Crush on Rustic Romance | California Barn Wedding

Prepare for a visual feast.  This rustic wedding, set in the meadows of the Sierra Nevadas, was country romance at its best.  Nature's beauty was mimicked throughout the wedding with glorious yet simple detailing by the amazing designer, Christina Perry of Quality Event Design. 

The detailing is endless. From custom  "bucket" chandeliers, personalized wine bottle labels, table length centerpieces, s'mores, rootbeer floats, a popcorn machine, kiddie corral with baby sitters,silhouette dog portraits, a painting made by guests' fingerprints and well-wishes, the most savory, mouth watering coffee-crusted filet mignon...Perhaps, it's easier to let the photographs tell the story of this most amazing event. Enjoy...

The Groom, Joe & his Bride, Shannon at the private barn in Culpine/Portola, California. 

Giant S'mores made the evening around the fire even more sweet. 

Joe held the lock. Shannon held the key.

The Bride with the Groomsmen at the Barn and her Girls at the Chalet View Lodge.

The most intimate and delightful ceremony. From the ipad, they read their own written vows. Both made references to the small special moments in their courtship....the same ones.  The barn door was opened as  as Mr. and Mrs. Passalacqua were introduced for the first time. {to love}.

The choreographed first dance and personalized touches everywhere.

We send Mr. and Mrs. Passalacqua the warmest of wedding dreams.

May these photographs help you relive this magical day.

 {to your married life together }

~ {CHEERS} ~ 

Want more Joe + Shannon? Enjoy the video from their engagement session

the vendors

photography | skye snyder photography

videography | skye snyder and joshua snyder of skosh films

wedding planning/event design | Christina Perry of Quality Event

caterer |Great Thyme Catering

flowers |Christina Perry of Quality Event Design

hair & makeup | Edin Carpenter

dj | Brian Wislon of The DJ Mobile Entertainment

photobooth | Reno Photo Booth Company 

location | Chalet View Lodge and Private Barn in Culpine, California

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Crush on Capturing Memories

We have had the pleasure of photographing the Ghilieri/Markwell Family for a few years, having the honor of witnessing some of the firsts and special dates in their lives. A walk backward down memory lane...

isa at 1 and grandpa at 91

one + ninety one wishes from skye snyder on Vimeo.

the family

introducing isa

wedding celebration (book cake)

amy with newly adopted, monty

the family

marc and amy { engagement } 

Crush on Destinating | Part IV

Welcome to Part IV of our Destination Wedding series for the traveling bride. Missed a post?
Part I : To Destinate or Not to Destinate?
Part II :  Disadvantages of a Destination Wedding
Part III:  Where to Start?
The first wedding we are showcasing in our destination wedding series is one that makes me pine to remarry Big Daddy Joshua all over again. With each trip to Mexico, our shopping bags are lined with Day of the Dead la catrina figurines. We love them.  We even commissioned an artist to make our very own catrina for the back yard. What is a catrina? She is a skeleton figure representing Aztec goddess Mictecacihuatl and a symbol of the Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos, celebration. 
Many who choose to have a destination wedding want the finesse and style of the culture of the country they are getting married in. 
In this post, you will be enjoying the works of photographer, Jillian Mitchell and the wedding planning and design of Yazmin Ramirez of Sea of Dreams. 
Sayulita, Mexico
Sayulita is on the western coast of Mexico, forty five minutes north of the Puerto Vallarta airport. The picturesque village of Sayulita is a surfers' paradise peppered with boutique hotels that are perfect for intimate wedding celebrations.

16 seconds of ads and then Sayulita on the Today Show.

This is what happens when you combine flair, culture, chichi, and romance into a Day of the Dead inspired wedding in Sayulita, Mexico.
Look at those two on the bicycle {SQUEAL----i LOVE them}. 

a mexican serenade {swooooooon } i love the romance and sound of live mexican song

made to order churros for wedding "cake"

Have you noticed the Lotería theme? Lotería is a game similar to Bingo but played with these wonderful artisan cards with images and names; la luna, la campana, el violoncello instead of letters and numbers. The table placemats are the Lotería game boards. The game cards were also used for lining the vials of Mexican tea (in a photo featured above).

