Jayna and Daniel’s wedding was all that and a bag of chips. There was rain, there were cows, there was ankle deep mud, and there was even a narrow gauge steam-powered Pacific Coast Railroad. It’s hard to not love historic Santa Margarita Ranch, located in you guessed it, Santa Margarita, Ca. One of the oldest continuously operated cattle ranches in California, Santa Margarita Ranch was started in the late 1700’s as a part of Father Junipero Serra’s Mission Trail. It it now not only a host for cattle, but also for weddings and other events. This stunning piece of property also deeply touches my heart, as my family raises cattle and we’re currently in the middle of calving season!

Jayna and Daniel planned their destination wedding in California from Washington, D.C, flying out to Los Angeles on the regular to meet with vendors and make sure all of the details were perfect. After viewing Santa Margarita Ranch, they knew they had found the right place. “The greenery and florals in the garden coupled with the stone walls in the barn created such a romantic and unique ambiance - we knew we found a gem.” What they definitely didn’t know was how beautifully green their venue would be, after what some are calling the wettest winter in Southern California in decades. This fact didn’t fail to disappoint, when it also started to sprinkle on their wedding day.

Which leads me to what I can easily say is one of my favorite moments in all of my personal wedding history as a photographer. When you combine an amazing couple with a vivacious appetite for adventure, and some rain, there is the chance you get not one- but two trucks stuck in a cow pasture. Marriages are surely not without some challenges, but I can’t imagine anyone would have thought the first one would be trying to get back to their reception in time for the first dance. Where chains, wooden blocks, and 5 people in evening attire did not succeed, the groom fireman carrying his beautiful bride back to dry land did. Summed up in the words spouted from an enthusiastic bridesmaid while we wiped the mud from Daniel’s black dress shoes, “Mud is love.”

But nothing could truly damper the atmosphere of Jayna and Daniel’s wedding day and these two were nothing but smiles walking in to host their friends and family for the first time as husband and wife. When it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.

“When we saw each other for the first time it was truly “love at first sight”. He introduced himself and handed me a bottle of wine he brought as a dinner party gift. We ended up opening the bottle of wine and sitting by the fireplace talking all night - and the rest is history. ”

— Jayna