Samar and Reza’s Spanish Oaks Ranch wedding in Santa Margarita, California.
Samar and Reza’s wedding day was laid back and full of joy. I photographed their engagement session six weeks before their wedding. I often get asked when the best time is to do engagement sessions. It’s hard to give a straight answer to that question because it is different for everyone. Samar and Reza wanted theirs closer to the wedding; they weren’t using the images for their save the date. They chose to do a session because they wanted to get to know me and get comfortable in front of the camera, so they felt fresh and confident for photos on their wedding day.
Samar and Reza chose to do a first look.
They got ready at the same location, but the Airbnb they stayed at was large enough that they got ready in different parts of the house.
They chose to do a first look, so they would be able to get the bulk of the wedding party and family portraits out of the way. Samar and Reza’s entire family got there before the wedding, and we were able to do the majority of those photos before the ceremony. The benefit of doing this is that it allows you to have more time at your cocktail hour with guests. They had a large family and an extensive family portrait list. Family portraits can take a long time if you don’t have a condensed list. So they chose to do the photos beforehand, and it worked beautifully for their day. They were able to spend more time with their guests at cocktail hour. They also got to spend more time together with their wedding party before the ceremony. If you love the idea of not seeing each other before the wedding, then I suggest sticking to that. But if it isn’t essential to you and you want to shake things up, a first look can enhance your day with extra time with your wedding party and guests.
For more tips for stress free family portraits on your wedding day, check out my advice blog post HERE.
If you saw Samar and Reza’s engagement session, you know these two are all smiles.
They could not stop joking with each other and making each other laugh. Lucky for me, photographing couples having fun is my favorite.
Spanish Oaks Ranch weddings have so many portrait possibilities with their beautiful piece of land. The trees behind the barn act as a perfect photo backdrop for photos earlier on in the day. That same spot gets lit up beautifully at sunset. Another client’s favorite is the beautiful fields they have around their property. Always grateful for the excellent staff at Spanish Oaks Ranch, who will take us out into the fields for portraits at sunset.
This Spanish Oaks Ranch wedding wouldn’t be possible without these great vendors.
Lisa Karcher from Elegant Affairs coordinated this wedding. Flora & Fauna Fine food did the delicious catering. They had three different food stations at their wedding. One was for Mac N Cheese, yes please!
SloDoCO (San Luis Obispo Doughnut company) were the desserts. Also, I LOVE when couples choose a non traditional dessert for their wedding. Anyone else not a huge fan of cake?
Jeremy at By Request DJ and Lighting was the DJ and Nina from By request did the florals.
Rentals were by All About Events and specialty rentals were by Avenue Twelve Rentals .
Photobooth Rental was Bessy the Photo bus. Bessy the photo bus always add some adorable vintage flare to any wedding. The bus looks great with the Spanish Oaks Ranch property in the background.
Bartending and cocktails were from Copper and Crystal. if you need a great bartending service, Look no further!
Invites were from Paper Source
