As the reception drew closer and we caught Brandon at an off moment, he randomly proposed an interesting question – “What are we going to do every weekend now?”
That basically sums up the amount of man-hours that went into what will go down as one of the most customized and hand-crafted weddings we have ever had the joy of documenting. Rachel and Brandon, along with Rachel’s parents. . . as well as various family and friends. . . . spent well over a year preparing everything for this wedding. In true “weekend warrior” fashion, these two built this wedding with their hands from the ground up.
From the place cards that dangled from the distressed wood hand-made place card frame, to the table numbers, no two alike, all made from various pieces of wood and doo-dads. . . .to the reception bar that was hand-made by Brandon himself, WITH built in beer taps. Perhaps, had there been enough time, Brandon and Rachel may very well have built the tables and seats that their guests sat on. . . we suppose some things have to give, or these two weren’t willing to put off the wedding a minute longer in full anticipation for the big day. . . . this entire wedding was crafted from scratch.
Thus, it was not surprise to us to find Rachel’s father setting up umbrellas the morning of the wedding as he pulled them out from the toy hauler he drove up the central coast full of goodies, gadgets, signs, and home made creations specially tailored for the day’s festivities. It was no surprise to see Rachel’s sister-in-law and mother baking hand made individual apple pies in the kitchen downstairs at the reception. It was no surprise to see that not only did Brandon’s buddy serve as the officiant, but he doubled as his morning-of barber and his partner in crime as the two got ready for the wedding day.
This wedding was special, not just for the two people it celebrated, but for how everyone involved. . . . and we mean EVERYONE involved came together at the one and only Spanish Oaks Ranch to be a part of what was truly a handcrafted wedding.
A HUGE shout out to Nick Radford from Nick Radford Photography for being kind enough to share some of his images with us for this blog post. If you like what you see below, you can check out the full post with a TON more images on his site by clicking HERE.
The stunning backdrop for the ceremony
The bar that Brandon built from scratch
Mason jars that served as the guest’s glass for the evening.
The place cards tied around the neck of the mason jars so you didn’t lose your drink.
“Styled Shoot” attention to detail
Each table number was handcrafted by Rachel and Brandon, with the help of family and friends.
One of our favorite shots of the day
