Calamigos Ranch Wedding | Nate & Christina
Los Angeles Professional Photographer
As a Los Angeles Professional Photographer, I just adore the couples we meet, whether it’s to photograph their engagement session, their wedding, various stages of their family life or any combination of those, each one of them are truly great to work with. But perhaps our favorite part is hearing their love stories. This is especially true for Nate and Christina. A truly wonderful couple that we had the pleasure of photographing their wedding at the awesome wedding venue, Calamigos Ranch.
Located in Malibu, Calamigos Ranch might just be the most perfect location for your special day. The venue is situated along the coast of Los Angeles and is amazing for weddings and receptions. This beautiful venue offers several location options for your wedding ceremony, which includes The Birchwood Room, The Redwood Room and The Oaks Room. Christina and Nate chose The Oaks Room for their event, which was a great choice as it features a pond, a bridge and natural waterfalls. Stunning backdrops for your event as well as backdrops to your wedding photos.
Christina looked stunning in her gown from David’s Bridal, while Nate looked sharp in his navy-blue suit from Men’s Wearhouse. The groomsmen also wore navy-blue suits along with lilac colored ties to match the lilac dresses worn by the bridesmaids. All the men and women in the wedding party looked amazing.
For the after-party, DJ Jack Farmer kept the place a hopping with his awesome music and the wedding cake design by Vanilla Bake Shop was simply perfect. Kudos to Blue Bell Events for a great job of planning the event and Wisteria Lane Florists for beautifully decorating the venue with their gorgeous floral arraignment.
All of the details of this truly unique wedding venue were captured by the team at Three16 Photography.
We would really like to thank Christina and Nate for allowing Three16 Photography to be part of your special day. We wish you many years of love and happiness.
Check out their love story. We hope you enjoy it, and their photos, as much as we do.
Christina and Nate’s Love Story
How did you both meet and who liked who first?
We met in the summer of 2012, a few weeks after Christina moved to Los Angeles from Boston. Nate was already living here with Kyle (best man), and a mutual friend suggested we hang out at their house. Christina tagged along hoping to just make some friends in this new city. We played poker and watched Star Wars. We went right back to hanging out with them again the very next day, and we knew we were going to have something special, whether it was a solid friendship or more.
Christina adds: Nate will tell you that he knew he was hooked the moment he saw me on that first night, because upon hearing he was a die-hard Lakers fan, I purposefully wore my Miami Heat Dwayne Wade T-shirt so we could have something to talk about – haha!
Tell us about your first date. Who was more nervous and what did you guys do?
Christina: Our first date was in October 2012! It was Nate’s birthday, and so we got all dressed up and had the most lovely steak dinner in Beverly Hills. I was definitely nervous since I hadn’t been on a proper date in a while!
Nate: I was nervous but excited, I hadn’t been on a real date in a while too. She looked very pretty!
What’s the proposal story? Give us all the details and tell us, who cried first?
Nate: I know Christina well and knew that she definitely did NOT want a grand/lavish/public proposal. So, I decided to do something at our home that was quiet, intimate and involving our dog Kaylee. She also had no idea that I actually got her ring a month earlier than estimated, and I was just waiting for Kaylee’s custom T-shirt to come in the mail. It was perfect timing, as Christina was on a kick for the last few weeks to find cute shirts for Kaylee. On that Saturday morning, I woke her up early by sending Kaylee in to cuddle with her. It took a few tries to wake up a sleepy Christina, but once she realized what it said, she jumped up and said yes!
Christina: Nate and I had been discussing marriage for a little while, but the proposal itself was a complete surprise! I stayed up late the night before working on a project and went to bed early in the morning. Nate took full advantage of my sleepiness (and my love for sleeping in on Saturdays) and woke me up at about 6AM on Saturday (7/28/18) by sending our dog Kaylee into bed wearing a t-shirt that read, “Will You Marry My Daddy?” In my sleepy haze, I told Nate the shirt was a cute color and promptly went back to bed LOL! He kept egging me on to actually read it, and when I did you best believe I shot up out of bed – haha! I looked over and he was holding the ring in an open box that had a mini spot light shining down on the diamond. I busted out laughing at how “extra” it was, but of course I was more than thrilled to say yes!
As you approach the wedding day, what have you both enjoyed most about the wedding planning process?
Our favorite had been touring venues! We started touring very soon after the engagement (about 14 months before the wedding). Although it was tedious, it was an awesome way to kick off our wedding planning process! Walking through the venues allowed us to start imagining what our wedding could look like, what décor style we’d want to explore, etc.
What has been the hardest part about planning your wedding?
We would say trying to compromise between what we want and what our families want. For the most part it has been smooth sailing, so we’re pretty fortunate! Between the 7,000 variables, it took Christina about 8 hours to come up with a seating chart that made everyone happy, so that was pretty rough. Lastly, budget management. Christina is DIY-ing all the custom signage and stationery to save a bit of money, since she was unexpectedly laid off right before the wedding.
Why did you choose your particular wedding and reception venue?
When we were researching our venues and expressed interest in Calamigos Ranch, our friends in the industry all cautioned us to save this venue as the last place on our “to-tour” list. Why? Because they knew we would absolutely fall in love with it and all the other venues wouldn’t compare, and they were right! We LOVE the rustic/country farmhouse feel with touches of elegance here and there. Of course, being married in sunny LA, we loved the idea of an outdoor venue. Cheers to hoping the weather will cooperate!
Where did you draw some of your inspiration from for your wedding day?
We really drew inspiration from the venue itself, as Calamigos basically captures everything we wanted in our wedding! The rustic charm, the cool feeling that you were in a place that seemed so far from “LA life,” but was close enough to drive to. It made us feel at home, since our apartment décor is very rustic/chic as well.
Where are you going for the honeymoon and why did you choose that destination?
We are going to Kauai, Hawaii! Christina is super excited because she has never been to that island but loves the beauty of Hawaii. Meanwhile, Nate has spent many family vacations there so he’s familiar with the area and he can’t wait to show me around to all his favorite hot spots in town.
Vendors used for Christina and Nate’s awesome Calamigos Ranch Wedding:
Location Information
Ceremony, Reception & Caterer: The Oaks Room at Calamigos Ranch
Address: 327 Latigo Canyon Rd., Malibu, CA 90265
Instagram: @calamigosranch
Vendor Information
WEDDING COORDINATOR: Blue Bell Events
Instagram: @charleybluebell
PHOTOGRAPHY: Three16 Photography
Instagram: @three16photography
FLORIST: Wisteria Lane
Instagram: @wisterialaneflowers
DJ: DJ Jack Farmer
Instagram: @realjackfarmer
CAKE: Vanilla Bake Shop
Instagram: @vanilla bake shop
HAIR: Katelyn Perkins
Instagram: @katelynpstyle
DRESS: David’s Bridal
Instagram: @davidsbridal
GROOM’S SUIT: Men’s Warehouse
Instagram: @menswearhouse
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