Napa Valley Wedding from Sylvie Gil + Kathy Higgins
Sylvie Gil, I could kiss you for bringing us a wedding this pretty. For capturing images so lovely, I've spent more time in this gallery of pure gorgeous than I care to admit. But if any wedding deserves some serious quality time, it's this one. Planned to perfection by Kathy Higgins, hosted in the mecca for stunning wedding venues, Napa Valley, and complete with synchronized swimmers - it's a fête worth fawning over. Trust me. And you can do just that right here.
From the Bride... When Eric and I first set out to find our wedding venue we had three main credentials. The first was to find a location in which our family and friends from New York and Michigan would be excited to visit. The second was to find a unique and beautiful setting that felt like us. And lastly to choose a place in which we could express not only our love for one another but our love for food and wine. It took us three trips to Napa Valley before we found our dream venue. Tucked high up in the mountains with stunning panoramic views of the valley below, we instantly fell in love with Crystal Springs Estate. Our wedding planner, Kathy Higgins planned the homeowners wedding 12 years ago which is how she was able to locate this perfect hidden gem.
Now that our venue was set we started the adventure of planning a wedding in Napa while living in New York City! Thankfully Kathy Higgins is Napa based and knows everyone! She introduced us to all our vendors and helped bring our vision to life. We used Elaine Bell catering who took each idea we had and ran with it to create exactly what we wanted. Since we were in Napa it was extra important that we had a fantastic wine selection so Eric worked very hard to create the perfect medley of our favorite wines. When it came to dessert we didn’t want to just have a traditional wedding cake so we also opted for a dessert buffet by our favorite Napa bakery, Bouchon. Eric was so instrumental in planning the wedding with me that it was hard to sneak any surprises by him. He loves football and I was luckily able to get the awesome ladies at Perfect Endings to sneak in a tiny JETS football at the base of the cake. I’m not sure who loved it more, him or his friends!
Eric was very particular about the entertainment. He spent hours and hours searching for the perfect band and the perfect band is exactly what he found. The Party Crashers out of Salt Lake City were fantastic and made our wedding! Our guests were dancing from the moment they stepped into the tent and didn’t stop until the wedding was over. Jenny has the most beautiful voice and sounds exactly like the songs on the radio! I was amazed! Since we were having the band play all night and not getting a late night DJ we wanted to bring in a fun form of entertainment to keep the excitement going. The property has a gorgeous pool and we wanted to find a way to incorporate it into the entertainment. We searched far and wide before we found the amazing Aqualillies, a cabaret style, synchronized swimming group based in Los Angeles. Our guests were so surprised and loved every second of their performance.
When our guest returned to the tent we had transformed the lights to feel more like a lounge and the band changed their tune to play more club music. It was at this point that we rolled out our late night food: our favorite burgers from In-n-Out! On our many trips to Napa to plan the wedding we developed a little tradition of stopping for burgers at In-n-Out. It only felt right that they would be our late night food. Kathy was awesome at helping that idea come to life! It was the perfect ending to the perfect wedding. Fat and happy.
Photographer Sylvie Gil / Wedding Venue: Private Estate in Napa, California / Event Planner: Kathy Higgins / Floral Design: Valley Flora / Caterer: Elaine Bell Catering / Wedding Cake: Perfect Endings / Dessert Buffet: Bouchon Bakery / Officiant: Rev. Peadar Dalton / Lighting + Decor: Lux Productions / Linen Rental: La Tavola / Tent Rental: Zephyr Tents / Ceremony Music: Eloquence Strings / Reception Music: Party Crashers / Entertainment: Aqualillies / Wedding Stationery: Paisley Quill / Wedding Dress: Edgardo Bonilla / Bride's Shoes: Jimmy Choo / Bride's Garter: Olivia Nelson / Bridesmaid Attire: Amsale / Bridesmaid Jewelry: Colleen Frances (Owned by the Bride) / Grooms's Attire: Dolce & Gabbana / Makeup: Carrie Aldous / Hair: Lani Slack
Now that our venue was set we started the adventure of planning a wedding in Napa while living in New York City! Thankfully Kathy Higgins is Napa based and knows everyone! She introduced us to all our vendors and helped bring our vision to life. We used Elaine Bell catering who took each idea we had and ran with it to create exactly what we wanted. Since we were in Napa it was extra important that we had a fantastic wine selection so Eric worked very hard to create the perfect medley of our favorite wines. When it came to dessert we didn’t want to just have a traditional wedding cake so we also opted for a dessert buffet by our favorite Napa bakery, Bouchon. Eric was so instrumental in planning the wedding with me that it was hard to sneak any surprises by him. He loves football and I was luckily able to get the awesome ladies at Perfect Endings to sneak in a tiny JETS football at the base of the cake. I’m not sure who loved it more, him or his friends!
Eric was very particular about the entertainment. He spent hours and hours searching for the perfect band and the perfect band is exactly what he found. The Party Crashers out of Salt Lake City were fantastic and made our wedding! Our guests were dancing from the moment they stepped into the tent and didn’t stop until the wedding was over. Jenny has the most beautiful voice and sounds exactly like the songs on the radio! I was amazed! Since we were having the band play all night and not getting a late night DJ we wanted to bring in a fun form of entertainment to keep the excitement going. The property has a gorgeous pool and we wanted to find a way to incorporate it into the entertainment. We searched far and wide before we found the amazing Aqualillies, a cabaret style, synchronized swimming group based in Los Angeles. Our guests were so surprised and loved every second of their performance.
When our guest returned to the tent we had transformed the lights to feel more like a lounge and the band changed their tune to play more club music. It was at this point that we rolled out our late night food: our favorite burgers from In-n-Out! On our many trips to Napa to plan the wedding we developed a little tradition of stopping for burgers at In-n-Out. It only felt right that they would be our late night food. Kathy was awesome at helping that idea come to life! It was the perfect ending to the perfect wedding. Fat and happy.
Photographer Sylvie Gil / Wedding Venue: Private Estate in Napa, California / Event Planner: Kathy Higgins / Floral Design: Valley Flora / Caterer: Elaine Bell Catering / Wedding Cake: Perfect Endings / Dessert Buffet: Bouchon Bakery / Officiant: Rev. Peadar Dalton / Lighting + Decor: Lux Productions / Linen Rental: La Tavola / Tent Rental: Zephyr Tents / Ceremony Music: Eloquence Strings / Reception Music: Party Crashers / Entertainment: Aqualillies / Wedding Stationery: Paisley Quill / Wedding Dress: Edgardo Bonilla / Bride's Shoes: Jimmy Choo / Bride's Garter: Olivia Nelson / Bridesmaid Attire: Amsale / Bridesmaid Jewelry: Colleen Frances (Owned by the Bride) / Grooms's Attire: Dolce & Gabbana / Makeup: Carrie Aldous / Hair: Lani Slack