All images have been used by permission by the photographer, Jillian Mitchell of Jillian Mitchell Photography. 
Thank you Jillian and Yazmin for letting us share your beautiful work!

What are the laws? As US citizens will we be legally married if we get married in Mexico?
Yes, but you do need to proper paperwork. A planner would have this arranged for you but be sure to have and ask about the following items and call the appropriate government office (embassy) for up-to-date information.
Here is the US Embassy in Mexico's URL http://mexico.usembassy.gov/eng/main.html
1) Passports (make several copies for paperwork filing)
2) Marriage application
3) Birth certificatess
4) Blood tests
5) Four passport holding witnesses who are 18 years old or older 
6) If remarrying, a divorce decree that is at least one year old, notarized or apostilled* and translated into Spanish. You cannot be remarried in Mexico unless you have been divorced for one year. 
7) If widowed, a death certificate translated into Spanish and notarized.
8) You need a civil ceremony to make it legal in the USA. The marriage certificate will be apostilled and your own embassy can translate the document into English
9) Arrive 3 days before your wedding date to finalize the paperwork and testing
*An apostilled document is a document attached to your foreign document to make it legal in the other  country.


For more on the laws read "How to Get Married in Mexico" from ehow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_4443160_married-mexico.html

Crush on Destinating | part II

Are you considering a destination wedding? 
Don't miss Part I - To Destinate or Not? The Advantages. 


Today, we are looking at why a destination wedding might not work for you.

DISADVANTAGES
The disadvantages to a destination wedding focuses mostly on the others who would attend your wedding. Typically, destination weddings save the couple thousands of dollars while the guests dish out a lot to attend. 

- Not all your friends and family will be able to afford to join you. Many cannot get the time off work or afford the cost of a vacation that you have chosen when and where it will be. Accept and understand that not everyone wants to join in on your travel plans and it has nothing to do with how much they care about you or not wanting to attend your wedding. Quite the contrary, using vacation time, acquiring passports, purchasing outfits that fit the locale, etc. can really add up. 
- What about children? Are you welcoming them along? This will substantially raise the cost for your traveling families. If children are not invited, what are the parents to do with their babies for a week while attending your wedding?
- What about health? Not everyone is in good health and may find the trip to be draining or impossible to make and would miss out on celebrating with you because of health, age, or disability.
- Plan for jet-lag, travel delays, and lost luggage. Yes, brides often carry their dress down the aisle. The aisle of the plane that is. 

- Be prepared to upset family and friends about this decision. From my experience, there are many conflicting opinions during any type of wedding planning. Whether you are destinating or not, keep in mind that while it is your dream day many key players in your life will want a say in how you do it. 

- Less control and more trust in the planner and/or vendors you have chosen. Be aware of inflated advertising. I know the photos online look wonderful, but most are not going to pay a visit to double check as you would do at home. Do your research and lots of it. Read lots of reviews from many different sites. Hold your vendors to the same expectations you have at home. Are they emailing, phoning you in a timely fashion? Is the website professional? Can you contact someone immediately? Are there guarantees? 
- You may not be able to get a particular service that you could at home. Pricing will be different--some will save you, some way more expensive. Photography and videography are a good example of this (we'll talk more about this in part III).

- You may have to plan much further in advance simply to allow for your guests to make travel arrangements that fit their life plans as well. 

- Etiquette states that you should never expect a wedding gift from anyone if they were not invited to the ceremony (or could not make it) and that includes if you throw a reception/party when you return home.  


Still thinking of destinating? Stay tuned for the third post in our series of destination weddings. Don't miss out. Follow the blog or join our Facebook page at Skye Snyder Photography.