Melissa and Anthony's wedding has been on my schedule for quite sometime.  They booked me originally for a wedding that was to have happened last year, but unfortunately had to reschedule for family and health reasons.  So...I am SUPER happy to bring you this blog post because I think the photos show just how special this wedding was!

First off...you need to know just how close their families are.  No, really...CLOSE.  As in, Melissa's grandma and Anthony's grandma were best friends in grade school.  Their fathers grew up on the same street with each other.  AND, their parents now live next door to each other in Nipomo.  To say that these families are already entwined is an understatement.

The preparations were easy in the morning.  The guys got ready at one house on the hill, and the girls got ready at the other...and I just had a hop-skip between them to shoot the morning's activities.  But, they did it in a distinctly different way.  The guys had a morning drink(s) at Jacko's, followed by some good dice games...and the girls had twirling skirts, earrings, and adorable flower girls.



And then we moved onto Saint Patrick's Church in Arroyo Grande for the ceremony. As people arrived, there was more than the usual hugging and smiling. Made me feel really good. And, the abundance of large belt buckles and wranglers made me smile too.

Everyone was holding it together pretty well when the ceremony started. Pretty well, until Anthony's sister started walking up the aisle, saw her aunt who surprised everyone by flying in from Texas, and she started crying. It spread through the guests like wildfire...everyone was reaching for their kleenex.

Melissa and Anthony had a wonderful ceremony, made even better by the fact that the priest who married them has known the family for a looong time. After a blessing for the couple, we were off to Spanish Oaks Ranch in Santa Margarita for the reception.

Here's Melissa's side of the Mallosoaresry family

And here's Anthony's side of the Mallosoaresry family

Formal photos out of the way, it was time for the party to begin. The toasts were HILARIOUS and touching. One of those times where you are wiping away tears as you are laughing.

Melissa and Anthony started their first dance to a very traditional song...although I can't remember what it was. Because about 20 seconds into the dance, Anthony walked away to the DJ table, whispered something to the DJ, and a new song started. The new song's lyrics had everyone roaring. And, for the life of me...I can't remember which song it was. Will someone from the wedding please leave a comment and let me know what the name fo the song was?!

Another cool idea that I've never seen before...they had homemade cookies from various family members as part of a dessert table. It was all the favorite family recipes for things like lemon bars, chocolate chip cookies, mexican wedding cookies, and snickerdoodles (my personal favorite!)

as the sun was setting...this place still looked magnificant

and, this wedding would not have been complete without a singing cowboy.