Christine Cater of Barefoot Floral and I first worked together years ago on my first styled shoot in New York City. When we dreamed about this new collaboration, we were so excited to learn of a venue that boasts the most adorable herd of llamas and alpacas! Nestled in the heart of California’s wine country, just northeast of Santa Barbara, Zaca Creek Ranch is a delightful, private and intimate, yet surprisingly accessible wedding venue right off of CA Hwy 101, surrounded by spectacular mountain ranges, grassy hills, and oak canopied canyons. This venue has a flare of rustic charm, yet it comes with all the finesse to fit the vision of our classic, traditional, elegant inspiration.
We quickly reached out to several Santa Barbara-based vendors and were so pleased by our collaboration with them. The ceremony and reception spaces were designed around tones of wicker furniture and turmeric, cheered up by a purple floral palette, featuring delicate lilacs. The venue features incredible style versatility, offering a plethora of ceremony and reception sites to choose from. The manicured lawn with the backlit stretch of oak trees and the oak canopy became our respective choices. The bride and groom sunset photos, captured against that perfect California golden light, were our iconic and magical gift from nature.
And not to forget, our alpaca friends were a charming and integral part of our experience! Dandy, the alpaca, was artfully adorned with a freshly crafted crown of pastel flowers around its neck! And in true form to the alpaca sense of wedding celebration, our famished Dandy found the bride’s bouquet to be a tasty vegan treat worth biting out of (check that out in the video!) May every styled shoot be endowed with spontaneous fun and bathed in splendid light, as ours did!
Photographer & Cinematographer: Grace Aston Photography @graceastonphotography | Venue: Zaca Creek Ranch @zacacreekranch | Floral Design: Barefoot Floral, @barefootfloral | Wedding & Events Planner: White Sage Events @whitesageevents | Film Lab: Goodman Film Lab, @goodmanfilmlab | Rentals: Elan Event Rentals @elaneventrentals | Rentals: Theoni Collection @theonicollection | Hair & Make-up: TEAM Hair & Makeup, @mar_teamhairandmakeup | Bridal Salon: Moondance Bridal @moondancebridal | Bridal Gown and Robe: Rish Bridal @rish_bridal | Getting Ready Robe: Show Me Your Mumu @showmeyourmumu |Shoes “Mariee Blush”: Bella Belle Shoes @bellabelleshoes | Ring Box: The Mrs. Box @the_mrs_box | Wedding Rings and Rolex Watch: Fourtane’s Carmel-by-the-Sea, @fourtane | Stationery: Epoch Design @epochdes| Turmeric Velvet Table Runner: La Tavola Linen @latavolalinens | Tux: The Black Tux @theblacktux | Cake & Macarons: Blue Aces Bake Shoppe @blueacesbakeshoppe | Perfume: Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet by Dior @dior | Models: Sabrina Unke @sabrinaunke & Cameron Dermicek @cam.dermicek
As Feature on Wedding Sparrow
