Swallow Creek Ranch, Cayucos, CA

    Kristin and Thomas were aware of each other in high school, but didn’t “officially” meet until eight years after graduation, when each had returned to Templeton after college. The occasion was a dinner with Kristin’s sister and some mutual friends, and within four months Kristin and Thomas were dating.

   Thirteen months later, they became engaged when Thomas took Kristin to one of his job sites, overlooking Morro Bay’s famous Morro Rock. “He asked me for a date that night,” Kristin recalls, “so we were headed to the coast for dinner and he had to stop by one of his sites to check on things.” It wasn’t unusual for Thomas to visit a job site, so she was completely surprised when he placed a custom-made ring on her finger.

   For their ceremony, the couple wanted to place the focus on God’s role in their marriage, and their chosen theme was “Fate is God’s plan.” Because the wedding was held outdoors, Kristin and Thomas went for a natural-looking décor. The apples featured in the French country look were even incorporated into the floral arrangements of cymbidium orchids and hypericum berries. 
   A gazebo was decorated with tall arrangements of curly willow and flowers, and the couple stood under an arch made by Thomas’s best man and his brother, which now stands in the couple’s home courtyard. The mothers of the bride and groom poured wine into decanters, which the fathers then emptied into a single cup for the Unity ceremony.
For a timeless, traditional look, Kristin chose a Nicole Miller gown from Down the Aisle. As she is a rodeo aficionado, the bride wore cowgirl boots in baby blue.
    After the ceremony, Kristin and Thomas were transported in a 1951 Buick to the barn at Swallow Creek Ranch for the reception. To enter the barn, guests slipped through a curtain of Dendrobium orchids. They were greeted by thousands of twinkle lights and green candles in mason jars illuminating the rustic space. The floral arrangements were in antique water buckets, and the head table containers were antique French apple pickers.
   Trumpet Vine Catering provided a lavish reception dinner. In keeping with the rustic theme, two bars were created from wine barrels with old fabric-draped boards across them. The cake was created from white and dark chocolate to resemble the walls of the barn at Swallow Creek Ranch.

   Kristin and Thomas spent their wedding night at the Sunset Inn in Cayucos, then honeymooned in Spain for two weeks.