The Bride Exchanged Vows at Her Renowned Landscape Architect Uncle’s Ranch in Florida

Every great love story often begins with a single, unexpected decision. For Victoria Sanchez, that moment arrived in 2017 when her friend Devon persuaded her to attend a Christmas party. While it may have seemed like just another holiday gathering at the time, the event proved to be a pivotal turning point in her life, as it was here that she first met Jake Freeman. This chance encounter sparked a connection that would evolve over the coming years, transforming a festive evening into the foundation of a lifelong partnership.

The couple spent the next six years building their relationship, growing together through various stages of life before Jake decided to take the next step. The proposal was thoughtfully planned to reflect the intimacy and beauty of their bond, set against a backdrop that held personal significance for Victoria and her family.

As the sun began to set, casting a golden glow over the landscape, Jake led Victoria to a dock situated near her family’s boat. The serene waterfront setting provided a romantic and tranquil atmosphere for the momentous occasion. It was in this quiet, picturesque moment that Jake asked Victoria to spend the rest of her life with him, marking the beginning of their journey toward marriage.

Adding a layer of heartwarming suspense to the proposal was the presence of their families. Unbeknownst to the couple in the immediate moment, both sets of parents were tucked away inside a nearby clubhouse. From their vantage point, they watched the scene unfold from afar, sharing in the excitement and emotion of the engagement while remaining hidden from view.

Reflecting on the experience, Victoria recalls the mixture of overwhelming joy and slight nervousness that accompanied the proposal. Beyond the romance, she admits to a sense of practical relief, humorously noting how glad she was that the engagement ring did not slip from Jake’s fingers and plunge into the surrounding water. This touch of humor adds a relatable charm to a story defined by elegance and deep affection.

Wedding gallery

This gallery captures a celebration rooted in place and family history. As the feature notes, Victoria had long imagined getting married at St. Lucie Ranch, a vast property of more than 1,000 acres just outside Palm Beach. The photographs underline why that setting mattered so deeply: open horizons, textured greenery, and a sense of quiet scale that gives every moment room to breathe. Rather than treating the landscape as a backdrop, the wedding story presents the land as a central character in the weekend.

The ranch itself carries personal significance. It belongs to Victoria’s uncle, Jorge Sanchez, founder of SMI Landscape Architecture, and her aunt, Serina Bradley Martin. The editorial also points to Jorge Sanchez’s wider landscape portfolio, including work associated with the Bacardi Estate and The Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, adding context to the strong visual coherence seen throughout the event. In that light, the setting feels both intimate and expertly stewarded, balancing private family meaning with design-level attention to environment.

The couple’s aesthetic direction was to complement the ranch’s natural beauty with a look that felt chic, elegant, European, and gently ranch-inspired. Across the gallery, that balance appears in refined styling choices that never overpower the terrain, from paper details to ceremony framing and reception atmosphere. To bring that vision into a cohesive guest experience, they worked with planner Cristy Lloveras of MCL Coordination, whose role is evident in the smooth transition between each chapter of the weekend.

Creative collaborators helped define both mood and memory. Paper Pressed Studio established the tone early through an invitation suite that signaled the celebration’s polished yet grounded sensibility. Photographer Anne Rhett then documented the wedding with an eye for both editorial composition and emotional candor, preserving not only design details but also the rhythm of the day. Taken together, the images show a wedding that feels intentional, personal, and inseparable from the land that inspired it.

Wedding gallery