The Bride Wore An Antique Edwardian Wedding Dress to This Darling, Cottage-Meets-Western Ranch Wedding

Lauren + Drayson were both students at Academy of Art University in San Fran when they first crossed paths. Lauren was there studying graphic design, Drayson was studying stop motion animation, and all it took was a mutual friend introducing them at a Halloween party to get their beautiful love story started.

It makes total sense that when these two artistic souls put their heads together to plan their nuptials the result would be a celebration so intentional + creative. We are beyond enchanted by all the details of their old-souled, funky, multi-faceted Western-inspired California wedding.

“We don’t live near our families or the majority of our friends. So knowing that wherever we got married would be a “destination wedding” for 80-90% of our guest list, having a place where everyone could gather for a whole weekend was so important,” the couple says. “Yokayo Ranch really was the most perfect location for us for exactly this reason. A beautiful result of having not just our wedding party but most of our friends on-site meant that all the most important people from different stages and places in our lives all got to meet and mingle. It felt like the best summer camp ever.”

Dreaming up an original, super-specific aesthetic for your wedding day can seem daunting (How do you get all your vendors on the same page? How do you keep things feeling cohesive?) but Lauren + Drayson embraced and totally rose to the challenge. 

“When we were deciding how we wanted each stage of the wedding day to feel, it became clear that the ceremony, celebration, and after party would all have a distinct feeling to them,” say Lauren + Drayson. “We wanted a cottage-meets-western aesthetic, and there are many facets to “western” style. So the design thesis statement that we ended up using to describe the progression of the day to our vendors became: Legends of the Fall meets Spaghetti Western meets Dolly Parton/Electric Cowboy.”

Kate Thompson was there snapping beautiful photos that capture just how rewarding it must have been for these two to see all of their visionary planning come to life.

Yeehaw, baby! Let’s take a look! 🤠

By the way, the fact that Lauren + Drayson tied the knot when they did and where they did? 100% meant to be. The lucky couple actually scored their venue and wedding date in an Instagram giveaway!!

“Because I work in social media I am “chronically online” and always scrolling. I saw the Yokayo Ranch giveaway post only 5 mins after it went up and was the first to comment and respond!” says bride Lauren.

“I rushed to fill out the submission form and kind of blacked out and wrote a full on dissertation while fighting back tears of excitement at my desk,” she adds. “I wrote about how our wedding planning journey had to be put on hold and this giveaway and venue would answer so many of our dreams and hopes. I wrote about how Drayson and I met and fell in love in NorCal and even though we lived in Oregon, California has my heart.”

“I used all my career knowledge of social giveaways in my toolbox. I reposted consistently and recruited friends to repost on our behalf and gas us up. But I knew that being the first response was really such a huge leg up.”

“On Dec 1, they announced that they picked TWO winners! Us and another couple.”

“There was some back and forth on picking a date. The giveaway guidelines required that we pick a date on their current open calendar,” Lauren remembers. “Our only options were 4/20 and several weekends in October. Between our previous convos with Jenn about that date (more on that in the original doc) and concerns over fire season in the fall, we had just took the leap and decided to pull off a wedding in 4 months!”

The Moments Before “I Do”

We love to see brides embracing their own unique takes on a getting ready look. Lauren’s knee-high knit socks, vintage slip, and cozy white knit cardigan are totally coquette-meets-cowgirl.

Can we take a moment to appreciate this stunning sage green mother of the bride pants suit??

“I was in LA for work and was visiting my parents. I asked my mom if she wanted to come vintage shopping with me at A Current Affair in DTLA since it happened to be that weekend, and I was looking for a dress for a Drayson’s best friend’s wedding later that month,” says Lauren of the kismet shopping trip that led her to this breathtaking antique Edwardian wedding dress from Gossamer (which she paired with the super cute Rivka Knot Platform Sandal from Loeffler Randall). “I had no intention of looking for MY wedding dress. But suddenly there she was waiting for me! And to have my mom with me in that moment was so special.”

