Jessica and John were married at the beautiful Solage Calistoga in a setting that can only be described as spectacular!
Tiffany at Adeline and Grace Photography has shared many weddings with us at Style Me Pretty … and it seems that each one is just a wee bit prettier than the last! Jessica and John’s is no exception. Another stunning fall wedding abounding with the lush colors of Napa to LOVE.
Brilliant, isn’t it? All of these images and lots more in Jessica & John’s photo gallery.
Jessica has shared lots of details about planning their special day …
John and I have always known that we wanted to get married in the wine country. We have always had a special love and appreciation for the Napa Valley in the fall – the vibrant orange and reds of the grape leaves and smell of crushed grapes are so unique and memorable. After much venue research online we went to visit Solage Calistoga. The moment we arrived on the property we knew it was a perfect fit for us. It was the perfect balance of modern and classic. There were barn style cottages and then the modern spa feeling. There was a large lawn for the ceremony and a beautiful room that opened with sliding doors on three of the four sides. And, you cannot forget the bicycles that come with each cottage. We immediately knew it captured the comfortable and striking atmosphere and ambiance we were looking for.
While the location for some is challenging, that was the easier decision for us. As a person that plans corporate events for a living I began to feel the pressure of the details. At work we do events with lavish lighting, sound, and most of all, large budgets. I started with advice from my friend who is a wedding planner at MAP Events in San Francisco. {She is the one that recommended Style Me Pretty!} Little did I know that her simple advice to read the blog would result in a daily fixation. I became increasingly more interested on the trends and latest weddings being held across the nation. Not only did I use Style Me Pretty for the daily dose of weddings but I used the Little Black Book to see local vendors. And, that is how we discovered Tiffany at Adeline and Grace. She is absolutely wonderful to work with and did a magnificent job capturing all parts of the day. And, she even got pictures of John smiling with teeth! We continue get compliments on our photos!
We discovered our florist, Pat Friday by a friend’s recommendation. We could not have been more impressed with the way all the flowers turned out. Pat leveraged the orange of the girl’s shoes and the vibrant colors and textures of fall in all of the flowers. She also worked with the height of our space and incorporated both tall and low arrangements at the reception. To keep with the wine country theme, John and I decided to name the tables after our favorite wineries we had visited together. One of our bridesmaids donated hundreds of corks and made the escort card holders!
One of our greatest challenges was finding an officiant for our ceremony. John is Catholic and I am Jewish. It meant a lot to us to have a cohesive ceremony that equally represented both sides of the religions. We weren’t having much luck on our own so we began asking for recommendations. Tiffany recommended that we reach out to Judith Caldwell. When we met with Judith we immediately felt a sigh of relief. Judith’s personality and presence was very warm, sincere and comforting. I also knew John was convinced as soon as Judith mentioned her love for the San Francisco Giants.
Neither of us are much of “cake people” so we decided on cupcakes instead. Our friend owns a company called Cakes n’ Cups and we both love love love her cupcakes. John and I selected our favorite four flavors: carrot cake, raspberry lemonade, German chocolate and chocolate raspberry. We had an assortment of regular sized cupcakes and minis so our guests could sample the various flavors.
Throughout the wedding planning process, it seemed that the symbolism of the circle was incorporated more and more into our wedding. Solage Calistoga has a logo of three circles and when we went to look at invitations we were immediately drawn to an invitation by Vera Wang that had similar circles in brown and green. We included this with the table names too. We also decided on a ketubah from ketubah.com that had the same three circles. Finally, the bridesmaids received Anna Beck jewelry which has the same circular look. This element to the wedding, the circles, seems important too since it symbolizes completeness and no end.
Another part of what made the day so special was the contributions that our friends and family made to the day. My brother designed all printed elements for the wedding ~ the programs, escort cards, table names, menus, thank you cards, and more. In a last minute panic, John’s mom (John’s Catholic mom), made the draping for the chuppa for our ceremony by learning about chuppas online. John’s aunt, Meara, is very involved in Mary Kay and offered to do my make up. My friend and hair stylist said she would not miss the day and did our hair. A lighting designer we use for work often offered to donate his lights for our reception~ adding so much warmth. My dad even commented on how much this added! And finally, my dear friend from MAP Events offered to be our onsite day-of coordinator. We feel so fortunate to have had so many people contribute in many different ways. We were very fortunate.
John and I absolutely loved every moment of the wedding. There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t think about that day and how perfect it was. There isn’t a thing we would do differently.
You can see the whole wedding from Adeline and Grace Photography in our photo galleries of Jessica & John’s gorgeous day!
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Tiffany and Erica (i.e., Adeline & Grace Photography) cover weddings from coast to coast. Tiffany is based on the west coast … Erica on the east coast. If you visit their website and blog, you’ll see engagement shoots, family portraiture, weddings and even some pretty terrific intimate sessions from pretty much everywhere in between! I was just looking at their blog to see some of their other recent weddings and ran across an article by one of the brides, Juliana ~ about the pros and cons of having those “first look” photos taken. Does it spoil that walking down the aisle moment? At first, she was opposed to the idea, but then, opted in. The article expresses her feelings about the whole experience! If you’re on the fence about this decision at all, you ought to read it {here}. Juliana & Daniel’s wedding at Auberge du Soleil is stunning!