Every now and then a wedding comes along that nearly leaves me without words. I’m talking those weddings that push the envelope of pretty and make me thank my lucky stars to be a part of this little ol’ blog. But sure enough, when it’s vendors like Joy Proctor, Camellia Floral Designs, Aria Studios and KT Merry behind the scenes, events like that just naturally unfold. The story starts with this duo’s gorgeous engagement and ends in the full wedding gallery waiting right here.
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From the Bride… James and I are both very close to our families, so when searching for a location we envisioned a venue where we could celebrate the coming together of our two families. When we first set foot on the grounds of Sunstone Villa, we knew it was absolutely perfect for us! Not only were the Villa and surrounding vineyards utterly breathtaking, but our families were also able to stay with us at the Villa through the weekend. Looking back now, we realized that our families being together in the days leading up to our wedding was just as precious as our actual wedding day. We could not have imagined a more perfect location!
James and I wanted our wedding to be simple, timeless and romantic, yet also full of fun and warmth. We wanted our decor elements to be very personal and selected items we knew we’d eventually display in our home. We made several trips to our local antique faire searching for vintage trays, frames and containers. Our favorite find was the large antique gold frame we used as our escort card display. When we first found the frame, it was in desperate need of a little TLC. After a couple visits to the hardware store and through some trial and error, James and I were able to bring the frame back to life! The fact that we pulled an all-nighter restoring the frame made displaying it so much more meaningful. We also spent months collecting candles, votives and hurricanes and placed them all over the Villa to add a beautiful glow. We especially loved working with Carolyn Jane and Angelique Ink to create custom hand calligraphy signs, escort and place cards, menus and programs. They added the perfect personal touch to our wedding day.
Music is very important to us and we wanted the music at our wedding to be a reflection of our relationship. Over the course of our engagement, we continuously added songs to our “wedding playlist.” By the end, we had enough songs to fill the entire day! Hearing our selections played throughout the day was incredibly special, in particular our first dance song, which we had chosen on our very first date!!
The best advice I could give any bride is to choose experienced vendors they can wholeheartedly trust to execute their big day. We were told that our wedding day would fly by quickly but had no idea what that truly meant until it was actually happening! Luckily, we had an amazing team to support us and ensure every detail was attended to so that we could focus on spending time with our family and friends. Our coordinator, Joy, of Joy Proctor Design, was a dream to work with and quite possibly the sweetest person we’ve ever met! From day one, she gave us amazing advice on the planning process and was an invaluable partner. On top of that, she has an amazing eye for design; we knew we could trust her to bring our wedding vision to life! Our photographer, KT Merry, and her assistant, Chad, made the perfect team and captured the precious moments of our big day beautifully. KT and Chad were by our side the entire day and made us feel extremely comfortable in front of the camera. They were super sweet, patient and consummate professionals who executed with expert precision. We also absolutely adored our videographers, Aria Studios. They were so nice and fun to hang out with, like being with old friends. They’re based in Hawaii and braved not one, but two(!) hurricane warnings just to make it to our wedding! Watching their incredible Same Day Edit video at our reception was the perfect way to end the best day of our lives.
The SDE video, together with the quiet excitement of our first look, our adorable nieces and nephews as our flower girls and ring bearers, our first dance, the reactions we had to our SURPRISE horse-drawn carriage ride, making lifelong memories with our families, hearing the amazing speeches from our closest friends, and especially seeing James at the end of our ceremony aisle were some of the best moments of our wedding. All the planning and focusing on the details were definitely worth it! We could not have asked for more!
From Joy of Joy Proctor Design… I had the pleasure of helping Inga and James with planning for their beautiful wedding at Sunstone Villa. Inga chose a muted color palate of blush and peach paired with soft greens and greys to compliment the understated elegance of the venue.
Guests were greeted with lavender lemonade before making their way to the ceremony. Estate urns filled with organic florals by Cameilla Design sat on either side of the aisle, creating the most elegant entrance to the “I dos” which were held under and old oak tree. After the ceremony, Inga and James invited guests to join them for cocktails and bean toss before taking a quick moment to look out over their wedding from a balcony above. As a wedding gift, the grooms sister surprised them with a horse drawn carriage ride at sunset. Before making their way to dinner, guests found their calligraphy seating assignments by Carolyn Jane Design on a large gold frame backed in dupioni silk. Walking through the home to the reception, guests were greeted with more than 200 candles lining the stairwell and foyer tables – creating a truly romantic welcome to dinner.
The dinner reception was held in front of the house, with European market lights hanging over head. The bride and groom sat with their bridal party at a long wooden table from the Tent Merchant with a beautiful ivory dupioni silk runner from La Tavola linen. Guests sat at round tables covered in the same ivory dupioni linen with two beautiful centerpieces mixed throughout the tables. Rustic stoneware chargers and ornate silver flatware sat at each place setting, with a dinner menu tied in jute and a sprig of rosemary.
The gorgeous cake by Decadance was the perfect soft accent to the design. After the cake was cut, guests made their way to the back patio of the house to a late night lounge with natural linen sofas set around the oversized fireplace. SBB gourmet made pizzas for the late night crowd in the outdoor pizza oven.
Photography: KT Merry Photography | Videography: Aria Studios | Event Design: Joy Proctor Design | Wedding Coordination: Joy Proctor Design | Floral Design: Camellia Floral Design | Wedding Dress: Vera Wang | Cake: Decadence Fine Cakes & Confections | Bride's Shoes: Louboutin | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Jenny Yoo | Catering: Feast & Fest | Hair And Makeup: Styles By Ann | Calligraphy: Angelique Ink | Calligraphy: Carolyn Jane | Lighting: Bella Vista Designs, Inc | DJ: DJ Mel | Grooms Attire: John Varvatos | Ceremony + Reception Venue: Sunstone Winery & Villa | Linens: BBJ La Tavola | Photo Booth: Outrageous Booths | Rentals: The Tent Merchant