The Couple: Shelbyanna & Brandon
Wedding Date: November 16, 2013
Photography by Liz E Studio
Tell us a little about you and your beloved: We met at a Modesto Nuts game on a summer evening. It was a total spur of the moment kind of thing for my friend Annie and I. We decided at the last minute to go to the game and thank goodness we did, I would have never of had to chance to meet Brandon otherwise.
Brandon was at the with a group of friends (looking like a total beach bum may I add). At the game Annie and I were sitting by ourselves and she spotted someone she knew. Annie knew Brandon from a 4H camp they worked together at during the summer. She went over to his group to say hello and introduced us. Brandon and I saw each other again at the fair and soon after that when on our first date.
After officially dating for a year Brandon popped the question. July 10th was our one year anniversary. That day my dad was having and angiogram, so I wasn’t sure if Brandon and I would be able to celebrate our anniversary. My dad ended up being fine and Brandon asked him for his blessing while he was at the hospital.
Later that night Brandon and I went to dinner. He was acting weird and barely ate, but I didn’t think anything of it. After dinner he said he needed to turn a pump on to irrigate a walnut orchard he farms. We pulled into the dark orchard and Brandon turned on a generator. The generator then lit up a bunch of lights he had hung in some of walnut trees. We danced and ate chocolate covered strawberries under the dreamy lit trees. He played some of our favorite songs and got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was un total shock and asked if he was serious and then I said, “Yes!” of course.
Planning went pretty smooth. We knew we wanted an outdoor wedding that was more laid back and fun for the guests. We also knew our style was more country rustic and that we definitely needed a barn and mason jars!
What was the most amazing part of your day? Every part was amazing!! I loved sitting at dinner, listening to the speeches and looking out at our guests and seeing how blessed we are to have so many loved ones and friends that support us. Its amazing to have your friends and family witness one of the best days of your life!!
What else would you like to share about your big day? Relax, enjoy it, and get all the help that’s offered because it seriously goes by way too quick. It took forever that day for me to realize that I was actually getting married and everything was turning out so perfectly.
Ceremony and Reception Site: Galas Barn
Ceremony Musicians: Brandon’s younger brother, Griffin, played the piano for along with Sounds in Motion.
Officiant: Irene Ulm, she and Brandon have known each other from the 4H camp he works during the summer. It was awesome to have someone you actually know be the one to officiate your wedding.
Photographer: Liz E Studio
Videographer: StudioTHP. I fell in love with their style and uniqueness. See our wedding highlight film below:
Wedding Planner: My sisters Shavonne and Carly, my mother in law, and myself. I could have not done it with out them!
Caterer: Our catering was amazing! It was actually Irene (our officiant), Tom, Dave and Debbie who all also cook for the 4H camp.
Cake/ Desserts: The cake was by Suzie Grover . Tiers for two, so delicious! Can’t wait to dig into our top tier for our year anniversary. Cake pops were made by my sister Shavonne.
Flowers: Cindy Rickets, she does flowers out of her home on the side. She is a amazing florist and was very easy on our budget. She knew just what I was thinking and was able to put it all together so nicely for the big day!
Favors: We gave mason jars with handles that we bought on miscellaneous websites. We also had the candy buffet for people to pick their favorite candies to take home.
Bridal Attire: My dress was from Bianca’s Bridal. My sisters and I went one day just to see what style I liked because I had no idea. When I put it on there was no turning back. It brought tears to my eyes and I knew that this was the one, this is what I want to wear on my wedding day. I joke that I am going to wear it at least once a month because I am so in love with it.
Bridesmaids’ Attire: House of Fashion and David’s Bridal. I wanted them to all be in the same shade, but what ever style they each felt comfortable in. I couldn’t be happier with all the different styles they chose.
Hair: My hair was done my my amazing hair dresser, Karlee, from Salon Basix. She came to our location and whipped out all 8 of our hair styles.
Make-up : Christa from Blush Makeup and Beauty Lounge. She also came to our location and made us all look so wonderful.
Invitations: My amazing sister designed my save-the-dates and invitations. We ordered them from black river imagining.
DJ/ Entertainment: Sounds in Motion DJ Jason. Everyone loved how well of a job they did.
Lighting: Classic Party Rentals. The barn also came with the awesome cafe string lights inside.
Signage and Décor Rentals: Simple Country Weddings & Vintage Decor Rentals and lots of DIY.
Furniture and Linen Rentals: Classic Party Rentals
Transportation: Dream Limo
Honeymoon Location: Maui. We started off our newly married life missing our flight out and had to have a 5-hour layover in L.A. Talk about starting your lives off right! Definitely a story we will never forget!
First Dance Song: “Heaven” by Jason Aldean and Bryan Adams
Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now? Don’t procrastinate, get it done and out of the way! Don’t stress out, it will all fall into place. Take all the help offered so you won’t feel bombarded with jobs later.
Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance? I do wish we could have had more time to say hello to our guests and be able to thank them for coming. As the center of the event there is not much time to doing anything but what is on the schedule.
Blog post by Real Weddings Magazine’s Social Media Maven, Aimee Carroll.
Photos courtesy of and copyright Liz E Studio.
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