Gold Tones and Ellen DeGeneres Were Part of This Temecula Wedding

Laurel says “it was love at first sight” when mutual friend Kory introduced her to Cole. Before the two were even engaged, they had their venue and photographer booked, and Laurel had her dress. “We just knew,” she says—though the chance to formally say yes would have to wait for a weekend getaway to Santa Barbara’s San Ysidro Ranch. Cole planned an elaborate engagement, complete with code words so the staff would know when they could decorate the couple’s room with rose petals and candles.

If their story is a fairy tale, then their fairy godmothers are Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, who just happened to be fellow guests at the resort. “They gave us the sweetest blessing on our engagement and wedding,” Laurel recalls. They rode the high all the way to their big day at Lake Oak Meadows in Temecula. Drenched in gold and blush tones, the wedding had all the fixings of a storybook wedding and, of course, the promise of “happily ever after.”