People keep asking me what sort of wedding I would have if I could do it all over again. And I’m just not entirely sure what the answer is. There are so many beautiful ideas that we see here every day, it’s sort of eye candy overload. But one thing I do know is that I would approach the wedding exactly like this next bride did. Carefully choosing her guest list, letting the space inspire her style and opting for simple, gorgeous details with effortless grace and charm. And they couldn’t have chosen a better team, onelove photography, to capture every last bit of it. Click here to see the whole gallery.
From the Bride… We wanted to have a wedding that reflected our both our personalities and our respective heritages (the groom is Cuban and I am Greek and Irish). My husband worked closely with our officiant (the husband of my matron of honor and a close family friend) on our ceremony to make sure that it had the right blend of wit, humor and gravitas for our venue. We selected Demetria not only because of its beauty (and great wine) but because the owners are close relatives of mine.
Our favorite weddings have always been those where the guests really get to know each other over a period of time, giving the wedding weekend a relaxed and joyous environment. We invited a small group of very important people. Knowing this was important to us, we were lucky to have a couple’s shower thrown for us a few weeks prior to our wedding where we taught a large group of our guests how to do the traditional Greek dances that would be played during our wedding. Everyone had a blast figuring it out, and they were that much more eager to jump up and dance at the wedding. We also invited everyone to meet us for drinks at a local bar and restaurant the night before our wedding to kick the party off and get everyone having fun. The morning after our wedding, we invited everyone to a relaxed brunch, gave them a mimosa and showed the photos from the photo booth the evening before while everyone recovered.
Demetria is a sustainable and biodynamic winery in the Santa Ynez Valley and we selected local, seasonal, organically grown food to complement that. As big cooks and foodies, we spent significant time crafting our menu with our fabulous catering company, recreating some of our favorite dishes from our years together. We picked a great photo booth company to provide activities for those who didn’t want to dance and spent hours putting together the perfect blend of music for the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception with our amazing DJ. Because we were going for a rustic and relaxed design, we worked with our coordinator to create loose, tumbling centerpieces full of herbs, greens and white flowers in mahogany boxes and rustic stone urns. Knowing that it gets very dark in such a remote location, we brought in strings of Fellini lights above and lit the tables with votives and hurricane lanterns (which were also scattered throughout the property). We decorated the bar and sweetheart tables with flowing lemon leaf swag as a nod to the classical Grecian laurel wreaths.
It’s nice to have a beautiful wedding, but it’s even more important to create lasting memories with those you love. Be gracious hosts: pour good wine for your guests, serve them good food, play good music, and give them things to do! And invite those people who mean the most to you, no frenemies! Be fearless with your photographer. Stand in the dirt if they tell you to (we did), and have total faith in them. Pick professional vendors who do their jobs well; you can rely on your friends another time … they should be able to enjoy your wedding! Also remember that this won’t be the last party you ever throw as a couple so keep your vision focused, as hard as it may feel. There’s always time to incorporate globe balloons or mariachis at another time if it isn’t fitting in with this event. We also loved having little elements thrown in to reflect our humor. Did our best man wear the “Hand of the King” pin from Game of Thrones? Yes. Was there a Lord of the Rings joke in our ceremony? Yes. Did we play the Star Wars Cantina Song as the guests walked to the cocktail hour? We sure did! We loved catching our guests by surprise with little personal touches throughout the evening and enjoying each others’ company on the most fantastic night of our lives.
Wedding Photography: onelove photography / Wedding Venue: Demetria Estate in Los Olivos, California / Wedding Coordination, Floral + Event Design: Stephanie Grace Designs / Catering: New West / Wedding Cake: SusieCakes / Wedding Stationery: Smock via Urbanic Paper Boutique / DJ: Gianna Costa of Hey Mister DJ / Lighting + Rentals: Classic Party Rentals / Wedding Dress: Priscilla of Boston (Now Closed) / Bride’s Shoes: Something Bleu / Bride’s Jewelry: Family Heirlooms + Etsy / Bride’s Hair Accessory: Amore Treasure / Hair + Makeup: Fiore Beauty / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Their Choice / Groom’s Attire: Hugo Boss