A classic wedding, of blacks and whites with accents of blue and green made this wedding in September a vision for a fall wedding. Allie and Lee tied the knot at the Leaning Oak Ranch with their pristine landscaped grounds and perfect locations for photos.
Venue // Leaning Oak Ranch
Ceremony Officiant // Kacey Trudelle
Photographer // Linsey Middleton Photography
Make-up Artist // Sophia Wright
Hair Stylist // Holly Rundle, Rustic Roos Salon
Dress // David’s Bridal
Shoes // JCPenny
Jeweler // James Allen and Blue Nile
Tux // Men’s Warehouse
Florist // Katie Perlich 661-477-4516
Videography // Hunter and Esther Greenlee
Catering Company // Hodel’s
Bakery // Tastries
DJ or Band // N.A.L Entertainment
Rental Company // Walker Lewis Rents
Allie and Lee – The Couple
Allie and Lee are the sweetest couple. They are both very kind people to not just one another, but to anyone they meet. You can’t help but gravitate towards them and want to be there friend. He’s from Canada, while she’s from here in Bakersfield, which makes it very unlikely there would have ever met, let alone got married. She got a call late one night from a friend asking if she would be on their podcast, low and behold, Lee was also on that phone call. Thus the start of their journey! They chatted as friends back and forth for a year, and then started dating shortly after that. Six months later, on Christmas Day, he proposed to her with his family present that flew down from Canada for the special occasion.
Leaning Oak Ranch – The Venue
The couple’s venue, Leaning Oak Ranch, was the first time I had been there. Not known to me, I passed it quite often and never realized it. It’s a beautiful home with amazing landscaped yard both front and back that the owners converted into Leaning Oak Ranch. This wedding was in September, just in time for some of the trees to start turning, so we had amazing colors in the trees as backdrops for the family and bridal party portraits. Let me tell you though, the lighting that shone through those trees was purely magical, and made the portraits stunning. From a tunnel of trees for the driveway, to the zigzagging sidewalk bordered with finely scaped shrubbery, to the giant tree surrounded by small greenery and flowers, this venue was MADE for weddings!
The Day
Getting Ready
Leaning Oak Ranch has a cute little getting ready room for the bride and that’s where Allie and her girls were. The groom was offsite getting himself ready as well. The morning was calm but exciting among the bride and her girls. When I arrived, I gathered all the bride’s details and went outside to start photographing the wedding details. Once I finished that task, I came into the suite just in time for Allie to be almost done getting her hair and make up done, so I was able to get some images of her final touch ups. Once her dress was on, Allie wanted not only a first look with her girls, but a first look with her dad. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room when that moment came.
Ceremony
Once all the guests arrived at Leaning Oak Ranch for the wedding, and the bride and groom were ready to go, the music started and everyone took their place. After the groom arrived at the alter with the officiant, the rest of the processional came. As soon as Allie was in the eye-site of Lee, he was so taken aback. He couldn’t contain himself, and it was such a sweet moment capturing him watching his gorgeous bride walk down the aisle towards him. There ceremony went off without a hitch, they incorporated tying a three strand rope on a cross as their “Two become one”. One thing that made the ceremony unique was they had both bride and groom’s parents come up and surround the bride and groom with a giant hug and prayed over them (I loved seeing that, what a blessing!). The other cool unique thing they incorporated into their wedding was a special hand shake between the two of them after they kissed as husband and wife!
Reception
The rest of the day was pretty straight forward. They did family portraits right after the ceremony along with wedding party photos and a few bride and groom shots. I picked the spot that had a row of trees behind them that were just starting to change color. When that beautiful sunlight hit those threes, well, check out the images and see for yourself. After all the phots were done, the Grand Entrance was announced and Allie and Lee went right into their first dance. It was such a sweet moment. I think photographing the first dance is one of my favorite moments to capture for a wedding. You can always see the love for one another in each others eyes. Sunset was approaching, so after dinner, we went back to the front of the property and utilized the awesome tunnel of trees that bordered the driveway!
Toasts were soon after the sunset shots, and oh my goodness, so many happy tears! I learned that Lee likes to rebuild cars but often takes a really long time doing it, lol. Once all the activities were done, such as cake cutting, dancing and bouquet and garter toss, the guests went out to the front yard of Leaning Oak Ranch with lit sparklers to send the happy couple off on their new journey together. It was definitely a picture perfect wedding day for Lee and Allie.
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