🌵Ranch Wedding Weekend🐄

Those are some genuine smiles.

This post is LONG but loaded with so much love and support and fun, a little behind the scenes look at what went into making our big day happen and photos that captured the whole weekend feel which was everything we wanted and more! 

A true ranch experience start! The first week Felix and I were on the ranch, Mom had noticed a new calf that had not moved in days. So we were advised to take her into the vet..We are all new to the ranch hand situation as my Grandpa took care of all of that before he passed away this fall. So my mom drove the truck, I warded off momma cow while Felix picked up the calf and we placed her in the back of the truck! It was actually easier than we thought, but a new experience for all of us. I ended up naming the calf Zosa (parazosa means lazy in Spanish) which I felt a little bad about once we learned that she wasn’t moving because her momma was too old and was not producing any milk for her to drink. 

SO we ended up taking Zosa back a couple days later with a bottle for feedings! Little did we know it would end up being one of the biggest attractions of the wedding weekend.

The new morning and nightly routine!

We worked hard the weeks leading up to the wedding! So hard that we didn’t really take any pictures unless we weren’t working. We were able to sneak in some fun times with Mom and Dad, we entered a pickleball tournament in which Mom and I got third! Felix and Dad got fourth..but they tried their best! :)

A little downtown SA night for my brother Brettt's birthday. 

We had 2 weeks before guests arrived and it flew by! We blinked and Felix’s Mom (Helena), Aunt (Stina)  and best friend (Lucas) joined us at the ranch for a full week before the wedding. It was wonderful to get some time with them before things got crazy and we were not shy about asking for help! On his first day on the ranch we had Lucas shoveling cow poop, weed-eating, moving burn piles on a tractor, riding a 4 wheeler to move cows and roasting chili dogs for dinner by a fire - I hope he got the full Texas experience he wanted!

By Thursday before the wedding we had a small crew of friends who arrived early as well! My friends Sarah and Grace made it Tuesday afternoon/night which was all I needed for things to start to feel real!

Wednesday morning my sweet Aunt Stephanie and Aunt Sharon hosted a brunch for the ladies. It was special to get time to celebrate with a smaller group before the craziness.

Felix’s Dad also arrived Tuesday night and by Thursday we had a group of our CA friends that joined us at Enchanted Rock for the day.

Thursday night we all went to a fun and casual restaurant in Fredericksburg Thursday night (no pictures taken) and tried to go to bed fairly early before the next two full days of prep!

Friday we had a morning rehearsal for the ceremony and worked with our friend Gus who did our music! We had to get the timing for the 4 wheeler and Jeep entrance and figure out the microphone with the wind! Everything went smoothly and things started to feel real. Few pictures were taken Friday as it was mostly working, delegating jobs to friends, testing out lawn games and greeting new friends and family that were arriving.

The professional wedding haircut. 

Lots of fun was still had! The Jeep was a hit. 

Friday night we had the rehearsal dinner at the Doss General Store! We grew up going to this store for candy and burgers and it’s had a lot of transformation over the years. When we visited a year ago and I saw the back room for the first time and I knew I wanted to have the dinner there. It was a perfect night, casual, great food, heartfelt speeches and just a good time - exactly what we wanted.

My sister Erin started out the speeches!

Followed by Felix's Dad - Bob. 

Felix's mother - Helena.

Felix's Aunt - Stina. 

Felix's friend from Sweden - Lucas. 

My cousin, Nicole. 

Felix and I's friend, Shilpa. 

On the way home from the rehearsal dinner we noticed this sign over the original (Loose Livestock) and thought it was so clever and fun! But we never found out who did it, no one has fessed up so far!

The party continued!

Saturday! We woke up to a beautiful sunny morning, after a crazy windy Friday with much lower wind. My mom, dad, Felix and I were able to sit and enjoy coffee together with minimal anxiety, mostly just excitement for the day! My friends and family were absolutely incredible - so helpful and excited to be there, having a good time while equally working hard at whatever task we gave them - the wedding truly would not have been what it was without them!

My friends prepping the appetizer dip, Cowboy Caviar! Our friend Ben was the master chef with plenty of sous chefs. 

Our family/friend Don was AMAZING and offered to do the fajitas for the wedding dinner(he has experience cooking fajitas for large groups). It was so fun to have everything done by friends/family with people helping all day, it made it truly feel like a communal wedding, making us feel even more supported and loved than we already felt. He did an incredible job, Felix and I just now finishing leftovers (yes we froze it all to save it and have been thawing and eating fajitas since for a month now..) but it was still so good every time!

Ice run and beer trough filling time!

Crushing ice around beer led to necessary shot gunning :) couldn't let anything go to waste.  

My high school friends Maddie and Sarah were hands on all day!

DJ country Gu with his assistant Deputy Sue practicing and keeping the vibe going all day!

Stephy bringing the good vibes always!

Sarah is a natural artist and helped with some personal touches.

The famous Jeep. This Jeep has been on the ranch since I can remember.

Zosa was a fan favorite of the weekend! Everyone took turns feeding her, petting her and questioning their decision to eat beef because of her.

Time to get ready! I got ready with some friends at the Ranch house and Felix headed up to the Hunter’s cabin to get ready up there. It was all very casual as I did my own hair and make-up, my friends stepped in with bits of advice and make-up as we went! It was a collaborative effort haha.

Friends waiting happily for the fun entrances!

My sweet nieces and nephew were the greeters and card collectors at the entrance of the ceremony area. Eli - 5, Ruby - 3, Harper - 7.

Felix’s entrance! He rode in on a 4 wheeler with some antlers attached to the front that he had found on the ranch earlier that week, he was pretty excited and nervous from what I can see in the photos :).

Felix walked down with his mom and dad. 