“We thought we’d get married sometime in 2025 or even 2026, so I planned to just store it until then. Little did I know I’d need it 6 months later!! Having that already found and no tailoring required (a near impossible event in both the wedding industry and for all 5’2” girlies out there) made the 4-month planning timeline significantly less stressful.”

Beauty On Set created this beautiful, baby’s breath adorned bridal hairstyle …

… as well as this soft + sweet wedding makeup look!

The rustic, Old West elements of the day’s aesthetic definitely called for some fun + feminine floral bridesmaid dresses.

Floral arrangements from Maiden Flora like this beautiful bridesmaid bouquet gave the whole celebration a wonderfully wild vibe. These blooms look freshly plucked from a meadow!

Drayson + his crew looked so perfectly Western chic! Loving that breezy ivory wedding suit from Suit Supply.

Embroidered wedding suits — a nod to the Nudie Suits of 20th century country music — are another one of our fave ways that grooms are tapping into this aesthetic lately.

Sharing The Love From Afar

“We had one remote guest at our wedding,” Lauren says. “My very dear friend of over a decade had been paralyzed from the neck down in a horrible event a couple of years earlier. Needless to say, she was unable to travel. Zoom weddings became such a thing during the pandemic that the option to have her video call in was a no-brainer. When I asked how she wanted to be represented at the wedding, she said, “with a sock puppet!” So we planned a look and with her direction I made the sock puppet version of her — complete with an up-do, makeup, and ribbons and flowers in her hair.”

“The maid of honor’s husband volunteered to be her puppeteer and tech connect, so he held a steady-cam phone rig in one hand and her puppet on the other so we could have a moment to connect right before the ceremony, and she could walk down the aisle with my bridesmaids. She even brought a date to watch the stream with her, and they both got dressed up.”

“Having her be a part of this big life event with me meant everything. She left us a few months later in July.”

A “Legends of the Fall” Ceremony

“Our welcome table included a “Take a Flower For Your Hair” basket for guests to adorn themselves and get into the whimsy and celebratory spirit that we wanted for the day,” Lauren + Drayson remember.

Having some paper parasols on hand is a great way to keep your guests shady during a sunny outdoor ceremony. Plus they look SO cute in the photos!

“For the ceremony, it was very important to us that we strip any convention or tradition that didn’t feel true to us,” the couple says. “We wanted something that felt magical and symbolic and truly ceremonial rather than performative. And we wanted our guests to be involved as our community in the ceremony and to feel connected to us and each other.”

Our Musical Choices
Processional
1. "Embryonic Journey" by Jefferson Airplane, 2. "Foxglove" by Bruce Cockburn, 3. "Bron-Yr-Aur" by Led Zeppelin, 4. Bridal: "Introduction" by Nick Drake -- Something that we often saw in weddings that we’ve attended is different songs for each side of the bridal party, parents, flower girl, etc, etc.  It can feel very start-stop-start, with people worrying about timing and getting hung up. We just wanted songs that flowed into each other and didn’t have any lyrics to get caught up in. We set the tone with gentle acoustics that felt uplifting without being distracting. We just had to cobble enough together to make sure there was enough time for everyone to make it to where they needed to go. The Nick Drake song was chosen because it feels like it swells and my heart feels so full every time I hear it.
Recessional
"Whack-Bat Majorette" from the Fantastic Mr. Fox Soundtrack -- With Drayson’s history of working in stop motion animation, he has a lot of love for “The Fantastic Mr. Fox,” and one of our bonding moments when we met in college was around the musical “The Music Man.” We wanted something that felt big and celebratory and very unserious.
First Dance
"You’re Still The One" by boygenius -- We originally joked about recreating the dance contest scene from a film called “The American Astronaut”. Then we planned to choreograph our own first dance to You’ve Got Me Running in Circles by Sonny Cleveland. But we ran out of time. So we resorted to the “hold and sway” but managed to get a few of our memorized moves in there. In the end, I’m glad we went with this song. It feels so fitting for the long, winding journey that our relationship has taken, and as much as I adore Shania, this cover is so tender and beautiful.

