one for me when she passed away). Inside my mom wrapped a heart necklace that belonged to her grandmother, and then her mom (my grandmother). It was such a personal way to keep both grandmothers with me for the day.
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JEWELRY: I made jewelry for my bridesmaids from the paper beads made by women in Rwanda at an organization (Ndengera) that Jared has visited and is very important to our church and to us. My own necklace had pearls and one gray paper bead. It was another way of including others (across the world!) in our wedding.
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IT TAKES A COMMUNITY: Our friends got involved with nearly every aspect of the day. Jared lived in an amazing house at the time, and his housemates helped shape so much of the day – they were artistic inspiration, the DJ, the emcee, the caterer, and the videographer. My roommate designed the invitations, another friend did the calligraphy. A collection of friends played the music at the ceremony. A coworker made our wedding cake. A friend ran a photo booth, filled with silly props. David Blakeman, our photographer, is a friend from Arizona drove out to be part of our wedding. This made our wedding an amazing community effort – not just “our” or “my” day, but a day for everyone to celebrate our marriage together. Krystel and the staff of Couture Events did an amazing job pulling together all the various DIY elements to make the day run so smoothly.
Sophie and Jared’s Wedding was also featured on:
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♥ Vendors:
DJ: Sean Sand
Jared’s suit:
H&M (I always wanted to know where the men’s suits were from!)
Family Dinner Catering: Jan Sheridan
Reception Catering: Ashley Freese and Sati Faulks (cabbages & kings)
Officiant- Dee Kelley
