10/20/09

Michelle + Peter

Real Weddings

I am so so so excited about today’s real wedding on Once Wed from the always amazing, Jose Villa. I actually had a chance to talk to the bride, Michelle, a while back about her wedding and knew from our initial conversation the entire day was going to be absolutely beautiful. Below are a few details from the lovely bride, Michelle…

We chose Labor Day weekend in Carmel Valley because the weather is great that time of year, and got married outside at an old hacienda-style ranch nestled in the hills. We wanted something romantic, vintage, and clean but with some rustic charm, since we were after all getting married at a ranch. We had to watch our spending so we ended up doing a lot of things ourselves. My very talented little brother built the arbor we got married under in just a few weeks. It was really beautifully done and he even carved our initials in a heart on the front of it. My uncle and his friend decorated the arbor as well as the ceremony chairs with flowers from the San Francisco flower market and lace he got at a fabric store. We wanted a very simple rustic feel for the ceremony space so not to take away from the beautiful craftsmanship of the arbor.

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For the tables, we mixed and matched vintage glass and used really funky blooms and also special ordered table numbers that were hand painted from an etsy store we found. My mom found about 20 bird cage like lanterns that were amazing when illuminated at night. She also arranged a bunch of hay bales and sewed covers for extra seating in the barn. . All in all, it turned out to be a pretty epic day

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Jose, it is always a wonderful day when we have the opportunity to feature any of your work on Once Wed, so thank you again for always sending over the most incredible weddings. And to Michelle and Peter for letting us take a peek into their beautiful wedding! Michelle wanted me to let everyone know she is selling the lanterns you see above in the images(20 total) plus a GORGEOUS Claire Pettibone wedding dress which she did not end up wearing to the wedding. You can contact her about either right here.

Vendors

Photography: Jose Villa
Wedding Coordinator: Amy Nichols Special Events
Florist: La Fleuriste
Catering: Classic Catering
My dress: Carolina Herrera
Venue: Holman Ranch
Table numbers: Funkifolkart from etsy.com

paige appel writes

10/20/09 at 12:42 pm

How utterly beautiful. love the cake and the hay bales.

10/20/09 at 12:50 pm

GORGEOUS!!!! I love that you have such a crafty family that was willing to help with so many details (especially your brother, how cute!!).

Congratulations!

Charlotte writes

10/20/09 at 12:51 pm

This is really really beautiful. Any idea where i could find lanterns like those? ‘ve been scouring the internet to find old bird cages or vintage lanterns that are just that size to use for my wedding.
Thanks!

emily writes

10/20/09 at 1:00 pm

Hey Charlotte! Michelle is actually selling hers:) Below is her email…

michellekochanski@gmail.com

Thanks

Emily

Kristin writes

10/20/09 at 1:25 pm

I love the setting and style of the wedding!Soo dreamy :) Could you please post some pictures of the bridesmaids? It looked like there was a bridesmaid giving a speech at the reception in one of the pictures and her dress and shoes looked really cute..but it was from the back and far away!

Kathryn writes

10/20/09 at 1:26 pm

What an incredible venue! Beautiful wedding Michelle.

Charlotte writes

10/20/09 at 1:40 pm

Great!

10/20/09 at 1:43 pm

it doesn’t get much more lovely than this.

Liene Stevens writes

10/20/09 at 1:45 pm

Love this wedding! Great job, Amy and Jose!

Michele writes

10/20/09 at 1:48 pm

So gorgeous, this is my favorite type of wedding. It looks classic, relaxed and totally elegant. I love that Carolina Herrera dress!

10/20/09 at 2:41 pm

love the wine bottles for vases! really beautiful couple xo

hena tayeb writes

10/20/09 at 2:55 pm

Everything looks just gorgeous, love the laid back and relaxed feel.. and the dress is just wow

Mouse writes

10/20/09 at 3:34 pm

That is such a darling venue–I love the grass between the stones, and the old buildings…the bottles are sweet, too. It so perfectly FITS the bride and groom!

Abigail writes

10/20/09 at 4:02 pm

I love it – this is all so beautiful! I love the vintage bottles – I’m doing the same thing at my wedding!

lo writes

10/20/09 at 4:39 pm

Love this whole wedding…relaxed elegance like this always wins me over. That cake is gorgeous (and I never pay attention to cakes)! Thanks for sharing :)

10/20/09 at 4:41 pm

pretty bride. lovely gown. gray suit!

10/20/09 at 4:50 pm

The brown glass goblet with the white table cloth and ivory flowers is such a beautiful pop of color in the center piece.

10/20/09 at 5:39 pm

Love the hay bale benches- great idea! So many beautiful details…

10/20/09 at 6:19 pm

Thanks everyone! Jose, thanks for sharing!

Michelle writes

10/20/09 at 6:32 pm

Emily, you were such a great source of inspiration for us during the wedding planning process and we are happy to be featured on your blog today. For anyone looking for table numbers, we also have those for sale. They are simple, rustic, hand painted wooden #’s 1-20…email me if interested! Thanks so much!

Aimee Gonzales writes

10/20/09 at 9:56 pm

The brides hair is absolutely gorgous!

10/21/09 at 12:25 am

speechless..the details and simple abundance are stunning!

10/21/09 at 12:27 am

WOW! The tones and styling of the photography are fantastic. I love all of the understated details and surrounding–they all play on each other seamlessly. So amazing.

weddings writes

10/21/09 at 11:03 am

Breathtaking! I love the effortless look of their wedding, it looks so relaxed and fresh!

10/21/09 at 6:02 pm

Oh I love Holman Ranch! We looked at getting married there and picked the same weekend the year before for our wedding in Carmel. I love what they did with the wedding and how seemlessly it blended in with the surroundings. Gorgeous cake! Did Holman’s catering make it??

April writes

10/22/09 at 4:19 am

The bride’s wedding dress was very beautiful, I love her taste and the groom simply looked handsome in his outfit too! I love this ranch style wedding, so carefree and fresh. I love the row of wooden seats all lined up with white flowers, with the 4 white huge parasols, out in the open space, with the sprawling hills and mountains in the background…oh simply romantic and adorable!Great shot!

aiduke writes

10/22/09 at 10:13 am

Lovely wedding, amazing pictures…

andrea writes

10/22/09 at 2:12 pm

Congratulations Michelle. You and your husband and the design of your wedding looks absolutely gorgeous. Love the DIY elements. We got married at Holman Ranch the day after your wedding (9.6.09) and saw the arbor at our rehearsal and thought the carved initials were so cute! The hay bales were such a great idea and your photos look amazing!

[...] 100 Layer Cake, 11Cameron Ingalls via Inspired By This, 12-15 Elizabeth Messina, 16 Jose Villa via Once Wed, 17-19 Nancy Neil via Once [...]

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