Brette Wolff had given up on dreamy fairy-tale romances, but she still held out hope that she would find her soul mate and settle down one day soon. While talking with a friend about ideas for her (friend’s) son’s upcoming birthday party, Brette joked that she would help plan her friend’s parties for the next year if she arranged a date for her with someone genuinely nice. “She set me up with Adam,” Brette explains. “And when I saw him standing there [for our first date], I instantly felt something.”

Years later, Brette happily accepted Adam’s proposal over an intimate dinner at his home in New York. Since Adam plays Major League Baseball for the Colorado Rockies, they opted for a celebration in early January, just before spring training began. With only three months to organize the wedding of their dreams, Brette and her mother kicked planning into high gear. “My [mom] was my partner in crime while we figured out how to quickly make a storybook event come to life,” the bride remembers. Brette and Adam also hired a reputable wedding planner, who they felt was essential to pull off the fête that they envisioned, while also allowing them to relish the process together. “I really wanted to enjoy this special time with Adam, and I ended up having so much fun,” she reveals.

When Brette discovered the star-studded history of San Ysidro Ranch and later saw its naturally beautiful environment, she was sure it was the ideal location for their nuptials. “Between the hummingbirds and the fresh lavender [on-site], there was no question in my mind that it was the right place for Adam and me,” she confides.

They invited their 98 guests by way of charming custom laser-cut invitations made of wood (“I helped stuff the envelopes!” shares the groom). “I wanted a secret garden/enchanted forest wedding,” describes Brette of the theme, which showcased several whimsical details. As family and friends arrived for the ceremony, they were offered lemonade in pink sugar-rimmed glasses with butterfly paper straws and handmade wands created from vintage ribbons. Gentlemen were also given yarmulkes with handpainted butterflies crafted by the bride and her mother. An aisle constructed of wooden planks highlighted a laser-cut white decal designed to look like a lace rug; lanterns filled with moss, florals, and silk butterflies also decorated the area.

Adam began the procession by entering the space with his parents to the sounds of “The Imperial March” from Star Wars played by a string quartet. “That got people laughing and really broke the ice,” he confirms. The small bridal party included a pair of unique flower girls: the bride’s niece and the bride’s little sister’s happy-go-lucky canine, as well as a dapper ring bearer who used Adam’s baseball mitt to hold the rings. Brette looked resplendent in a frothy lace gown that featured small circles on the bodice. “It reminded me of the ‘O’ for Ottavino and also the number 0, which is Adam’s baseball [jersey] number,” shares the bride of the significant element, who carried a generous bouquet of English garden roses.

Brette met her handsomely dressed husband-to-be beneath a stunning chuppah embellished with hundreds of roses in shades of pink and cream. Inside the structure, additional roses were suspended upside down to create the effect of a roof. “Our chuppah was absolutely gorgeous and I could not think of a more enchanting structure to symbolize love and home while we took our vows,” she says.

Dinner was served inside the hotel’s cottage where farm tables with crème brûlée lace runners were adorned with vibrant flowers, moss-covered candelabra, tall taper candles, and blush vintage glassware. Overhead, lovely bunches of cascading ivy and twinkling lights rounded out the secret garden ambience. The menus, framed in moss to match the candelabra, were topped with guests’ names cleverly laser-cut from wood. In the outdoor area, a rosy dance floor featuring a butterfly and the couple’s monogram were seen, as well as colorful butterflies and fairy lights hanging from tree branches.

Though Brette and Adam opted for simple – but scrumptious – flavors for their wedding cake, the five-layered dessert was intricately designed. “I like vanilla cake with vanilla icing and Adam likes chocolate cake with chocolate icing,” admits the bride. The confection boasted 3-D flowers, white ruffles, and even a tier that appeared lacelike. In addition, they also provided other treats for their loved ones, including chocolate-covered Oreos made to look like baseballs, decadent popcorn, as well as a cigar roller who hand-rolled cigars on the spot for revelers.

The groom shares that he would not change a single thing about their big day, confirming his feelings that he was unfazed about the tight turnaround time of the celebration. “Once I was engaged, I was ready to be married,” he says. His bride sums it all up perfectly: “I wished for Adam my whole life and it was a dream come true to stand in such an enchanting place, saying, 'I do,' to my best friend and soul mate.”