Ashley & Derrick
WHAT IS THE MOST AMAZING THING ABOUT YOUR MAN?
My husband is passionate. He is passionate about our love, he lives a very fulfilling life, he is the most patient person I know, and he is the best partner. Before we got married, we learned about each other's love languages so that we could be the best partners for each other. He is my dreamboat, a total hunky badass.
WHERE WAS YOUR WEDDING LOCATED? WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE THIS LOCATION?
Our wedding was located off HWY 1, 2 miles north of Cayucos, California. It was in the rolling hills right off the coastal highway. We really wanted a venue that set a fun vibe for the guests and portrayed our overall style. We were really going for a coastal wedding, we went to a total of 3 venues. Swallow Creek Ranch was the second venue we visited and fell in love. There were two ceremony options and we chose the second option near the barn. The ceremony was surrounded by tall eucalyptus trees, peeking through the trees was the rolling hills and ocean. The ceremony was so quiet and peaceful, cows were grazing and you could hear the eucalyptus trees swaying and birds chirping. We fell in love with the ceremony site. The cocktail area was held in front of the barn and it had the exact look we wanted for certain vendors. The barn was built in 1863 and used to be a teal blue and was now faded to a baby blue, the inside of the barn was gorgeous, the aging of the barn caused the wood slats to create little gaps and light would come through. We loved our venue, we loved that the barn had such character. Derrick and I both knew this was the exact place we wanted to get married.
WHO CREATED YOUR GORGEOUS GOWN?
Rue De Siene created my dress, I dreamt of wearing a low back, high neck, long sleeve on my wedding day. I tried on a total of 8-10 dresses. This was the only dress I cried about. It was so unique, dreamy, and whimsical.
WHAT IS ONE WORD THAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR WEDDING?
DREAMY
WHAT WAS THE MOST CHALLENGING PART OF ORGANISING A WEDDING?
I am obsessed with decorating and planning, planning a wedding made me want to become a planner. We knew the exact style we wanted, it was so much fun. Before we got married we agreed to make every decision based on what we wanted and to not listen to others, because it wasn't their day, but ours. We made every decision based on our style and what made us happy. I am so happy and grateful to say that our experience was a breeze, but lets be honest, not everything was easy, the hardest decision to this day, that i still roll my eyes at, picking a napkin, and picking silverware. I've never stared at silverware and thought "they look so similar but so different". About 2 months before the wedding our awesome rental consultant, Caitlin, showed us this modern gold and it was LOVE. it completed the look. We ended up with a beautiful velvet mauve napkin. I am so glad we enjoyed the planning journey and those two minor things were the hardest things, they are minor now, and were minor then, but made all the difference.
WHAT WAS YOUR AISLE SONG?
My husband and our family walked down the aisle to "how sweet it is" by julia stone. The bridal party walked down to "bloom" by the paper kites, and I walked down to "im with you" by Vance Joy. I loved this song, and had it in the back of my head. I asked my husband one day what song he could see me walking down the isle to and he said "that one song and explained it in a very vague way and i was trying to guess while playing him a lot of songs, sure enough, I played that song and it was "I'm with you" by Vance joy.
WHAT IS ONE SCENE IN THE WEDDING THAT WILL FOREVER BE IN YOUR MEMORY?
I will forever remember two moments so vividly. My dad seeing me for the first time, it was the second time in my life I have seen my Dad cry. And i will never forget the feeling of walking down the aisle to my future husband and the look on his face as i walked down. He didn't have tears rolling down his face but our eyes were locked and I felt like we were alone.
WHERE DID YOU GO ON YOUR HONEYMOON?
Three weeks after our wedding we hopped on a plane and headed on an eight day honeymoon to Maui, it was the best trip ever. We had the best time.
HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A FOREVER SOLES BRIDE?
I had the most wonderful experience with Forever Soles. I am an extremely picky person and very particular. Since my legs did show I wanted shoes that would be beautiful and fun. I am notorious and known for being barefoot, so Derrick always wanted me walking down the isle barefoot and that was always my plan. BUT I fell in love with two pairs, i figured i would walk down the eyes in the dreamy white heels, and party in my barefoot sandals. I got SO MANY COMPLIMENTS. I loved them! great quality.
Venue: Swallow Creek Ranch, Photographer: Stephanie Young, Video: Naomi, Florals: Rachael Manuel, Coordinator: Krysta Coleman, Hair: Nikole Howell, Photobooth: The Photo Bus, Dress: Moondance Bridal, Rue De Seine Bridal
