California Ranch Wedding: DIY Tepees & Weekend Celebration

Scott and Naomi started to plan their wedding on a napkin at brunch, 4 days after they got engaged. With so many questions and decisions looming and unknown, they decided to begin by taking turns saying what was most important to them when it came to their dream wedding. Among the decisions made that day were: venue, full bar, and the desire for a full weekend celebration in order to maximize the time they got to spend with their loved ones.
As you will see their weekend wedding celebration was uhh-amazing! One of our favorite touches had to be the handmade tee pees. All sewn and hand-painted by Naomi's mom and they were even fully decorated inside. You definitely have to see more of them in the full gallery here, all captured by The Goodness.

From The Bride On The Wedding Tee PeesAnother detail that quickly became an integral part of our wedding was the three handmade and hand-panted tepees that we set up. My mother sewed these tepees herself and we all pitched in to help paint them. This meant a lot to me because when I was young we used to spend our summers living in a tepee in Colorado and my friends used to always joke with me about this. It was only fitting to have tepees at my wedding!

The whole weekend was amazing but if I had to choose, my absolute favorite memory of our wedding day was exchanging personal vows during the ceremony and being a part of the most intimate expression of love with the man I now call my husband. I wouldn't have changed a thing.

From The Bride On The Venue:The venue we chose was particularly special to both of us, as it happens to be my parent's house/property. My mother is an architect and a landscape architect and I truly believe she designed this beautiful 65 acre ranch in the California foothills for a wedding! The full bar was a must for the party we were planning to have. Also, Scott used to own a cocktail catering business and takes his bar seriously! A weekend full of events was important to us because the wedding day goes by so quickly and it's the one time you get all your family and friends in the same place with their party shoes on! We took advantage by having a welcome cocktail party for everyone, a wedding with no time limits, and a Sunday brunch + pool party.

Wedding Details:The rest of the details came from a vague idea of the overall feeling/theme we envisioned combined with hours of internet searches. When we started to plan, I was unaware that I was embarking on the biggest DIY project of my life. We would not have been able to pull it off without the help of so many willing friends and family members. We sewed our own burlap table clothes, printed and hand stamped every piece of stationary, bought raw wood boxes and stained them for the flower centerpieces, carved and painted wood signs, made a corn-hole set for Sundayays brunch and pool party, and so much more!! In the end what made our wedding so special was all the personal touches and love and support from all the people surrounding us!

Photographer: The Goodness Cake: Flour Garden Bakery DJ: Berkeley Squares Dress Designer: Claire Pettibone Flowers: Angie Tomey of The Flower Project Groom's Attire: John Varvatos Jewelry: NADRI Shoe Designer: Banana Republic Welcome Bags & Custom Made Water Bottles: inkheads Stationery: DIY | Tepees: Bride's Mother & Friends | Officiant: Family Friend | Venue: Bride's family residence | Makeup: Bride's Girlfriend | Coordinator: Andrea Braasch | Caterer: LJ's Catering