Check out our collection of meaningful + creative ceremony ideas to start building a ceremony that resonates with your own personality + love story.

And don’t miss our super helpful vow writing guide if you want to share some words of your own on th the Big Day like Lauren + Drayson did!

Is there anything cuter than a furry, four-legged ring bearer?

After “I Do”

A vintage neck scarf in the day’s accent color? Such a clever, colorful, cowboy-worthy addition to Drayson’s all-ivory ensemble.

Lauren’s unique diamond band engagement ring from Ochre Objects looked even more beautiful paired with her new wide gold wedding ring from 23Carat.

Drayson’s lace shirt from PHIX really was the heart and soul of his unique wedding day look.

And his hat from Two Roads Hat Co. pulled the whole fit together!

A “Spaghetti Western” Reception

Matt Rowland Events outfitted this charming outdoor space with all sorts of the sweet + simple linens and furniture to create the dreamy, rustic-chic get together.

Lauren, Drayson, and their guests enjoyed a reception feast by Mendough’s under the twinkle of string lights.

Our Advice
1. Get on the same page long before you have a date. Even before we were engaged or living together, we attended several weddings together and casually discussed what parts of those ceremonies and celebrations resonated with us emotionally, and also just as guests enjoying the event. Through these convos, we started to have an idea of the vibe, scale, and intentions that we had and wanted to create together. So when we won the venue and went from an abstract “we’ll get married in a year or two” to “surprise!” we could hit the ground running on design decisions and vendors because our foundation had already been set and we were totally aligned on what we wanted.

2. Check in with yourselves. It was very important to us that we didn’t fall into the trap of our wedding becoming an event for everyone else in our lives and what they wanted. Of course, we kept their needs and desires in mind because they’re our loved ones, but above all else, at every step of the way, we made sure that our wedding was what WE wanted it to be. And we did, and it was, and we loved every minute of it.

3. And for anyone who is planning their own wedding in under 6 months, all we can say is: what matters most are communication (with your partner and your vendors and your family), a clear vision, quick decision making with conviction, and a solid team of friends and family who are willing to help out.

We can’t get over Lauren’s Loeffler Randall plaform heels. One of our all-time fave brands for wedding shoes!

DJ Jessie Ray filled the evening air with tunes to get the party started.

For Lauren’s first outfit change of the day she switched into this adorable midi-length first dance dress from OfficeSeven!

Our Favorite Memory
Lauren: “Drayson’s mother’s side of the family moved to America from Poland when she and her 9 siblings were children. With such a large family and being in the younger group of cousins, Drayson attended a lot of family weddings. At each one, his uncles would grab a couple of tablecloths and then throw the bride and then the groom in the air! (They became so notorious at venues that staff would recognize the name and keep an eye out to try and stop the tablecloths from being used!) Drayson carried this tradition to every wedding he was a groomsman in. It was always going to be part of our wedding! (At least I knew it was coming! Some of his friends’ wives only got a “hey, are you down for this?” right before!) It was thrilling and hilarious. 12 out of 10 recommend!”

Drayson: “I grew up participating in this tradition with my cousins and then the wives of my friends, and it was the highlight of the whole day to finally be able to throw my own wife 15 feet in the air."

An “Electric Cowboy” After-Party

For this dance floor-ready fit, Lauren combined vintage finds + DIY elements with disco pants from Los Angeles Apparel and wedding boots by Steve Madden. Meanwhile, Nick Holmboe + Matt Wheeler took care of the after-party’s music and lights, and Mendocino Grasslands provided a “flower” bar guests could partake in if they chose.

Congratulations, Lauren + Drayson! Your wild, creative, multi-vibe Western wedding was so whimsical, so dreamy, and looked like SUCH an good time! GWS wishes you two nothing but the best!