Scenes from a Farm Wedding

The head table before the reception starts. Decorated with local wildflowers and fresh apricots from one farm over (Full Belly Farms), the Bride's collection of blue glass, and of course, peacock feathers from the farm's most famous bird.

He made an appearance during the ceremony rehearsal the day before, but kept clear of the festivities the day of the wedding. He might have been a tad jealous of Kristi's dress.

Later in the evening, guests hit the dance floor for some high spirited square dancing in front of the barn. Square dancing has thankfully replaced the chicken dance at my most recent weddings.

Candle light in Capay

The wedding in Capay was absolutely beautiful. I'm still recovering from all the setup and festivities, but couldn't resist posting some photos now. More to come shortly. All photos by Ben Lau.

Freshly printed

Freshly printed muslin bags waiting to be stuffed with fresh lavender picked by the bride from the Capay Farm. We stuffed half last weekend and the scent was heavenly. I love that everything for the Capay wedding is locally grown, from the flowers to the food to the favors. It's only a week away, so this may be my last post until next week, when I'll be back with tons of photos of the big event. And probably a sunburn.

I heart my Pinking Sheers

My house is full of linens right now, and that's the way I like it. If you've ever seen my mom's linen closets (yes, plural), you'd know where I get this from. While other parents sent their college kids care packages of cookies, my mom sent me towels and sheets.

For table decor at the wedding reception, I've been loading up on vintage sheets, which is much cheaper than buying fabric by the yard. The sheets have all been dyed in the cornflower blue signature color, with some nice variation. My trusty pinking sheers have been doing their part to get through the stacks, and after a run through the iron, these will be nice and crisp for the picnic tables. I gave up on my pinking blade rotary cutter a while back, as it just doesn't stay sharp enough. Anyone have recommendations for a good rotary pinking blade?

2 Weeks and Counting

We went out to Capay this weekend to finalize decor plans for the wedding, 2 weeks away. This is the crazy old chicken coop, which has been cleaned out and repainted (on the inside) to serve as the bar/saloon. Guests will line up along this side (by the flower beds I'm standing in to take this shot), enter through the front door, and then go out the back entrance. We have big plans for this small and magical space.


Kristi and her Aunt Rie working on the bunting for the front porch of the house. Aunt Rie is the fastest seamstress I've ever seen. We put this project to her on Saturday evening, and by end of Sunday she was nearly finished. She also sewed Kristi's dress and embroidered Blair's shirt. Details of those to come after the wedding--wouldn't want to ruin the surprise.


The large pecan tree that the head table will be in front of. I'm working on a wreath idea for the trunk, but not sure if it will work out exactly as planned in my sketchbook. It never quite does, but hopefully it will be something interesting to personalize this beautiful scene. Orange groves in the background.


An old, rusty wheel barrow along the back to the saloon. Not sure what we'll stick inside (ice with cold beer, flowers, wedding favors), but somehow this old beaut will be used.