Mercedes and Damon's Wedding

One of the main reasons for my trip to the States was for my cousin Mercedes' wedding to Damon. We drove down to Cayucos on the California central coast yesterday and caught up with family members ahead of today's big day. The wedding took place at the Swallow Creek Ranch in Cayucos, with the ceremony up on a hill overlooking the coast. Thankfully we had a shuttle to get us to the site - otherwise I would have been trekking uphill on a dirt road in heels!

My niece and nephew were the flower girl and ring bearer, so it was great to see them head down the aisle ahead of Mercedes and my uncle Tom. The ceremony itself was lovely, with some personalised vows thrown in by the bride and groom. After the ceremony wind swept pictures were taken up on the hill before everyone headed down to the barn for the reception. We had a cocktail hour outside where you could choose between the bride and groom's signature drinks before heading inside to grab our table assignments from a card catalogue.

The barn was a beautiful rustic setting, with a buffet for dinner and dessert table filled with cookies and mini cupcakes. Speeches were made by both families as well as the maid of honor and best man before we all hit the dance floor. My nephew broke out some spectacular dance moves which I'm sure will make the video. We got our obligatory cousins photo (which has expanded with the new babies in the family) and I hit the photo booth with my brother and nephew before heading off the ranch for our hotel. It was another fun family wedding and great to be able to catch up with everyone in one place.