This wedding is a bit of a tease, held at a private estate that I’m left dreaming of, amid acres of rolling Napa Valley vineyards. Add in the gold and navy decor, and gorgeous Fleurs De France florals, and I’m declaring this one a west coast wedding all-star. Julie Kay Kelly and Kurtela Video captured every beautiful moment and I’ll be living vicariously through these photos as we enter into the new week ahead.
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From Julie Kay Kelly… I’m so excited to share Lauren and Dane’s amazing private estate wedding – it was one of my very favorites this year. Mix a storied wine country family property which has never hosted a wedding, a Texan couple gorgeous inside and out, and a talented planner, and you get: magic.
Ever since she was a little girl growing up in Texas, Lauren dreamed of getting married on the beautiful private Napa estate she’d known since girlhood. This summer, amidst sequined navy blue tables on a lush green lawn, she stepped off the deck of its little white farmhouse to meet her groom, Dane, with a penny in her shoe. This was the first and only wedding to ever take place on this richly storied property, which sits amidst acres and acres of rolling Napa vineyards.
The chance meeting decades earlier between Lauren’s father, a Texas auto man, and one of the most established winemakers in Napa Valley, would lead to a cross-country friendship and eventually to this day, when Lauren and Dane said “I do,” beneath a giant oak tree draped in white cloth and soaked in sunlight.
Orchestrated by Stephanie Cole of Cole Drake Events, Lauren and Dane’s wedding took place at the grounds of The Vineyard House, built in 1853, and now owned by Jeremy Nickel, whose late father Gil founded several of Napa’s most prominent wineries, and who gifted the estate to Jeremy.
Lauren and Dane had met through mutual friends years earlier and fallen in love quickly and surely. At the ceremony, Lauren emerged from a 100-year-old fig tree with her father as Dane watched, his face wet with tears.
Set to a cream colored background, highlighted with gold accents and navy blue sequins, the wedding mixed touches of rough-and-tumble Texas with classic Napa charm. The sky dripped with floating chandeliers and warm golden lights overhead, while guests enjoyed cocktails including a signature Texas Mule. Vintage couches, white orchid and hydrangea topped tablescapes, and a Cuban cigar table all contributed to an elegant yet whimsical feel.
“It was important to me that there was a very elegant feeling without losing sight of who Dane and I really are,” says Lauren. “I’d love to say we are are prim and proper but that wouldn’t be telling the truth! We are both very goofy and wanted our wedding to be fun and classy.”
Lauren says the day was amazing from start to finish, and that it’s hard to pick a single favorite moment. Among them, though was the moment she looked up from her walk down the aisle and saw Dane. “I’m so glad I looked up at him!” says Lauren. “At that moment I couldn’t mistake what I was there for…it wasn’t about walking on the stones in my heels and trying not to trip or about holding up my dress or smiling at the guests but it was about US!”
Photography: Julie Kay Kelly Photography | Videographer: Kurtela Video | Wedding Planner: Cole Drake Events | Florals: Fleurs de France | Cake: Perfect Endings | Catering: Elaine Bell Catering | Makeup: I Do Bridal | Hair: It's A Date At The Powder Room | Lighting: Twilight Design | Venue : Private Estate At The Vineyard House | Music: Wine Country Entertainment | Rentals: Wine Country Party | Second Photographer: Yuliya M Photography | Signage: Hope Stanley