Julie & Kit - Alisal Ranch, Solvang
Okay. This is going to be a long post with lots of photos. Alisal Ranch is located just a few minutes outside of Solvang in the Santa Ynez Valley. It's a 100,000 acre working ranch/dude ranch/vacation resort. Once you get past the entrance buildings and hotel area, it's pure ranch with lots of rolling hills, oak trees, deer and what the folks in Wyoming refer to as "slow elk" (cows).
It's a gorgeous location that's has to be one of the most amazing places to get married. The bad news is that this was the first wedding that they ever did there and it may well have been the last. Managing a wedding isn't something that they're used to doing and it was more work than they expected. Still, if you'd like to have your wedding there, plan on buying out the entire resort for the weekend as that's a requirement. The good news is that you can always schedule a weekend getaway if you're interested in checking it out.
We started out the day before the wedding doing a little shoot with just the bride and groom together. We figured that it would be fun to check out the ranch without the pressure of the wedding day and a bunch of guests milling about and waiting for them.
After the shoot, everyone headed over to a small bunkhouse tucked away in the back hills of the ranch for a good ol' fashioned hoedown.
Wedding day came around and it was a perfect September day with even a little fall chill in the morning. As everyone was getting ready, a fire broke out about a mile or two from the ranch. It got big in a hurry and was blowing towards the ranch. Knowing how fast a fire can move, you could say that I was a little concerned. The clouds in the photo below were entirely from smoke as it was an otherwise clear day. White ashes quickly began to coat the ground like a light snowfall.
Fortunately, air tankers quickly arrived on the scene and within an hour or two were able to bring the fire under control. Everyone was pretty busy with getting ready that, in the end, it didn't even slow things down.
I don't usually include the family photos in any of my blogs, but the ranch was so picturesque that it almost looks like a fake background.
The ceremony was held at a lake on the ranch property. It was not only a scenic location, but it was so perfectly quiet. No onlookers, nearby roads or even airplanes overhead to add any distraction.
The evening light was so warm and perfect as it filtered through the trees and reflected off of the lake. One benefit of the smoke from the fire is that it softened the light a little and warmed it up. Not that I'd ever wish for a brush fire on someone's wedding day, but if you were going to have one nearby, this was it.
The hand-written vows got the tears flowing...
After the ceremony, we shot a few photos out on the dock. The bride and groom really didn't want any posed images, but the light was so beautiful and the setting so perfect that how could we not?
The theme for the wedding was "gold" so everyone had to wear something gold. (I wore my gold tie.)
The reception was held in the large grassy parklike area amongst the bungalows that make up the hotel part of the ranch. Oh what a night!
You know, there's nothing like a great toast to start off the reception. There's an art to it - the great ones stick with you and really tell you a lot about the persons to whom they're directed. (My younger brother's toast was probably the highlight of my wedding reception.)
Did I happen to mention that there was lots of dancing? Once the party got started, it did not stop. We left late but no one was sitting down when we did. The band did a great job of keeping everone out on the dance floor. With no curfew or closing time to worry about, the party went on pretty much all night.
For more photography by San Diego wedding and portrait photographer John Mireles, visit VentanaPhotography.com.
It's a gorgeous location that's has to be one of the most amazing places to get married. The bad news is that this was the first wedding that they ever did there and it may well have been the last. Managing a wedding isn't something that they're used to doing and it was more work than they expected. Still, if you'd like to have your wedding there, plan on buying out the entire resort for the weekend as that's a requirement. The good news is that you can always schedule a weekend getaway if you're interested in checking it out.
We started out the day before the wedding doing a little shoot with just the bride and groom together. We figured that it would be fun to check out the ranch without the pressure of the wedding day and a bunch of guests milling about and waiting for them.
After the shoot, everyone headed over to a small bunkhouse tucked away in the back hills of the ranch for a good ol' fashioned hoedown.
Wedding day came around and it was a perfect September day with even a little fall chill in the morning. As everyone was getting ready, a fire broke out about a mile or two from the ranch. It got big in a hurry and was blowing towards the ranch. Knowing how fast a fire can move, you could say that I was a little concerned. The clouds in the photo below were entirely from smoke as it was an otherwise clear day. White ashes quickly began to coat the ground like a light snowfall.
Fortunately, air tankers quickly arrived on the scene and within an hour or two were able to bring the fire under control. Everyone was pretty busy with getting ready that, in the end, it didn't even slow things down.
I don't usually include the family photos in any of my blogs, but the ranch was so picturesque that it almost looks like a fake background.
The ceremony was held at a lake on the ranch property. It was not only a scenic location, but it was so perfectly quiet. No onlookers, nearby roads or even airplanes overhead to add any distraction.
The evening light was so warm and perfect as it filtered through the trees and reflected off of the lake. One benefit of the smoke from the fire is that it softened the light a little and warmed it up. Not that I'd ever wish for a brush fire on someone's wedding day, but if you were going to have one nearby, this was it.
The hand-written vows got the tears flowing...
After the ceremony, we shot a few photos out on the dock. The bride and groom really didn't want any posed images, but the light was so beautiful and the setting so perfect that how could we not?
The theme for the wedding was "gold" so everyone had to wear something gold. (I wore my gold tie.)
The reception was held in the large grassy parklike area amongst the bungalows that make up the hotel part of the ranch. Oh what a night!
You know, there's nothing like a great toast to start off the reception. There's an art to it - the great ones stick with you and really tell you a lot about the persons to whom they're directed. (My younger brother's toast was probably the highlight of my wedding reception.)
Did I happen to mention that there was lots of dancing? Once the party got started, it did not stop. We left late but no one was sitting down when we did. The band did a great job of keeping everone out on the dance floor. With no curfew or closing time to worry about, the party went on pretty much all night.
For more photography by San Diego wedding and portrait photographer John Mireles, visit VentanaPhotography.com.
Labels: Personal Work, Wedding
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