Classic California wedding | Greenhouse wedding

Classic California wedding in an old greenhouse at The Orchid in Santa Barbara

Gah, how gorgeous is this shot from Sawyer Baird of our bride in her Flora wedding gown? Allison + Wes were all about making sure every piece of their day represented what truly mattered to them: their love with each other and with their 170 guests. That’s why they chose Dos Pueblos Orchid Farm in Santa Barbara—where the bride is from. That’s why they kept the planning down to less than six months (with the help of TOAST Santa Barbara). And that’s why they didn’t choose a theme or over the top details—just a classic, organic celebration in an unconventional greenhouse setting.

Anyone else mildly obsessed with seeing elegant tables all set up in an unexpected setting like a greenhouse? They loved that the venue allowed them to incorporate nature and the Santa Barbara landscape into their ceremony + reception.

The talented team at TOAST Santa Barbara was also behind the elegant floral arrangements. The deets: The bouquet was full and organic, filled with cream garden roses, white peonies, flannel flower, astilbe, varying types of eucalyptus, eucalyptus pods, pepper tree and wrapped in a cream colored velvet ribbon. The boutonnieres were combinations of eucalyptus pods that were closed or just barely cracking open! They were backed with a little bit of greenery and finished with a grey silk ribbon. We wanted something that had a warm feeling as it was winter but we love the natural tones. We also wanted to incorporate a local look and SB has a ton of eucalyptus trees and it felt local. We also wanted there to be different tones and textures and we felt like the blend of peonies, pods and flannel flowers, we were able to achieve that.

Fun fact: It’s tradition for them to celebrate special events with dessert first, so Allison’s mom made brownies for everyone to eat before getting on the shuttles from the hotel. Such a cute detail!

We fell in love with Dos Pueblos Orchid Farm and knew we wanted it to be our place as soon as we saw it. We looked at several venues in Santa Barbara and this site fit exactly the type of spot that we wanted for our wedding. It was unique, natural, beautiful and had the indoor-outdoor combination that we wanted. We got married outside on the bluffs overlooking the ocean and then had the party inside this beautiful greenhouse/glass structure surrounded by massive oak trees covered in lights.

Sharing their handwritten vows during the ceremony was one of their fave moments, as well as taking a moment to step back during the reception and think back on the day and all they’d planned together with their fave people. Allison tells us to make sure you take a second to take a moment together during the day, as it goes by so so fast!

On choosing a photographer… We spoke with a few different photographers but we loved Sawyer Baird the second we met her. She had a great energy, really seemed to understand what we wanted and wanted to get to know us, what we were looking to get out of the day. We also loved the style of the pictures. Our wedding planners told us how important it was to like your photographer as everything shows up in your pictures—so we wanted to make sure we had someone who brought out a smile in us. She had patience, she was fun and seemed to be ready to take on our families and friends and capture the moments we wanted. And she did it! We have the best pictures ever and we love looking back on them to relive our wedding day.

In keeping things simple and focused, they chose not to have a wedding party. But their friends and fam were still very involved in the day in toasts and pictures, without the formality of coordinating outfits or standing at the front.