[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wild-child-southwest-wedding-at-rimrock-ranch-in-pioneertown-california\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wild-child-southwest-wedding-at-rimrock-ranch-in-pioneertown-california\/","headline":"Wild child Southwest wedding at Rimrock Ranch in Pioneertown, California","name":"Wild child Southwest wedding at Rimrock Ranch in Pioneertown, California","description":"Jared loved the idea of getting hitched in the Southwest, someplace spirited and peaceful. Matt knew he wanted an outdoor wedding with a camp-like feel. ","datePublished":"2025-01-27","dateModified":"2025-01-28","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/alainaleary\/#Person","name":"Fin Leary","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/alainaleary\/","identifier":6376,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2d51014ed1230c3de5b543787b5bebf7ad45072e559a4cdb76347a56854d47a4?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2d51014ed1230c3de5b543787b5bebf7ad45072e559a4cdb76347a56854d47a4?s=96&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Equally Wed","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","url":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","width":218,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/4E9A7538-Edit.jpg","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/4E9A7538-Edit.jpg","height":800,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wild-child-southwest-wedding-at-rimrock-ranch-in-pioneertown-california\/","about":["Real LGBTQ+ Weddings"],"wordCount":583,"keywords":["Boho","California","gay wedding","ranch","Southwest","two grooms","wild child"],"articleBody":"We met at The Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization that offers crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for LGBTQ+ youth. We were both working as Lifeline counselors at the time. A suicide hotline is certainly an unconventional place to meet your future husband! Still, it told us a lot about each other\u2014that we shared similar passions and values.Did your wedding have a theme? Tell us about the inspiration behind your day (the decor, the location, the color scheme, any cultural or religious traditions).Our vibe was a mixture of flower child meets the Wild, Wild West (a perfect combination of both of us\u2014ha!) Jared loved the idea of getting hitched in the Southwest, someplace spirited and peaceful. Matt knew he wanted an outdoor wedding with a more adventurous, camp-like feel. What we landed on was Rimrock Ranch in Pioneertown, California, just outside of Joshua Tree National Park. It\u2019s the perfect combination of rugged and modern. We split the decor to match both of our personalities. Jared made sure the ranch was adorned with crystals and sage, and even created personalized Astrological birth-chart place holders for our guests. Matt brought the Wild West, plastering faux Wanted posters around the ranch with photos of our friends and family on them, and making sure that every gift bag included a shot of fireball whiskey.What advice would you give to engaged LGBTQ+ couples?Be true to who you are and what you want! As queer people, it\u2019s easy to fall into the trap of people-pleasing. This was hard for us at first: We often had trouble making final decisions because we were so worried about what others would think and feel. Remember that it\u2019s your day! Don\u2019t sacrifice your vision because you\u2019re worried about how others might perceive it.What was your favorite part of your wedding day?Our ceremony was beautiful. It took place on the ranch in between two large Joshua Trees. As east coasters, it was stunning looking out and seeing all of our loved ones together in the middle of the California desert. Our officiant did an amazing job and took time to acknowledge all of the queer people who came before us and helped make our marriage a reality. Matt\u2019s sisters wrote and read a hilarious faux children\u2019s story entitled A Tale of Two Princes (spoiler: the princes were us!). We also had two friends serenade us with an acoustic version of “In My Life\u201d by the Beatles. Of course, they surprised us by mashing it with a Britney Spears song. We were all laughing and crying at the same time!What challenges did you face as an LGBTQ+ couple planning your wedding?There isn\u2019t really a template for queer weddings. Traditional ceremonies and receptions are so gendered, and it\u2019s hard to undo the heteronormative images that get ingrained in your mind about what a wedding should look and feel like. Things got easier for us when we let go of all of that and realized that we can simply make it all up on our own! Letting go of the traditional script helped us create an experience that was totally \u201cus\u201d\u2014which made our day so much more special.SEARCH FOR LGBTQ+ FRIENDLY WEDDING VENDORSVENDORSVenue: Rimrock RanchPhotographer: Emma Hopp PhotographyCatering: Border GrillParty Rentals: Signature Party RentalsFurniture Rentals: Circa Vintage RentalsAttire: Barneys New YorkFlowers: Whole Foods MarketDay-Of Coordinator: Molly Richmond"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Wild child Southwest wedding at Rimrock Ranch in Pioneertown, California","item":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wild-child-southwest-wedding-at-rimrock-ranch-in-pioneertown-california\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]