Rachel and Ashley's Fusion Wedding in California by Paul Douda Photography

Happy Thursday to you all, I hope you are all well and happy and have enjoyed your week so far. I am super exited as today I am off to Camp Bestival for the weekend. 4 days of family festival fun! We are meeting up with a few friends, so I can’t wait, it was one of our highlights of last year, so I hope it lives up to expectations this year. I have plenty to keep you occupied while I am away starting with the glorious wedding of Rachel and Ashley who were married on 18th March 2023 at at Leo Carrillo Ranch in Carlsbad, California. Their day is bright, colourful and full of fun and romance, all captured perfectly by Paul Douda Photography

Paul the photographer tells us more about the wedding

Rachel and Ashley’s wedding was one for the freaking BOOKS!! These two beauties threw the most epic celebration of love, we can’t take it. After meeting in Boston on their first day of graduate school in 2013, Rachel and Ashley were both the last two to class and pair up as partners within minutes of meeting each other. Little did they know, they would be partners for life. After a blossoming friendship, they decided to make it official one year later when Ashley asked Rachel to be her girlfriend after a friend’s wedding and again when she asked Rachel to be her wife in 2021.

The proposal story you ask? Ashley proposed to Rachel on their holiday vacation back to Massachusetts, in Dec 2021. They took some time just the two of them away from family to do all of their favourite things in town like grabbing coffee from their favourite café, window shopping downtown, and going on a nature walk along the riverbed of Look Park. While strolling along the riverbed of Look Park, Ashley gave Rachel a book she had chosen for her (a tradition that they started on their first anniversary to mark the year and begin to build their library together). It was a book of poetry with a marked poem that Ashley added a verse to at the end. Rachel read the poem aloud and when she uncovered the final stanza, Ashley got down on one knee and the rest was history! Rachel surprised Ashley by proposing, as well, the following Valentine’s Day!

Spring forward to wedding planning, it was important to Rachel and Ashley to throw a chill and easy-going affair and one that celebrated their cultures. With so many family members and friends joining from all over the country, they really wanted everyone to just enjoy being together and for everything to unfold naturally and easily. As far as style went, they planned a stunning outdoor ceremony and reception at Leo Carrillo Ranch in Carlsbad surrounded by wild peacocks and lush colorful florals by Annie Bustos with Morning Bloom Floral Studio. Their colour palette showed through everything from their decor to the custom made Mexican tiles Rachel and Ashley hand painted as favours to their guests. The personal touches continued through their custom chuppah that was handmade by Rachel’s father and Uncle Jack. It was such an honour to capture this special day for these two special ladies. From the first look, to stomping the glass, to spinning around on the dance floor, our only regret is we can’t experience it all over again! Mazel tov Rachel and Ashley!