We photographed Kelsey and Kyle’s engagement shoot in Pacific Beach back in June, and ever since we’ve been excited for this fun and energetic couple to tie the knot! Their Temecula wine country wedding was full of brightly colored Gerber Daisies, clever wine themed escort cards, and plenty of their own unique flair! With Kelsey being a competitive cheerleading coach, and Kyle, an avid skateboarder, there’s no doubt where the “cheery” but “laid back” vibe came from. Kelsey shared with us a few details from their celebration at Lake Oak Meadows private estate and winery. Check it out!
All outdoors, beautiful flowers and thriving landscape, lots of space for guests to roam — the venue was ours for the entire day! No other parties or onlookers that you usually get with the other wineries. Temecula isn’t far from my hometown of San Diego, but far enough to make it a retreat, and I love wine! Most of all, the fire pits and heaters, ambient lighting (candles, twinkle, paper lanterns, etc), and a variety of flowers, it reminds me of my parent’s backyard, but can fit hundreds of people!
My two favorite shots of Kyle and I are our first dance when we’re grinning ear to ear and look so ecstatic and in love, and the one where he’s kneeling and kissing my hand – it shows my typical sass!
Since the men’s attire wasn’t the typical suit or tux I figured the boutonniere shouldn’t be typical either. We used mini skateboards instead! Looped ribbon as the leaves were topped off with the skateboard wheels as flower buds.
The vibe was fun, laid back, “cheery” and unexpected, just like me. It wasn’t so much a wedding reception I wanted to have, but a typical “Rahn party!”. When I heard guests saying the event was “totally you!”, I knew I had done it right!
Just before the ceremony began, the guests were greeted and asked to choose a beverage of their choice for the pre-ceremony toast to my father, Ted, who passed away just about a year ago. He made the most amazing margaritas, which we call Ted-aritas, and we all know of his love for Jimmy Buffet tunes. The toast happened at exactly 5 o’clock, because it’s always 5 o’clock somewhere! This photo shows my two sisters/matrons of honor, my mom and myself during the toast just after they finished walking me down the aisle to give me away – ALL 3 of them, with the help of my dad from above too!
I needed a fun entrance and this I what I thought of. My sister and I had a teal 57 Chevy Barbie car when we were younger and that is what I envisioned. The cars turned out perfect and every male at the wedding couldn’t stop talking about them. My mom always made the team banner for my softball teams when I was younger, so when I had the idea of my two nieces carrying a “here comes the bride” sign down the aisle she immediately started the process. We took it one step further and had a second banner rolled up behind the first that was revealed at the end of the ceremony…it said “Mr. & Mrs. Varonfakis!”.
I’ve grown up spending my summer vacation at my favorite spot in the world – Balboa Island. They have an ice cream treat called a Balboa Bar, which is chocolate dipped ice cream on a stick coated with your choice of topping. I wasn’t going to have a cake in the first place so this was a perfect idea as dessert, and reminds me of those vacations growing up!
There are so many wine labels out there and I thought it’d be fun to give each table an unusual or quirky wine label in place of the typical table numbers. I matched the labels to the people sitting at that table too, it was great. Mine & Kyle’s was “Monogamy”, very fitting! A few other examples…“Jargon!”, “Barefoot”, “Insatiable” and “It’s a Headsnapper”. The ladder display came straight from a favorite store – Pottery Barn. We took the idea and ran with it. It came out even more spectacular than I thought.
Our experience with True was amazing! From the engagement shoot to planning the timeline of the big day it went smooth and painless. After seeing my engagement pictures I knew the wedding shots would be absolutely stunning, and they are! Every member of the True staff I have dealt with has been welcoming and helpful and had a genuine interest in our event. I’ve already told girlfriends to go to True for their upcoming weddings!
