A Private Birthday Celebration in Santa Fe — The Pink Adobe & Eaves Movie Ranch | Event Photographer
A Private Birthday Celebration in Santa Fe — The Pink Adobe & Eaves Movie Ranch
Some events you photograph. Others you walk into and think, this is the most ambitious thing I've ever seen. This was the second kind.
A multi-day private birthday celebration in Santa Fe, designed and produced by Van Wyck & Van Wyck — the internationally renowned event firm behind celebrations for some of the world's most prominent names. The brief was simple: give the guests an experience they'd never forget. The execution was anything but simple. Two iconic Santa Fe venues, two nights, one completely immersive vision that blended Old West history with world-class hospitality.
This is what happens when one of the top event planners on the planet chooses Santa Fe as the stage.
Night One — Welcome Dinner at The Pink Adobe
The celebration opened with an intimate welcome dinner at The Pink Adobe, the legendary Santa Fe restaurant that's been a gathering place for presidents, artists, and travelers since 1944. Nestled in the historic Barrio De Analco — the oldest neighborhood in the United States — across from the San Miguel Mission, The Pink Adobe's nearly 400-year-old hacienda provided a setting that felt both timeless and alive.
The courtyard was transformed for the evening. Long wooden farm tables lined with woven Navajo-pattern runners in deep crimson, cream, and grey. Pink linen napkins. Amber and rose-tinted vintage glassware. Green patina candelabras holding terracotta-colored taper candles. Centerpieces of loose autumn florals — roses, ranunculus, and greenery — in gold-toned vessels. Against the adobe walls, mosaic art panels and iron-grille lanterns glowed softly in the fading light. A blue-and-white mosaic dove fountain anchored the far wall. Luminarias lined the rooftop edges. Every detail was curated but never stiff — warm, textured, layered.
The custom menus told the story of the weekend. Illustrated with Southwest motifs — dancing figures, desert florals, geometric borders — each card listed a New Mexican feast: shishitos locos, ensalada Pink Adobe, fire roasted chile relleno, chicken and vegetarian enchiladas with Spanish rice and beans, red mole pork chop with root vegetables. Dessert: apple pie, mini tequila crème brûlée, mini churros, bizcochitos.
The Venue Details
What makes The Pink Adobe extraordinary as a private event space isn't just the food or the history — it's the architectural and decorative texture. The courtyard is surrounded by thick adobe walls that catch light and shadow differently every hour. Mosaic art panels featuring figures and animals are set into the walls alongside iron lanterns and wooden lattice screens. A carved sandstone Buddha sits among greenery near the entrance. A bronze horse-form door knocker marks the heavy wooden door. Every surface has patina, age, and intention.
For a photographer, it's effortless. The warm earth tones of the adobe, the jewel-toned table settings, and the soft ambient light from candles and luminarias create a palette that doesn't need any help. You just frame and shoot.
Night Two — The Main Event at Eaves Movie Ranch
If the welcome dinner was refined Santa Fe elegance, the main event was full-blown Western fantasy. The celebration moved to Mortenson's Eaves Movie Ranch — a working film set south of Santa Fe that was originally built in 1969 for Gene Kelly's The Cheyenne Social Club. Since then, it's been the backdrop for over 250 productions including Silverado, Lonesome Dove, Young Guns II, Wyatt Earp, and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Kevin Costner, Johnny Cash — they all walked these dusty streets.
For this party, the entire western town became the venue. Guests arrived to find the "Long Branch" saloon porch lit with string lights, a live band set up on the boardwalk, and a bison — Clyde, the ranch's famous acting buffalo who's appeared in Yellowstone and campaigns for YETI and Banana Republic — being walked through the crowd by a handler in chaps and a red bandana.
The dress code was Western, and the guests committed. Embroidered shirts with silver stars and white fringe. Cowboy hats in every shade — dove grey, tan, cream, black. Turquoise jewelry. Red fringe cowboy boots. Shell necklaces over linen dresses. One couple in matching red Western shirts looked like they'd stepped off a vintage album cover.
The details matched the ambition. Custom place settings with woven rattan chargers, bison-silhouette linen napkins, and illustrated menu cards with Southwest borders listing each guest's name and their courses — including a "Pinto Bean Toss" game built into the evening. Prickly pear margaritas with black salt rims and lime wedges were passed on trays alongside classic margaritas. This wasn't costume party energy — it was genuine, joyful, and produced at a level that only Van Wyck can pull off.
The Party
When the sun dropped behind the western town facades and the string lights took over, the energy shifted from cocktail hour to dance floor. This is where the slow-sync flash work came alive.
A couple on the dance floor — her silver cuff bracelet catching light, his cowboy hat tipped low, her hand reaching across his shoulder. The motion blur of the crowd behind them while they stay sharp in the center. A guest in a white cowboy hat and shell necklace over a linen dress, dancing under pink and blue uplighting, pure joy on her face. Another guest tipping his grey hat for the camera, burgundy shirt and printed silk scarf knotted at his neck, a vintage film camera visible in the corner of the frame.
These are the frames that happen when the party is real. When people forget they're at an "event" and just become guests having the best night.
This celebration was a reminder that Santa Fe isn't just a backdrop — it's a character. The history, the architecture, the light, the landscape, the culture. When you pair all of that with world-class event production, the result is something no other city can replicate.
To the hosts — thank you for trusting me to document a weekend this extraordinary. And to Van Wyck & Van Wyck — every detail was flawless.
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Book Your Event Photographer in Santa Fe
Planning a private event, corporate gathering, or destination celebration in Santa Fe? As featured in New Mexico Magazine, I photograph events at every scale — from intimate dinners to multi-venue productions. Reach out and let's create something unforgettable.
