For childhood friends turned sweethearts, a mix of soft draping, blush tones and greenery set the tone for their Annadel Estate Winery wedding! L’Relyea Events put together the perfect day filled with a ceremony under a massive, beautiful tree and a golden retriever escort card display, where guests were instructed to “fetch” their seats! With a giant bridal party and elegant floral details by Julie Stevens Designs, not a detail was missed, like the intricate wedding cake by Moustache Baked Goods. Go ahead and scroll below to see this fairytale wedding, captured by The de Jaureguis!
From L’Relyea Events…Christy and Alex grew up playing together as children and it wasn’t until after college years that they decided they couldn’t live without each other. With this in mind, we could not wait to plan their beautiful wedding day that would solidify their fairytale love story and also begin their new journey together as husband and wife!
Christy and Alex’s inspiration boards were filled with elements such as soft draping, pale blush accents, and beautiful leafy greens. Annadel Estate Winery proved to be the perfect wine country venue for their wedding with its historic ruins and bountiful foliage that would help create the ambiance they desired.
Rather than a traditional ceremony arch, Christy and Alex exchanged vows beneath a beautiful tree with a floral installation cascading down the trunk. The vibrant greenery and pale blush florals flowing down the tree was such a unique backdrop for the ceremony, which was sweet and romantic in every way.
Wanting to find a way to incorporate the couple’s beloved golden retriever in their day, the escort card table featured a beautiful dog topiary instructing guests to “fetch” their seats! A miniature figurine of a golden rested on each place card and gave guests something sweet and memorable to take home with them.
An intimate reception awaited the newlyweds and their guests in the courtyard of the Annadel ruins which provided a lush enclosed setting for the celebration. The walls of the ruins are covered in greens and create the feeling of a secret garden within the expansive property. With some romantic draping added to the two entrances of the courtyard and lighting strung overhead, the ambiance was undeniably magical! Loose textured floral centerpieces by Julie Stevens Design were paired with settings of white china and gold flatware with black handles.
Following dinner and toasts, the celebration continued at Annadel’s beautifully preserved barn where the newlyweds and their guests danced the night away, and even went home with customized hats in bright neon colors. At the end of the evening, Christy and Alex were sent off by their loved ones with a sea of streamers cascading over them as they walked by.
From the Bride and Groom…
Personal anecdotes about your gown: It was a Monique Lhuillier gown and I knew it was the one for me. It had what I would call an “inappropriately long train” and I loved it. It was classic and modern with cut-outs the back was incredible. We topped it off with a simple and long vail to finish off the look.
-How you and your spouse met: Christy had transferred to public school Freshman year of high school after going to private school for years. After the first day of class, Alex’s mom asked him if he had met any cute girls and he said that there was this girl Christy in his class that he liked. She said, “Christy… Christy Young? She lives three doors down from you”. From there we eventually went to homecoming and other dances and were very close, but we never dated officially in high school. Then Alex tried to date her in college and beyond, but the distance made it never work out. It wasn’t until she moved back from her time abroad that we finally connected. After about six months of randomly coming over and sending her flowers every day for weeks to work, she finally said yes to date me. It’s been history ever since.
-What inspired your wedding style: Alex and I are two very different people. I like the 40’s and champagne and fancy things and he likes tacos, vintage concert t-shirts, and craft beer. So we had to search pretty hard to find a city and a venue that fit both of us. We looked at Hawaii, Austin, Colorado, NYC, LA, Napa, and Tahoe. With our great wedding planner’s help, we finally landed on a vineyard in Napa, Annadel Estate Winery. It was a dream. The ruins and big tree and barn felt very akin to Alex’s style and the charm of the open field, vineyard and the touches that we put on through the styling made all the loveliness Christy could hope for. What made it even more special were the personal touches, like her Mom’s old dress being wrapped around her bouquet, Alex had the wedding date sewn into the collar of his tux, the bookshelves of photos of both of our parent’s weddings and pictures of when we were little, the golden retriever topiary to give a nod to their dog Sam, the cake with nods to Harry Potter and their pets, and the spray paint hats at the reception.
How you planned your wedding: We had weekly calls with Lindsey and would review new ideas to personalize the day, style choices and budgetary considerations. There are ups and downs as most people know going through weddings, but it was worth every minute for the best day of our lives so far. We really wanted everything to have touches of us in every decision we made.
Special touches: We ended up doing a 3-day event where everyone was invited to all events, from the Welcome Party to the Rehearsal Dinner to the Wedding. It made it so great because the whole crew knew each other so well by the time we hit the dance floor. We added blankets “to have and to hold in case you get cold” and a sign that said, “choose a seat, not a side, we’re all one once the knot is tied.” We also had a signature drink and whiskey flight tasting called “Drunk on love.” We didn’t play by any typical rules for the wedding party either. We had two best ladies and two best men and then Christy had three sisters of Honor and Alex had two brothers of Honor. We complemented that with 4 bridesmaids, 1 bridesman and 9 groomsmen. It ended up with a pretty stellar vanity fair style photo. We also had Welcome bags with the fun nods to our personalities below. Each one of Alex’s groomsmen received a pair of Stance socks that fit their personalities so they were all different and Christy gave her crew bathrobes and etched champagne flutes with their names for mimosas that morning. Christy and Bill also had a choreographed first dance with all the epic songs throughout their lives.
Photography: The de Jaureguis | Florist: Julie Stevens Designs | Wedding Cake: Moustache Baked Goods | Catering: Elaine Bell Catering | Transportation: Pure Luxury | Brides Dress: Monique Lhuillier | Ceremony/Reception: Annadel Estate Winery | Ceremony/Reception Music: Boutique DJs | Cinema: Lovespun Films | Groomsmen Socks: Stance | Planner/Designer: L'Relyea Events | Rentals & Lighting: Encore Events Rentals