Tying the Knot Wedding Theme
John & Colette Photography
Diwan and Gabrielle Munger's love story was a long time coming. A family friend and the groom's younger brother had tried to set them up for years, but Gabrielle was shy—she'd never had a boyfriend before. So, they started slow, as friends. Three years later, Gabrielle, interned at Diwan's family blueberry and pistachio farm in San Joaquin Valley, California, where Diwan is now Senior Director of Corporate Operations, and after working the harvest together for a couple weeks, they finally began dating. Eventually, Diwan proposed during a family dinner on Gabrielle's birthday. She opened a gift to find a pair of Converse shoes that read "Marry Me" with a ring tied to the laces.
"I lost it with joy! I was so surprised and so excited I couldn't contain myself," Gabrielle, now an agronomist, tells CountryLiving.com. "No one in that room existed except him. However, when I finally got myself together, it couldn't have been more perfect than to share that moment with everyone there. I wouldn't have had it any other way—he just knows me!"
They married on October 10, 2015, at Whispering Rose Ranch, in Solvang, California. Like the proposal, the wedding was a family affair, with the bride's side DIYing the stationery and the groom's family contributing blueberries and pistachios from their farm for salads and favors, respectively.
The bride's biggest piece of advice when it comes to planning a wedding? "Everything will work out the way it's meant to. Sometimes a vendor isn't available or the perfect flower isn't in bloom, but it all works out in the end. It seemed that some of our easiest decisions were ones made when I wasn't trying to be a perfectionist."
Check out all the photos from their stunning affair, below.
The wedding venue was love at first sight for the bride. "I grew up showing horses so obviously I loved the ranch the second we drove up!"
Diwan, a history buff, fell for the historical elements of the more than 100-acre property, including the bride's stone cottage and the groom's saloon. Above all, "When you're at the ranch you are really getting an experience and that's also what we wanted for our guests," Gabrielle says. "It just felt right!"
The invitations were a team effort. The bride and her family hand-cut, hand-stamped (using a calligraphed rubber stamp by Antiquaria), and hand-painted each one. After teaching themselves calligraphy, the mothers of the bride and groom addressed each envelope.
A historic stone cottage surrounded by olive trees made for a lovely suite for the bridal party to get ready. It was originally built in Virginia before the end of the Civil War.
Deer were even spotted roaming around the stone cottage.
The bride wore an Alvina Valenta wedding dress and accessorized with Jimmy Choo shoes and Renee Pawele veil, earrings, hair piece, and bracelet.
The bride and bridesmaids carried bouquets by HollyFlora LA. The flower girl's dress is from Etsy, but the bride had a friend add some layers underneath to better match the bridal gown.
Naturally, the groom and groomsmen rocked cowboy boots from Boot Barn, as well as denim jeans from 7 For All Mankind and cowboy hats.
In a truly special moment just before the ceremony, horses were released into a nearby field once guests were seated. Whinnying and galloping at top speed, the thoroughbreds were an exciting and magical surprise for the guests, who gasped, oohed, and awwed. But it turns out, it was planned all along—just one of the ways Whispering Rose Ranch can incorporate their resident animals into celebrations.
Comfy lounge areas provided a place for pre-dinner mingling—and later, a break from dancing, which went on well into the night.
Bundles of pistachios from the groom's family farm doubled as both escort cards and wedding favors.
The fairy tale alfresco reception setting on the venue's "Sycamore Lane"featured a chalkboard menu and crystal chandeliers hung from the trees.
And for a sweet finish, the nearly naked rustic wedding cake by Solvang Bakery was perfectly on-trend.
Taysha Murtaugh Lifestyle Editor Taysha Murtaugh was the Lifestyle Editor at CountryLiving.com.
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Source: https://www.countryliving.com/entertaining/g4123/rustic-wedding-whispering-rose-ranch/