Pepper Tree Ranch in Four Frames

This afternoon into this evening, my brother-by-another-mother, Mike, and I worked a wedding at Pepper Tree Ranch in the Edna district of unincorporated San Luis Obispo, CA. As you might recall HERE we first worked here last summer and it made quite an impression upon us. Since that time owner Darren has made more improvements to the facility.

Since last July, Darren completed building this pond and the wedding ceremony structure seen above.

Darren is incredibly gifted in metal work and finding ways to incorporate metal work into various elements of the property including this new water fountain adjacent to the new pond.

Above shows more of the iron work structures in the new pond inclusion. Also visible are the new couple getting photographed on a rock after the ceremony but before dinner as the sun set.

This highlight of this venue/property is the tree house pictured above. All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - Wedding Barn After Dark

The wedding barn at Santa Margarita Ranch tonight where I worked. The Santa Maria Elks cooked the meal and for the first time in my life I experienced Santa Maria-style BBQ sans tri-tip but instead proudly utilizing top sirloin. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - Crash 10

Today I worked a 100-person wedding at Santa Margarita Ranch for the first time in longer than I can remember. I noticed early on that Rob Rossi appears to have added a new piece to his growing collection of electic and esoteric old equipment stored on the property. How airfield crash truck from Fort Wainright ended up in Santa Margarita is beyond my capacity to know at this point. I do note the tires are in excellent condition including at least one new tire.

Both photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Stonecraft At Sunstone Winery

This evening I worked at Sunstone Winery & Vineyards in Santa Ynez for the first time. Being a rock guy I always love to see good stonemasonry and this property did not disappoint. I would have shot more images of the stonework at this place were it not for the fact a wedding was taking place. I hope to get back here again sometime and see more of it and shoot more images of it. Whoever designed this incorporated local sedimentary chalk slabs into the project and in many cases slanted them at a 45-degree angle much like the slanted strata in the nearby Santa Ynez Mountains to the south of this location.

All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

I Told You So Tonight

Earlier this evening I worked a wedding at Avila Beach Golf Resort for over seven hours. I heard a lot of music I did not care for with some exceptions. The stuff I liked I had heard before such as Eddie Grant's "Electric Avenue" which I may not have ever heard before in a wedding music mix until tonight so props to the deejay. One track in particular struck a chord with me and really stood out from everything else. I loved its dance-inducing house sound and jazzy coolness so much I felt compelled to amble over to the deejay and inquire as to the name of the song and artist. Here it is in all its funky, jazzy, house glory: "I Told You So" from the Album Burning Bright by Cameo Culture a.k.a. Dave Robertson out of Brooklyn, New York.

Picture of the Day - God Is.....

Today into tonight I worked an 8-hour shift at a wedding at Avila Beach Golf Resort. The wedding party set this home-made lighted sign out on the lawn with the ocean as a backdrop. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - Wedding Treehouse

This afternoon into this evening I worked a wedding at Pepper Tree Ranch in Edna, CA. This was the first time Vino Vice worked parking and security at this new wedding venue adjacent to another one of our recent client acquisitions. This wedding venue has the coolest draw of any in the county: a large treehouse! It looks as if it is made of wood but rather is entirely made of metal but with an exquisite artistic flair and eye for detail. Owner and artisan Darren is the genius behind it all and his personal style is reflected in various metal elements present throughout the property.

Make that two pictures-of-the-day. This tree house is shaped with many elements reminiscent of a ship including this prominent bow-like tapered front end which greets visitors as they first arrive. Various trees poke up through the metal floor of the structure which is built over the trees that sprout up from below it perfectly-placed notches allow trees to push up through the floor and grow over the structure. This is by far the most awesome structure and draw at any wedding venue in the county. Both photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - Pissing In The Oval Office

Yesterday afternoon at the Sikh wedding at Greengate I worked, I encountered this high-end port-a-potty. The Fresno-area owner was on-site to attend to his mobile facility, one of four he owns with much greater ambitions to expand. He decidedly  dislikes the current President and was thus inspired in the naming of his business. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved)

Picture of the Day - Dana & Ish

The wedding I worked tonight at Meadowbrook Church in San Luis Obispo was my favorite event worked thus far in my nearly three-year career in the event industry. I sat much of the time at the DJ's table with DJ Dana McGregor and his brother by another mother, Ish, who assisted him with sound and collaborated with him on his new book (for that check the website linked below). Anywho, both men are amazing people and I was blessed to be pulled into their safe and sane insanity and zanity. The image above shows the climax of the evening with the wedding Dana at riding a shoulder at left faced off against Ish riding a shoulder at right. Interestingly, Dana is the surfing goat guy who recently appeared on NatGeo. His website is SurfingGoats.com at which you can see his videos including the NatGeo piece. I highly recommend Dana as a DJ, but be warned: he won't be DJ-ing your party; he will BE your party! Photo courtesy of Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Something About Christian Weddings

Tonight I worked a wedding at Santa Margarita Ranch involving a young couple who were truly Christian people. This was probably my fourth wedding of such a devout couple. I have noticed a cute pattern to such weddings which continued last night. Whereas secular weddings always go as late as the venue allows, the young Christian couples are always in a hurry to get away as early as possible and the music invariably ends at 9 p.m. and the party breaks up at that point.

