On a warm November evening, just as the sun dipped behind the foothills of the San Fernando Valley, the haunting melody of Apocalypitca’s cover of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” began to play. This was the cue for the bridal party to take their places and witness Claire and Justin walk themselves down the aisle of Reptacular Ranch’s Ceremony Garden. The ceremony was meaningful and personal, incorporating many homages to Claire and Justin’s individual ethnic backgrounds. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the newlyweds took on their first task as husband and wife and performed the Swiss-German tradition of Baumstaumm Sagen (or Log Sawing) symbolizing the necessity of teamwork in their marriage. As the log fell into two pieces, the gathering of friends and family cheered mightily, and Claire and Justin marched out proudly. (Each holding a piece of their log!)
When I first met with Claire and Justin they told me they wanted to break from most of the typical wedding traditions and substitute in some new ones that were more their speed. Justin wanted the food to take center stage but nothing too fancy. (A pizza and beer party would have suited him just fine!) Claire, the animal lover, wanted to incorporate as many of the animals Reptacular Ranch had on hand into the evening. And their mutual love of craft beer was the combination that started to bring it all together. Enter Lupita…the Beer Burro. One of the donkeys at the ranch was loaded up with ice chest saddlebags and was escorted around the cocktail hour for the delighted guests to grab a cold one from. (As well as take selfies with.)
Another thing that was important to Claire and Justin was that their guests would have plenty to do all night. (Aside from just dancing.) This couldn’t have been executed better. Between the usual Cornhole, Giant Jenga, Giant Connect 4, and a photo booth, they also had an inflatable axe throwing range and a temporary tattoo artist. (Oh, and of course…PIZZA and BEER…at least during the cocktail hour.)
Claire made mention in her vows that she would continue to push Justin to get out of his comfort zone and try new things. This was tested when, during the grand entrance, Claire entered with an albino python wrapped around her neck, and Justin (who is not a fan of snakes) kept a smile on his face while simultaneously keeping his distance from the reptile. Again breaking with tradition, in lieu of a first dance, Claire and Justin took a “first shot.”
As the dinner buffet was ready to feed the hungry guests, I had some fun with the tables and played a game to excuse each table. At the conclusion of dinner, we took a new twist to an old wedding favorite. An idea their wedding planner Yami had seen incorporated the entire bridal party as well as the bride and groom in the “Shoelywed Game”. Their bridal party stood with their backs to the newlyweds and had to guess the correct answer or face a “punishment” that consisted of doing a dance routine chosen off of a list at random. This game kept the guests in stitches, and the bridal party really got into the fun. However, we couldn’t play games all night, so very soon afterwards, we packed the dance floor. Mike Van Gorder was ready with his camera and captured some really fun group shots with Claire and Justin right in the center.
As dancing was not a top priority to Claire and Justin, we decided to take a different approach to the “end” of the party. Taking an idea from a wedding I did a couple of months ago, we did the finale before the last call so all of the guests could join Claire and Justin for one last drink. It surprised all of us that the dance floor stayed poppin’ all the way till then. We ended with a “last sing-along” and everyone belted out “Bohemian Rhapsody” as loud as they could. The party continued with all the aforementioned activities still up and running. We kept a killer soundtrack of 90s Radio Hits on for everyone to enjoy as they winded down before heading home happy.
Dave’s recommended vendors for this wedding are:
- Reptacular Ranch – www.reptacularanimals.com/weddings
- Magical Events by Yami – www.magicaleventsbyyami.com
- Van Gorder Photography – www.vangorderphoto.com