The Wedding

We first met Vicki & Ryan a few months back at Cordiano Winery, where we photographed their engagement session. We immediately fell in love with just how positive and emotive these two are and couldn’t wait to photograph their wedding day at Paradise Falls wedding venue in Oceanside. Ryan was still recovering from a devastating motorcycle accident but had the most genuine smile stretched across his face while trekking through the mulched vineyard with a walker (not an easy task). You could clearly see the love between Vicki & Ryan as we didn’t need to do any banter, yell any prompts to get these two to just look at each other, soak one another in, laugh, kiss and converse, they just have that quality where they could forget we were there and just enjoy one another in the beautiful scenery at Cordiano Winery.

The wedding took place at Paradise Falls wedding venue in Oceanside. Paradise Falls looks just as it sounds, waterfalls cascading down natural rocks spilling into a lily pad covered pond. Lush palm leaves and bowing trees shade the grounds. The wedding venue has ample locations for beautiful photos. Making these two wedding photographers very happy! The beautiful pond and cascading waterfall provided the backdrop for the wedding ceremony site. Dark wooden chairs lined up in rows and capped with mason jar floral arrangements of protea provided a punch of color to the green landscape.

The king protea flower became the inspiration for which the wedding was built upon. Ryan is from South Africa and the King Protea is South Africa’s national flower. When Vicki went to South Africa to visit Ryan’s mother last year she had an arrangement of protea’s on the dining room table and Vicki instantly fell in love with the blooms. It became the central inspiration for her Fall wedding. The color palette stemmed from the colors seen in the flower and the flowers were sprinkled throughout the wedding décor. From the arrangements down the ceremony aisle, to the bouquets and sweetheart table the king protea was definitely king at this fall wedding. Burgundy and Navy took center stage, the rich hues really popped against the deep greenery of Paradise Falls.

Vicki’s gown by Mia Solano from Luv Bridal had an airiness about it, its light flowing skirt was full but had the most beautiful movement complimenting the cascading waterfalls at the wedding venue. Her wedding dress had a beaded bodice and a classic silhouette. I loved the added drama of her veil with the blusher that she wore as she walked down the aisle towards Ryan. She surprised Ryan by walking down to Shania Twain a song of significance to the now newlyweds.

The couple opted for a sand ceremony utilizing sand from their childhood homes, Vicki’s in New York and Ryan’s in South Africa, which was very special. We loved all of the personal details the bride and groom infused into their wedding. Ryan wore cuff links that were one of Vicki’s family heirlooms. The cuff links had an engraved “W”, surprisingly Vicki’s family lineage had some Williams in its past the exact name she is marrying into with Ryan, a sign of being meant to be, possibly? We think so! The lace wrapped around the stems of Vicki’s bridal bouquet came from a sleeve of her mothers wedding gown. The couple brought in a bit more of Ryan’s South African culture with their DIY wedding favors. One of the favors was a jar filled with Biltong spice a very traditional South African food. The other was a bottle of wing sauce from the original Anchor Wing Bar in Buffalo, NY. The wedding favors represented both the bride and groom and gave wedding guests a taste of the couple’s hometowns, a delicious idea!

The Love Story…As Told by Vicki

Ryan and I actually met on Tinder, but instantly we were confused as to how we hadn’t met in real life already. We both work in the motocross industry and had so many mutual friends and had been in so many of the same places at the same time over the years. It just took a dating app for us to finally begin talking to each other and the rest is history. It took a while for Ryan to win me over, but with his persistence and charm he eventually did. We had been dating for a little over a year when we planned a trip to Jamaica right after Christmas. Ryan made it apparent many times that getting engaged on vacation is so cheesy and cliché so I had no idea what was coming. Before going to Jamaica we were in Buffalo with my family for Christmas and at that time Ryan ask my parents for their permission. He traveled with the ring from California to New York then Jamaica. Once in Jamaica Ryan was persistent on getting photos taken on the beach before having a candlelit dinner. Being the romantic that he is this didn’t surprise me and I played along. I still had no idea he was planning on proposing so I was oblivious. Finally as we got the waters edge for some final photos Ryan was able to sneak up behind me and get down on one knee all while the photographer captured the moment.

We are wishing these two all of the happiness in the world! We hope these photos tell your love story until the end of time!

Vicki & Ryan’s Handpicked Team of Creatives| Venue: Paradise Falls| Wedding Gown: Mia Solano from Luv Bridal| Flowers: Tara of Moments in Bloom| Makeup & Hair: Breanna from Glam On The Run| DJ: Jose from HVK Entertainment| Videographer: Jordan Powell| Cake: Cute Cakes| Coordinator: Helen Myers|