You know what happens when Chicago’s finest vendors join forces with the amazing talents in Napa Valley? Pure, unadulterated perfection. Think LK Events, Vrai Photography, Sharla Flock Designs and Sherrie Long (+ many, many more) all coming together to create a fairytale-eque day in wine country. Prepare yourselves, lovelies. This is sooo good. See it all here.
And a sweet film from I Do Films? Yes, please.
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From the Bride… Although Joe and I now reside in Chicago, where Joe grew up, I had always hoped we would get married back in my home state of California. I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and fell in love with the Napa Valley at a young age. Some of my most cherished memories involve wine tasting in Napa or Sonoma with my family. Napa was also the first trip Joe and I took together as a couple after we graduated from college and where we continued to visit many more times over the years. Plus, it is hard not to love Napa… fabulous wine, amazing food, and a beautiful backdrop to top it all off. When the time came to start planning our wedding, the Napa Valley immediately went to the top of our list.
We took a trip out there with our parents soon after we got engaged to do some wedding research and immediately fell in love with the Vintage Estate. The venue is nestled in the quaint downtown area of Yountville on a hotel property surrounded by gardens and vineyards. It checked off all of our must-have items: it could accommodate a larger guest size, we were able to have our ceremony, cocktail hour, and dinner outside in a stunning wine country setting, and we were able to continue the celebrations with our guests late into the evening in an old wine barrel room-turned-event space.
Our two favorite things to do as a couple consist of eating (either cooking at home or trying new restaurants) and chatting about the day over cocktails (because we can never turn down a glass of wine or an Old Fashioned). Therefore, it was really important to us to incorporate those passions into our wedding day. The Vintage Estate did a wonderful job with the menu and created a cuisine with fresh ingredients straight from the valley which we paired with some of our favorite wines from the area. We had our first look and bridal party photos in the vineyards at a winery that both of our families love, which was also the very first winery Joe and I went to on our trip to Napa together many years before. During our ceremony we opted to do a unity cup, instead of a candle, and sipped the wine from that same winery.
I didn’t have an exact color scheme picked out for our wedding, but I knew I wanted more of a natural feel given that almost everything took place outside, so we went with a softer pallet of white/cream, blush, coral, mint, and gray. For the floral and décor, Sharla Flock and her team created loose arrangements consisting of roses, hydrangeas, dahlias, lavender, berries, and pops of greenery. They used lanterns, wine barrels, candles, wooden boxes, mercury vessels, and farm tables to compliment the rustic beauty of the Napa Valley. We wanted to do something fun and different with the escort card table so Sharla placed the cards in wooden crates filled with fresh grapes, which turned out wonderfully. We incorporated those softer tones and the wine country theme of grapes and vines into our paper products as well, which we had an absolute blast designing with Kara Gordon of Magnificent Milestones in Chicago.
Our wedding day was truly a family affair, which made it even more special and most importantly, fun! Joe’s oldest sister, Jenny, and her band Déjà Vu flew in from Chicago to play at our ceremony and reception. Jenny was kind enough to sing my processional song, our unity cup song, first dance, and Joe’s dance with his mom. Those are definitely moments that we will cherish for years to come. Joe’s other sister, Lauren, who is the owner of LK Events in Chicago, helped us throughout the entire wedding planning process. We were very fortunate to have someone that was so knowledgeable and talented with us every step of the way. When I first moved to Chicago I worked with Lauren on many of her weddings and met some incredible vendors that we knew we wanted to be part of our day. Kristina Carter and Aaron Brouwer of Vrai Photography and the brilliant guys from I Do Films made the trip from Chicago as well. Reverend Nye, who officiated our ceremony, also baptized Joe as a baby, so having him there to marry us was very meaningful.
We could not have asked for a more perfect September day in the Napa Valley with our friends and family. Many of them traveled from all around the country to celebrate with us and we will be forever grateful for that. The day was filled with everything we could have hoped for… lots of love, laughter, dancing, and wine!
Photography: Vrai Photography | Videography: I Do Films | Wedding Planner: LK Events | Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier | Cupcakes: Sift Cupcake & Dessert Bar | Reception Venue: The Vintage Estate | Bridesmaid Dresses: J.Crew | Catering: The Vintage Estate | Hair And Make Up: Sherrie Long Makeup Hair & Effects | Lighting: The Lux Productions | Groomsmen Attire: Vera Wang Black For Men's Warehouse | Transportation: Royal Coach Limousine | Day Of Coordinator: Stacy McCain Event Planning | Floral And Decor: SHARLA FLOCK DESIGNS | Invitations, Day Of Items: Magnificent Milestones | Linens: BBJ La Tavola | Rehearsal Dinner: Merryvale Vineyards | Rentals: Classic Party Rentals