Aside from being insanely beautiful, the reason that I fell so hard for this next little number is that the couple did what we preach over and over on SMP…they created a wedding brand. A perfect detail that was threaded through each and every element of the day. Actually, they created two brands which is even better. The gorgeous monogram crest and the amazing use of herbs. For me, a wedding brand is that key ingredient that will take your wedding style to another level. It brings a sense of cohesion, of beauty, of defined style to your look in a way that doesn’t overwhelm the design. And if ever there was a glimpse into crafting the perfect branded affair…this wedding, designed by Rebecca Stone at Duet Weddings, would be it. Click here to see even more!
click here to see the full wedding gallery!
When David proposed to me on the beach at my parent’s summer cottage on Lake Michigan, we immediately started to think about where we wanted to get married. David grew up in the Village in NYC, but has been a California boy since he was 19. I grew up in a myriad of places: Chicago, Boston, Boca Raton, etc…but have been happily settled in Los Angeles for 7 years now. So it made sense to us to celebrate the place where we found each other, instead of where we grew up and Santa Barbara was at the top of the list, both of us being big wine-lovers.
We knew we wanted to plan something outside and laid back, yet with a classy feel to it. We had spent many weekends up in Santa Barbara while dating and while we knew the area quite well, when we started looking, we found it challenging to find the perfect venue. Enter – Roblar Winery. The moment we walked in the door of this fairly new Santa Ynez winery, we were instantly in love! It was absolutely what we had been looking for. Once we had picked our venue, the rest was a fun creative process that we gladly shared with Rebecca from Duet Weddings. She helped us shape our wedding into an entire weekend of events that just felt like us. We started by designing our own monogram that we used throughout the year. Not only did it go on all of our wedding stationery and thank you cards, but we also ended up putting it on the market bags we filled for the hotel rooms and on the cover of the cd we made for everyone.
Both David and I love to cook, and at home, we are dedicated to eating locally from the various LA Farmer’s Markets. This ended up being a kind of theme for our wedding, as we decided to get herbs from our friend’s Agoura Hills Farm (Maggie’s Farm) and dry them and make our own herb mix to give out as favors. This went in our welcome market bag along with the cd, vineyard maps, itinerary, welcome letter, snacks, etc….
We didn’t have a very large budget for flowers and I knew I wanted to use flowers that grew locally and that were in season. So, when I met with Juniper to discuss ideas, we talked about using white and blue hygrangeas, along with simple white and green flowers, so as not to compete with the natural beauty of the vineyard. We also discussed adding the herb theme in that area as well, so we placed pots of herbs in various places. An idea I got from looking at countless Style Me Pretty posts over the last year!
We lucked out when my husband’s sister, Susan, offered to bake our wedding cake for us as a gift. She is an accomplished baker and had made a few others in the past and we gladly accepted. It turned out AMAZING. Definitely one of the tastier wedding cakes we had ever eaten and it was so special that she was able to make it for us.
Our wedding day was unbelievable…and very peaceful. At the winery, we served a red sangria for pre-ceremony enjoyment. There was also an atrium room adjacent to the cocktails where guests could, keeping with the herb theme, fill paper cones with rose petals, sage leaves,rosemary, lavendar, etc…to throw at us at the end of the ceremony. We also had a table of vintage handkerchiefs laid out for “tears of joy” and Rebecca had brought lots of snuggly brown pashminas to display by the fireplace for later in the evening. Rebecca and her team placed hand-painted wooden signs all over the property, so as guests walked in to the wedding, they passed sentiments such as “To have and to hold” and “From this day forward” which added to the romantic rustic feel we were going for.
Chef Ryan at Roblar catered our wedding and we decided to do a huge cheese and charcuterie station for the cocktail hour (he smokes his own prosciutto!) and then a heavy pass of hors d’oeuvres and a few stations. The whole menu was dedicated to fresh local ingredients and the kind of food preparation that David and I enjoy at home. Simple, fresh and seasonal. Local rock shrimp, baby lamp chops, grilled filet mignon, risotto, etc.. And after discovering that Roblar had an outdoor pizza oven, we decided to have 3 kinds of gourmet pizzas passed as well. We kept with our rustic theme using Roblar’s wooden tables and forgoing the white linens (another great money saver!).
Instead of a guest book, Rebecca had guests write little notes to us and drop them in large vases throughout the night. At the end of the wedding, we were presented with a beautifully wrapped box of notes to open on our 1-year anniversary!
One very special picture that I will cherish forever is the one of my mom putting my veil on me. She wore that veil 42 years ago at her own wedding and time had failed to alter it in the slightest way. Jenny Lee ( who made my dress) was nice enough to alter it to fit me, and also told me that the lace in her veil was from the exact same place as the lace in my wedding dress!
All in all, it was a beautiful night at a beautiful venue with our favorite people in the world. There was a lot of laughter, music, delicious food and wine…and I married my best friend. What more could you possibly ask for? I can truly say that if I could go back and do it again, I wouldn’t change one thing. And I’m a perfectionist, so that’s pretty huge! It’s an amazing feeling….
Coordinator: Rebecca Stone, Duet Weddings / Flowers: Juniper Designs / Photography: Amy Nave at MaryJane Photography / Venue & Catering: Roblar Winery / Band – The Martini Kings / Calligraphy: Little Miss Press / Strings – Diane Siminski’s Festival Strings / Hair & Make-up – TEAM Hair & Makeup / Dress: Jenny Lee / Tux: Hugo Boss / Bridesmaid’s Dress: Priscilla of Boston / Groomsmen’s Tux: Calvin Klein / Cake – Susan Sheinkopf