This Happily Ever After Started at the Gym

Erin Lepperd
November 16, 2017
Categories: Real Weddings, Rustic, The Blog

When wine aficionados get married, it’s a beautiful thing and this Santa Ynez wedding is the proof. After meeting at the gym (thanks to a cupid trainer) this couple learned they had a whole lot of wine in common. Fast forward to this stunning affair held at the family’s winery, Grassini Family Vineyards, with design and planning by Jill & Co. Events, florals by TOAST Santa Barbara and all the festivities captured by Lacie Hansen. It just goes to show, you might want to rethink skipping your next gym session.

From the planner… Katie and Dean met at a gym in Santa Barbara where their trainer pushed them to get to know each other better. When they finally went on a date they had much to talk about, both being in the wine industry, Katie the CEO of her families Grassini Family Vineyards, and Dean in wine distribution, also with a family winery, Alban Vineyards, up in San Luis Obispo County. Katie has always loved visiting Ireland, and she met her very own Irish boy here in CA. Dean loves vintage cars, and when he saw Katie driving her families 1954 Chevy, he knew he had found his American girl! The truck made it’s way into some of the wedding details, providing a backdrop for the escort card display filled with vintage wine jugs hand lettered directing guests to their seats. The lettering on the invitations paid tribute to the branding of the winery where the guests would be gathering to celebrate Katie and Dean. The ceremony paid tribute to an Irish Tradition of ringing a bell to ward off evil spirits after they recited their vows and walked down the aisle, guests rang vintage bells tied with velvet ribbon and wooden rags with their diagram and “ring me”. For cocktail hour guests sipped on Grassini and Alban wines in the middle of the vineyard. Guests dined lakeside at sunset under a canopy of 100 year old oaks. They were greeted at their seats with engraved oak menus with grassini’s (Italian breadsticks), a nod to the bride’s Italian heritage and families name. Guests were served a three course meal before getting up to dance the night away under the stars, lounge lakeside by the bar, and enjoy the passed desserts and late night snacks.