Venue // La Lomita Ranch + La Lomita Ranch Weddings
Amanda and Claude’s La Lomita Ranch celebration was the wedding of the season on the Central Coast—an evening overflowing with color, intention, and the kind of joy that only happens when a room is filled with people who adore the couple. Designing their watercolor wedding invitations, paper goods, and day-of wedding signage felt like a full-circle honor. Amanda has influenced my life and career for so long, and bringing her vision to life became one of the most meaningful projects of my year.
She knew from the beginning that florals would lead the story. With Ricardo from Elegant Details designing a lush, expressive installation inspired by a jewel-tone wedding palette, we used those florals to spark a hand-painted watercolor floral artwork created by my mother-in-law. Purples, maroons, blush tones, vibrant reds, deep greens—the colors wrapped together in a way that felt alive, emotional, and perfectly her.
A Watercolor Story Inspired by Jewel-Tone Florals
Amanda always knew Ricardo from Elegant Details would be creating her floral installations. She wanted lush, expressive, and layered with jewel-tone florals, and playful texture, like those signature spiky alliums she loves. Those blooms became the subtle cornerstone of the entire suite.
We took her floral inspiration and created a fully custom large-scale watercolor artwork, hand-painted by my mother-in-law, Jean Smith. Its palette was rich and romantic showcasing purples, maroons, blushes, deep reds, blacks, and hints of soft green.
The Save the Date: A First Glimpse at the Palette
The save-the-date offered the first touchpoint of their watercolor wedding invitation suite. We surrounded the card in a full floral border pulled directly from the custom painting. Centered at the top was their custom Celtic-heart monogram in gold foil, a symbol of love intertwined and forever and chosen intentionally for both meaning and artistry. We paired it with a black envelope, white addressing, and a burgundy wax seal. It was bold, modern, and perfect for the bride.
“The watercolor began as inspiration—but by the wedding day, it felt like a living part of the celebration.”
The Invitation Suite: Classic Meets Modern Art
For the formal invitation, we leaned into timeless typography—clean black serif text paired with a custom script of their names and gold-foil accents. The suite was wrapped in a vellum belly band that softly revealed the original watercolor beneath. It was equal parts modern artwork and classic wedding tradition.
Inside, guests found:
- a metallic blush RSVP envelope
- a traditionally mailed RSVP card (a sweet nod to old-world etiquette)
- and a deep burgundy-purple outer envelope, Amanda’s signature color, and instantly recognizable within the Central Coast wedding designer community.
Interactive Day-Of Signage & the Champagne Moment
The “Ring for Champagne” Experience
This may be one of my favorite installations of my career. In collaboration with Rosen Rents and Trinity’s creative team, we transformed seating into an interactive experience:
Each guest received a black envelope, mirroring the save the date, with their name written in white. Amanda and Claude hand-wrote a personal note to every guest. No assigned seating, just heartfelt messages and the joy of ringing a bell to receive bubbly before the ceremony. It was thoughtful, emotional, and deeply reflective of their personalities.
Each envelope also displayed the floral watercolor border, tying the installation directly to the suite. Trinity of Rose & Wrench and I brought this installation to life together, such a sweet reflection of the SLO tradition of collaboration over competition. She designed the gorgeous architectural build where guests could ring a bell for bubbly before the ceremony. And with her own 2026 wedding ahead, I already know her celebration is going to be incredible.
Bar Signage, Signature Cocktails & Pet Portraits
For the bar, we incorporated the same bold floral wedding suite artwork to frame each sign, listing signature cocktails named after the pups they’ve loved over the years.
Amanda is passionate about dog adoption, and her pups, past and present, are such a meaningful part of her life.
Amanda had a beautiful vision for acknowledging her creative team, so we designed a vendor gratitude sign, a heartfelt thank-you to the creatives and community who contributed to their day, many of whom were also guests or bridesmaids: photographers, planners, florists, mentors, stationers, and friends.
La Lomita at Sunset: A Celebration That Turned Into a Concert
As the sun dipped behind the hills, La Lomita Ranch transformed into a glowing, jewel-toned celebration space. Purple sequin linens, lush installations from Elegant Details, and the warmth of friends and family filled the space with energy.
And then Claude, going by Alan Claude professionally, took the stage.
He sang to Amanda, guitar in hand, turning the evening into a full concert moment that had the entire crowd cheering and dancing. It felt like a California gala with the soul of a hometown celebration.
A Personal Full-Circle Moment
Amanda’s career spans hundreds of events, multiple Wedding Planner of the Year awards, and now her role as California Publisher for California Wedding Day. Designing her custom wedding stationery and wedding artwork will forever be one of those pinch-me honors.
In a sweet full-circle moment, her wedding was later featured on the California Wedding Day website, with the watercolor suite mentioned among the design credits—a milestone I will always treasure.
Martha, her mom, and my kids’ honorary Central Coast grandma, served as matron of honor and delivered the most heartfelt speech. Jack, her dad, radiated pride all night. Everything about this day, from the family, color, intention, and art, came together in a way that felt meaningful far beyond design.
Amanda and Claude’s wedding was a love letter to the community, to family, to artistry, and to the joy of being surrounded by your people. Being trusted with their bold floral watercolor wedding stationery and day-of paper goods will always be one of the greatest honors of my design career.
“Rachell created a custom watercolor suite that became the heart of our entire wedding design.
Every detail she touched—our save the dates, invitations, bar signage, menus, seating chart—was thoughtful, beautiful, and so us. She truly knocked it out of the park.”
Amanda Swain, Bride & Wedding Planner, Amanda Holder Events
