1. Real Weddings

A Rustic, Elegant Barn Wedding With Pastel Accents at Rancho Otranto in St. Helena, California

A soft color palette filled with pastels of pink, yellow and green blended in well with the naturally rustic elements at this outdoor ranch wedding. H

A soft color palette filled with pastels of pink, yellow and green blended in well with the naturally rustic elements at this outdoor ranch wedding. Holly Cobbold (27 and in recruiting) and Doug Streblow (29 and part of a nonprofit organization) held their wedding at Rancho Otranto in St. Helena, California. Filled with lush greenery, open fields and an onsite barn for the reception, the ranch is owned by Doug’s family. “[Doug and Holly] lived there for a while, and had many fun adventures, explorations and gatherings over the years,” Holly says. At the outdoor ceremony, hats and parasols were arranged on the corners of a white dressed table, with a vintage trunk in the middle that was filled with handkerchiefs and gardenia petals for guests to use, all captured by Still Music Photography. Since Holly had a strong love for peonies, the couple incorporated the classic flower into all the bouquets and centerpieces decorating the wedding day, with the help of Garden Party and also Doug’s mother, who is a florist. At the barn reception, there was a chalkboard seating chart bordered by a wooden frame to help guide guests to their seats, which were named after various locations around the world. We love that Holly and Doug created a personalized card for each guest that they displayed on the wooden doors of the barn. “We wanted to honor every single person who was there with us on the day of our wedding, so we created a "Love Tree," where each person had a card with a photo, their relation to us, and an "ask about" section with a few things about them,” the couple says. “It was a great way to stay grounded throughout the planning process, and always come back to and remembering why we were having a wedding, which was to celebrate our love with the people we love.”

Holly held her pastel-colored bouquet filled with roses, lilies, veronica, poppy pods and, last but not least, peonies. "I love peonies, and I wanted flowers and colors that were natural and blended well with the beautiful outdoor setting," Holly says. "Doug's mom is an amazing florist, and she came up with so many creative ideas and beautiful, natural and textured bouquets."
Wooden Sign With Pointing Finger
Green Umbrellas and Parasols
There was a table set up at the ceremony that supplied guests with everything they needed at the outdoor occasion. A leather vintage trunk was opened and displayed a line of hanging handkerchiefs, and the trunk was half-filled with gardenia flowers to throw during the recessional while the other half was filled with more handkerchiefs. Hats and parasols were available for guests to use during the sunny summer day.
At the ceremony, the couple had their grandmothers be the "flower grandmas," tossing white gardenia petals down the aisle from a wooden basket. Doug's grandfather was the ring bearer. The couple wanted to make sure they celebrated their loved ones, so they incorporated their families into the wedding ceremony as much as possible.
The bridesmaids wore white lace wedding dresses lined with various shades of pink, and they wore a sash in a matching color that was wrapped around the waist. Their pastel bouquets were filled with hydrangeas, roses, lilies and peonies accented with veronica .
Doug wore a tan suit on the wedding day, with a white button-up collared dress shirt and blue bow tie accented with white. Holly kissed him while she wore her pastel flower crown, created with peonies and roses and accented with fern. She wore a custom-made lace wedding dress with sleeves, and had a peach-colored sash wrapped around her waist.
Brown Suspenders and Slacks
Holly wore an ivory custom-made wedding dress with a lace overlay and a peach-colored sash tied around her waist. "One of my dear friends is a seamstress, and together she and I came up with a design for my dress," Holly says. "We took elements of various dresses I'd tried on and combined them into a custom gown. She works with reclaimed materials, so we used fabrics from members of my family, such as doilies and tablecloths, to make a personal gown."
Wooden Frame Chalkboard Seating Chart
Mango summer rolls were served as passed appetizers, among many other fresh dishes for guests to enjoy, all catered by Alex's Catering. "We had fresh mango summer rolls with a chili sauce, ahi tuna avocado poke cones and chicken wrapped in pancetta for passed appetizers," Holly says. "For dinner, we had a buffet with homemade ravioli, several seasonal salads, grilled vegetables, steak with chimichurri sauce and free-range chicken."
The reception took place inside the rustic barn at Rancho Otranto in Helena, California. Dining tables were marked with names of locations painted onto planks of wood, propped up by small rocks. Centerpieces were filled with pastel flowers of hydrangeas, lilies and roses with accents of greenery.
The couple wanted to pay tribute to those who attended their wedding, as well as make it easy for guests to figure out more information about others who attended the wedding. They created colorful cards with photos of guests and wrote fun facts about them, then arranged the cards on the wooden doors of the barn where the reception was held.
Lush Pastel Dining-Table Centerpiece
"One of the bridesmaids is a pastry chef, so for dessert we had an amazing spread of mini Bundt cakes and a toppings bar, which included candied lemon peel, frostings and many other things," Holly says. "There was a cutting Bundt cake topped with a bouquet of flowers, and everything was displayed on cake plates of various heights. It was so beautiful."