Kelsey + Colin Flying Caballos Vintage Chic Wedding {San Luis Obisbo Wedding, Flying Caballos Wedding Photos}

The Murphy Wedding was nothing short of amazing!  So grab some popcorn, a glass of wine, and a nice comfy seat cuz this post is jam packed full of photos!

As you go through these images you will see two names at the bottom of them.  You might ask WHY?  Well my good friend Meghan Wiesman and I often shoot together when we can.  She has a photography business in Southern California (West Covina) and I am up here in Sonoma County.  But we try and travel to both places a few times a year and second shoot for each other.  This time we wanted to try something different!  We wanted to tackle this wedding as a duo photographer team.  So that is why you will see both of our names on all of the images.

I have to give you some background info on the Bride.  She was my very best friend in High School, her and Sarah Lockhart (now Sarah Ryon).  (a little post i put up the day before I left for the wedding) So it was such a trip down memory lane to walk into the venue the morning of this glorious day and see Parents of old friends walking around busy as can be with their given tasks from Kelsey.  That has to be one of the most special parts of this wedding was how much everyone helped, and helped happily.  I’ve been to many many many many weddings and almost every wedding there are things that the couple needs friends and family to help them with.  But it can easily turn into an unwanted task with an unclear expectation which never ends up as you envisioned.  It was just the opposite for Kelsey and Colin.  It was as if they paired each willing participant up with a task that they would enjoy, gave them clear expectations of an end result and left the “how” to their discretion.  Which seemed to really get everyone excited to be involved and thrilled to see the finished product come together.  Now the concept was created by Kelsey and her Best Friend and Bridesmaid, Aly (some of you may know her from her amazing business The Vine’s Leaf) but it was up to their friends, family and vendors to execute.  Meanwhile Kelsey and Colin were in their perspective houses preparing for their special day.  Neither seemed to worry about how everything was going to look or if things were getting done, they just enjoyed their time with the ones they had near and made themselves into the most stunning versions of themselves as they had always dreamed.

As I just mentioned, this wedding was a true “labor of love” We come from a pretty small town in the outskirts of Los Angeles County called LaVerne.  Although this wedding took place in San Louis Obisbo, I felt like a HUGE chunk of LaVerne was missing this weekend because they were all here at The Flying Caballos putting this wedding together!  Every single desert was homemade by hometown friends, every single photo taken by a childhood friend (Meghan Wiesman and I), every song played by another friend, even their officiant was a friend.  Everything was DIY from the hand painted signs, the program, the invitations, the save the dates, the guests favors, to the table settings etc… I was OBSESSED with all their details like the Mr & Mrs on the back of my chair, the poem Kelsey and Colin wrote to each individual guest, their very touching and intimate “first look”, the AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING song written and sung by the Best Man, ok I can go on and on but instead I’ll just show you…..

I love personal touches.  Kelsey’s Mom made her a hankie out of a piece of her old wedding dress and had Kelsey’s name embroidered on it.  Along with a safety pin she put blue beads on and attached to the hankie.

A “first look” is a new and growing trend in weddings today.  It is basically where a Bride and Groom has a special, more intimate moment where they see each other for the first time with out hundreds of guests starting at them.  Some couples choose this time to exchange vows, usually a set of vows that are lengthier and in more detail with more touching and personal sentiment to them.  They take this private moment to tell each other the things that are in their heart that maybe they wouldn’t want to do in front of hundreds of people.  It’s also a time where they can take their time and not feel rushed.  Kelsey and Colin chose to do this a couple hours before the actual ceremony.  Kelsey requested that both Meghan and I be very far away so that they couldn’t see us.  They really wanted a private moment to themselves (the only one they’d get all day).  So I hid in a field and Meghan hid behind a fence!  This was my very favorite “first look” I’ve witnessed!  You can see why….

This band West Grand Boulevard based out of Oakland was AMAZING!!!  They had a little technical difficulties during the first dance so the lead singer just sang acapella and didn’t even skip a beat!  He then ended the song by getting the 250 guests to move from just the one side of the dance floor to surrounding the couple singing the last bit of the song to them!  This band kept the guests dancing until 1 am!!!  The wedding started at 4!  It was so much fun!!  If you are thinking of having a band and you live in Northern California, I couldn’t recommend anyone more highly!  AMAZING!  Great, fun, entertaining group of people!

Just wanted to end this post with one last photo of my good friend Kelsey and I.  Kelsey, thank you so much for giving me the honor of being apart of your special day.  You were always such a wonderful friend to me.  It brings joy to my heart to see you so happy and that you found such a truly amazing and wonderful Man.  I look forward to many “date nights” we will have with you two!  I love you so much!  Congrats!

Bride’s Dress: La Boutique de Bride (San Fran)
Bride’s Make Up: Bluebird Salon– Sammy (SLO) for bridal inquiries: erin@bluebirdsalon.com
Bride’s Hair: Bluebird Salon – Sammy (SLO)
Groom’s Attire: Banana Republic (SF)
Flowers: Fluid Bloom – Nikki (SLO)
Venue: Flying Caballos– (SLO)
Cake: Judy’s Cakes (SLO) judyknapp47@yahoo.com
Desert Table: Friends from La Verne
Officiant: Nick Magill (SF)
Signs: Made by the Bride
Photobooth: Kramer
Vintage Rentals: April Showers
Design and Decor: Aly from The Vine’s Leaf, Custom Blooms (Southern California)
Day of Coordinator: Lara Choma of Sealed with a Kiss Events
Lighting: Kramer