Then Dad and I made our entrance in the Jeep!

We Kept our fingers crossed the whole time as the Jeep is known to die whenever it wants to, but we had Felixs friend, Joe keep it running for us before we drove it and once we made it up the small hill it was all downhill to the ceremony! Dad took the turn a little sharp which had us both laughing around the corner but we were just excited it made it!

Then I walked down with my mom and dad. 

My favorite picture that captures the ceremony space we created. 

Felix’s family friend Dwight officiated our ceremony and he did an absolutely incredible job.

Felix and I both wrote our own vows, and with the wind being as bad as it was Felix had prepared and laminated his, I decided to risk it which of course back fired but led to a perfect glimpse into our relationship as Felix’s still helped me out and held my vows up for me so I could read them.

Then Felix had us all crying with his vows. 

The kiss! 

The exit!

The grand exit!

Felix and I both agree that this was actually our favorite moment of the wedding. We had stashed our double chair and 2 margaritas for us at the top of the hill on the ranch, right by my Grandpas “cowboy grave” (more like a memorial to him) and sat together and took in the moment as we looked down and saw all of our guests enjoying their time. 

We even got to watch as my Uncle Ted gathered the cows in the field and brought them close to the fence line for all the guests to see them up close! We really just got to take time to recognize what an event we pulled off, how special the ceremony was and how happy we were to be celebrating our love and commitment to each other.

Some shots of the cows moment. (the photos below, not above)

And then we returned to the party!

We were actually just testing lighting for the family photos but these are some of my favorites of Felix and I. 

The family photos! 

My immediate family. 

Felix's extended family. 

My extended family. 

The whole gang!

The parents. 

Time to party!

My sweet friend Caitlin. 

Our Fresno family, Ben and Sarah. 

My girl, Steph. 

My high school girls! 

Wrong swede (I had to look twice to realize it was Lucas and not Felix haha) but with Madison and her husband Andrew!

Stephy and Travis (friend and photographer!) Travis and I traveled to Peru together after college where we both met Steph and I couldn’t imagine where our lives would all be without that trip/time in our lives.

Felix and Lucas! Two kids who grew up together in Sweden now celebrating in Texas.

My Fresno girls!

Sweet Shilpa. 

Felix’s great friend Miranda, coworker/friend Scott and Shilpa.

Some great shots of the fun! Felix and I knew this was the time of the night we were actually most excited about, all we wanted was for people to play games, have a great time and enjoy the space -

and everyone sure did!

A tribute to my late grandpa and granny, Stanley and Virginia Sauer, whose land this was and the reason we all love it so much.

Friends climbing in trees, no better indication of a great party!

Felix’s family from California embraced the Texas culture and style!

My girls. The Fab Squad. Sarah and Grace :).

Not sure if the wedding would have been pulled off without these two!

My cousin/favorite/bestie Nicole. 

Glamour shots?

The first dance. 

-Joy of my Life by Chris Stapleton-

Father/daughter dance. 

-Letting you go by Jason Isbell-

Mother/son dance. 

-Sa skimrande var aldrig havet by Sven-Bertil Taube-

Father speeches and our thank you speech.

Then it was time to party!

Which at the ranch means feeding the calf I guess. 

And some dancing!

And brownies and ice cream!

And more dancing.

My angel friend/life mentor/comedian Gillian. 

Uncle Ted recruiting for the Pickleball tournament. 

The fun and photos just kept coming!

The lighting was perfect so we took the opportunity for some couple shots.

Jay and Grace!

Dyron and Kelly! Dyron was extremely gracious and helpful with the wedding, he hooked us up with ALL the beer for free, cooking the rice and beans AND making homemade salsa. Him and Kelly were so helpful and supportive throughout the whole wedding and we could not thank them enough. Fun fact -  he is a firefighter and she is an OT just like us AND their wedding anniversary is April 29th, yep the same day, what are the odds.

Mom and Pops :) We spent 5 weeks at the ranch in total before and after the wedding with these two and it was 5 weeks I wouldn’t trade for anything. We had such a great time full of fun, stress, pickleball, hard work, laughter, constant weather checking, games and just some good ole memories on the ranch. This would have never been possible without them and their support, help and love.

Back to the party!

The heart shaped fire ring was a hit at the end of the night. 

Morning campground views. 

The next morning we had a brunch for everyone, my dad made his famous homemade donuts while mom and I made pigs in a blanket at the ranch house, the donut making process was a hit! My dad showing the proper amount of cinnamon sugar per donut.

Bittersweet goodbyes started..

Then onto the REAL main event of the weekend, the pickleball tournament!

Uncle Ted did an incredible job organizing and executing a really fun time for everyone! We were so appreciative of his willingness and enthusiasm for the event!

Sunday night was one of my favorites, just a small crew was left as things started to wind down, we played some games for the last time and everyone helped clean up while we ate leftovers and brownies and ice cream with some last jams from DJ Gu -a great way to wrap up the weekend.

Last couple days with the Swedes! So we had to fit in some target shooting. 

Even Stina got in on the action.

The honeymoon! 5 star luxury resort with a pool all to ourselves.

What a time. I am exhausted just from writing minimally about it! It was so nice to reflect back on just how many people showed up and showed up well, whether it was a week early to help, the day of to just enjoy the heck out of the wedding and love on us, helping set up, helping cook the dinner, making the dessert, agreeing to MC/greet/DJ/officiate, organizing tournaments, taking photos, doing whatever job Felix and I delegated, it is overwhelming to recognize and appreciate how many amazing people we have in our lives that love us so well.

That’s what it’s really about isn’t it? Loving each other well, showing up, supporting each other and being present while we still can. I feel so grateful to have had a wedding that reminded me of this fact, and even more grateful to have found the person worth committing to and sharing this precious life with.