Whimsical Wedding at Hummingbird Nest Ranch

If regal Spanish architecture along with decor that gives off warmth and luxury are what you seek, a wedding at Hummingbird Nest Ranch is right up your alley.  This beautiful wedding venue tucked away in the mountains of Santa Susana (located less than a half an hour from L.A) has olive groves, romantic accommodation, fountains, and stunning canyon views – complete perfection for both a bride and groom looking for an indoor or outdoor wedding venue.

Remarks from planner: “Upon arrival, guests were offered sugar cookies with periwinkle icing in the shape of the couple’s initials, M and S from Merely Sweets in Brea, CA. Chilled bottles of Izze Soda were available for guests to refresh themselves as well. Surrounded by a field of greenery, guests witnessed the beautiful couple say ‘I DO‘ under a beautiful floral arch assembled by Milieu Floral Design accompanied by a trio from OC Strings.

“Following the ceremony, guests were escorted to a poolside cocktail hour to celebrate and mingle! Escort cards following the periwinkle, peach and gold color concept were tagged onto bottles of beer, wine, and apple cider on a custom installation board following the theme ‘It Gets Better with Age.’ On the board were also photos of the couple growing up as a baby, toddler, child and teenager.

“A do-it-yourself trail mix station was provided for guests to pair with their escort card drinks with snacks such as nuts, chocolate, and dried fruit.Guests were then invited to dinner and dance under the stars with live entertainment provided by Wayne Foster Entertainment who helped narrate Sandra & Myles love story. There was never a dull moment during this beautiful reception! With the help of the talented duo from Sloan Photographers, the gorgeous day was captured.”

Overall theme for the ceremony and reception?

Remarks from the Bride: “The overall look of the wedding was definitely whimsical with soft peach and periwinkle touches. We incorporated a logo of a beer and wine glass with the couple’s initials as their favorite things are beer and wine. We tied this all in with perfect pairings during cocktail hour as guests sipped of beer and wine and paired with appetizers and a dark chocolate and nut station. Escort cards were given to guests in the form of beer and wine as well. An installation board was created with the phrase ‘It Gets Better with Age’ and photos of the couple when they were babies, elementary, junior high, and high school were placed on the board.”

Describe the Bride’s Attire

“Maggie Sottero was the designer of the wedding gown.  The gown had a hint of gold shading with a sweetheart neckline and beading throughout the gown.  Its funny, because everything I just described was everything I did not want when I was looking at dresses,  and end up with a dress  that dress.

“Shoes were a light gold with subtle rhinestones by Stuart Weitzman.”

What did you give your bridesmaids as a bridesmaids gift?

“A hanging makeup bag personalized with their names embroidered on the front.  Each bag was filled with items that could have been used over the wedding weekend as well other trips (i.e., toothbrush and toothpaste, facial cleanser, and Advil).

“I knew all of my bridesmaids enjoyed traveling and wanted to give them something that they would be able to use not only for the wedding weekend, but for future trips as well.”

Describe the Bridesmaids’ Attire

“Each bridesmaid chose a dress style by Dessy Group.   I allowed each girl to choose the style they wanted knowing that it would have been difficult to have six bridesmaid agree on one style.  Plus, I wanted each one to choose the style that represented them.  The only requirements I gave was they needed to choose from the collection and gave them the color, and that it needed to be a floor length dress.”

Describe your Bridal Veil

“I knew I wanted a cathedral veil for the ceremony and tried on several veils, but all of the cathedral veils I really liked were out of my price range.  One of my bridesmaids offered her veil from her wedding 15 years prior.  I was a bit hesitant at first, but when she brought it to my dress fitting and I tried it on, the color matched perfectly and looked perfect with the dress.  It also have very subtle rhinestones to match the rhinestones on the shoes.”

What were the highlights from the ceremony and reception?

“Highlights from the ceremony was our two ring bears trying to find their way down the aisles.  For the reception its was speeches from our closest friends and Myles dad.”

Which pieces of music did you use during the ceremony?

Processional

Song: “Water Music” – Air by Handel

Song: “Pachelbel Canon in D Minor” by Pachelbel – for the bridesmaids

Song: “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Ingrid Michelson – for the bride

Recessional

Song: “Loeillet” by Allegro

Advice for Future Brides

“Have fun planning one of the biggest events in your life. Don’t let stress take away from the fun and excitement of the planning and most importantly the wedding day.”

What wedding favors did you give your guests?

“We wanted to give them something that represented us as well as something that we knew our guests would enjoy. Each guest received either a single serving bottle of Martenelli Apple Cider, Corona beer or Red wine and had to determine what each guests would enjoy most.”

Describe the Groom’s Attire

“The groom wore a dark grey suit rented from Friar Tux, black Michael Jordan sneakers, and an off white textured necktie by Vince Camuto purchased from Macys completed the look.”

Describe the Groomsmen Attire

“The groomsmen wore the same suit as the groom, except their tie were a periwinkle blue .  Each wore black Michael Jordan sneakers that were also given to them as a groomsmen gift.  The groom wanted himself as well as the groomsmen to be comfortable in shoes that they were going to have to wear for a few hours.”

What types of flowers did you have?

“We wanted to incorporate the shades of blue and Milieu floral design did an amazing job with blue hydrangeas, periwinkle thistle, white lisianthus, English garden roses, jasmine vine, seeded euc, dusty miller and ranunculas.”

Where did you buy your Wedding Stationery?

“We hired a graphic designer, Tiffany Hahn, to create the custom pieces for the entire wedding. She did an amazing job with the colors and making the invites feel overall whimsical and personalized to reflect us.”

Where did you go on your Honeymoon?

“We have not gone on our Honeymoon, but have gone on a few Mini-moons until we are able to find the time for an extend Honeymoon.   We are considering Turks and Caicos or Bora Bora at the moment.”