A Full Weekend at Sand Rock Farm, Guests On-Site

Vows in the Redwood Grove, a Lodging-on-Property Celebration

The ceremony was in the redwood grove, the estate's shaded clearing where a small fountain runs and the light comes through the trees in pieces. Tiffani Hughes officiated. The flower girls came in first with their lavender baskets, then Chris with his mom, and finally Natalie on her father's arm, the two entrances scored to "Like Real People Do" and an instrumental of "Invisible String."

Thirty-seven guests filled the chairs under the redwoods. When it was over, Natalie and Chris recessed back up the aisle to "Home," and the whole party stayed right on the property they'd been living on since the day before.

“They read their vows to each other in a first look, the most private moment in a weekend built around everyone else.”

Portraits on the Estate Grounds

Family portraits came right after the ceremony, then Natalie and Chris slipped off for couple photos around the property. Sand Rock Farm was Santa Cruz County's first winery, back in the 1880s, and the old estate still carries that history in its stone walls and its redwoods, plenty of places within a short walk, which is exactly what you want when the whole group is already sleeping on-site.

The couple came back as the light dropped behind the trees, the gold arch still standing where the vows had been.

Dinner in the Barrel Room

The reception moved to the Barrel Room. The estate's private chef sent out dinner, and the cake, included with the venue, was cut later in the evening. Speeches went around the table: the maid of honor, the best man, both dads, and the mother of the bride, wine topped up between them. For a lodging-on-property celebration at this scale, the evening could run as long as anyone wanted, the guests were already home.

Ivy Hill Entertainment ran the music. The first dance was to Tyler Childers' "All Your'n," then Natalie danced with her father and Chris with his mom. When the last song ended, no one had far to go, the guests who'd made a weekend of it were already home for the night, on the same grounds where the two of them had just gotten married.