One other cute thing about tonight's wedding was that the couple (Nolan and Kelly Scott) have known each other since kindergarten. They grew up in the same Assembly of God church in Sunland, CA, and remained in each other's orbit. By their senior year of high school he asked her to be his prom date which seemed to kindle things. Subsequently, they both attended Biola University from whence they recently graduated. He asked her to marry him while visiting her on her study abroad program in London, England.

In this day and age of jaded cynicism, it is inspiring to know that such people, undoubtedly human and imperfect, nonetheless find the means (through Christ) to live a life conducted in such a way. My work partner, Mike, and I prayed for this couple's wedding and marriage on the drive to work not yet knowing we were praying for this union of two awesome young people.

Picture of the Day - Viva Villa San-Juliette

Tonight I worked a wedding at Villa San-Juliette northeast of Paso Robles and east of San Miguel in the Estrella area. I love the appearance of the main structure after dark when it is all it up such as for weddings.
Of anecdotal interest: the 168-acre vineyards, winery, and tasting room facility were built by and are still owned by Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick of American Idol TV show (and other TV shows produced or directed) fame.
Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - Dune Lakes Sunset

Tonight I worked a wedding at Dune Lakes for the first time in my experience although our company has had this client for some time. Today the Central Coast experienced a significant surge of monsoonal moisture in the upper and middle levels of the atmosphere. Only widely-scattered hit and miss light precipitation occurred in our area from some virga reaching the ground. I had a feeling we might get a great sunset so I brought my camera to the job and was not disappointed by the result. Above and below are my two best images. This was the best sunset I have seen so far this year.

Both images by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - Moonrise Sunset Over Barn

I captured this image last evening as dinner was being prepared and about to be served for the first wedding event I worked in 2015... this being, of course, Santa Margarita Ranch. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Santa Margarita Ranch Big Barn

Yesterday afternoon into last night I worked a wedding at Santa Margarita Ranch. I spent a couple of hours after it ended in the big barn in back helping with breaking it down and cleaning up where the dinner and dance occurred. I had an opportunity to capture these images which I feel capture the atmosphere of the historic structure. To me this is one of the most amazing spaces found anywhere in which to hold a wedding. It is also a very moody place possessing a much different feel in the dark in the middle of the night alone.

Post-cleanup view of the barn space.

The masonry component of this structure is reputed to be the oldest extant masonry structure in California.

Do you see what I see in this image?
All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Bridget's Sunset

Earlier this evening my buddy Mike and I worked a wedding for Vino Vice at Silver Horse Winery. And once again an amazing sunset unveiled itself before our eyes. As this latest sunset sequence demonstrates, there is something distinct about Central Coast light as it pertains to this time of the day. We also met a cool Silverado Stages bus driver named Bridget whom we hung out with quite a bit this evening as she was hired to hang around until the wedding was over and drive most of the guests home. She is wisely using her job as a way to go sightseeing the beauty of California and working Silver Horse was her latest sightseeing experience.

All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved). 

Picture of the Day - King's Fire Smoky Sunset

Tonight I worked a wedding at Silver Horse Winery for Vino Vice Security in the countryside northeast of Paso Robles, CA, and witnessed this smoky sunset. The smoke came from the King Fire in El Dorado County up north state. Also of interest tonight: I witnessed numerous flashes and flickers of lightning from thunderstorms over the Sierra Nevada from my north-northeast to my east and all points in between. During the previous day I had espied a great many thunderheads just peaking over the horizon in that direction. These may well be some of the last such storms this year as the season for that is winding down. Tonight I also witnessed after dusk a satellite headed northbound across the face of the Milky Way when a fireball shot by it with all thee things, to wit, the satellite, the fireball, and the Milky Way all framed in the small quadrant of space above. I also witnessed two other satellites headed northbound after dark who seemed to be drifting next to each other in parallel tandem which I had never before seen either. Note the satellite uplink dishes on Camp Roberts left of center in the distance. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

A Zamora Wedding Sunset

This evening I worked parking and security at the wedding of one of my co-workers, a fine young man named Leo Zamora to a beautiful young bride whose name I'm ashamed to admit I can't recall at the moment but it will be edited into here when Leo sets me straight. The event was held at River Oaks Hot Springs Spa in Paso Robles and it went off smooth as silk and the crowd was lovely and welcoming. While the Nu Zamoras were heavily distracted by their nuptial party while walking my rounds I was honored with the privilege of witnessing the most beautiful sunset of 2014 (for me). I consider this sunset a good omen for this new marriage. Remember: red in the morning, sailors take warning; red at night, sailors' delight! Congratulations Nu Zamoras!

All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Moonrise Over Bianchi Winery Evening Wedding

This evening I had the privilege of working a second consecutive evening event for Vino Vice which saw me out on the East Side of Paso Robles and in a position to experience the Central Coast "magic hour" in full blossom. Better yet, I was also in an advantageous position to be able to yet again capture some decent images while staying true to my job. What follows is a sampling (shown in order taken) of what I saw earlier this evening as the sun set and the moon rose over Bianchi Winery.

Note: this wedding featured the very nicest and coolest groom I have ever encountered at a wedding. Props go to William and may his marriage be a long and happy one!

All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved)