Escape to Summer in Napa Valley at This Chic Black Tie Affair

Lauren Megerdichian
April 8, 2022
Categories: Real Weddings, Romantic, The Blog, Traditional Elegance

At this chic Napa Valley affair by Simone Lennon Events, Danielle and Garrett’s guests were greeted with lush gardens and bubbly libations as they languished in the balmy August wine country. The ceremony was abloom with roses in blush, cream, and deep maroon and Natalie Bowen Designs’ flower ceremony arch interwoven with enchanting wildflowers! Navy tones oozed classic sophistication while essences of art-deco and mid-century modern styles incorporated fresh modernity into Beaulieu Garden’s European charm! Kurt Boomer stylishly photographed this elegant escape to love, check out the full gallery here.

From the Bride… As a little girl, I always dreamed of getting married in Napa and wine country. My dad is very passionate about wine and owns a winery in Calistoga. We grew up going to Napa every summer for family trips and my dad would always teach us about wine. I started to get Garrett really into wine and we would book trips to Napa and go wine tasting. Garrett and I knew we wanted to get married in wine country and wanted a wedding that was outdoors. We also wanted something private and intimate, but spacious. We searched on Instagram and the internet to get an idea of the type of venue we were really drawn to. We kept finding that we really liked Beaulieu Garden (Garrett actually found this on Instagram), Black Swan Lake, and Meadowood. We told Simone that we are open to anything in wine country and similar looks and feels to the properties we mentioned above. When we did a weekend of site tours with Simone, Beaulieu Garden was the first property she brought us to. I will never forget driving down the driveway and I remember my mom, dad, Garrett and I all looking at each other with excitement. We were graciously greeted and took a tour of the property and it just got better and better. We were walking through the rose garden and I will never forget when Garrett whispered in my ear “I know we have more properties to see but I know this is the one –we are going to get married here.” I laughed at him and told him to keep an open mind because this was the first of a few properties we were touring, but deep down I knew it was the property too. We also found out later that my dad whispered to my mom the same thing Garrett whispered to me–that is when we knew the property was meant to be and we had to get married at Beaulieu Garden.

Classy, timeless, beautiful, intimate, elegant, memorable, formal, European influence. Beaulieu Garden is truly a magical piece of property– we feel so fortunate to have been able to have had our wedding at this venue.

Garrett and I asked my older brother, Eric, to be our officiant and we wrote the entire 30-minute ceremony together. We helped get Eric ordained online so he could be our Supreme Officiant/Officiant Supreme. Eric was living in Australia at the time so we would FaceTime once a week so he could understand our relationship on so many levels. We did exercises so Eric could help describe what our love is, what our love means (and will mean for eternity), and what we wanted everyone to witness at our wedding and ceremony. Garrett and I also wrote our own vows together for each other and ping-ponged them as we recited them for everyone at our ceremony to hear. Our ceremony was short—but very meaningful, special, unique, memorable, passionate, heartfelt, and comical. I could go on and on, but Garrett and I are very grateful that my brother agreed to get ordained and help write our entire ceremony. He absolutely killed it!!!

Even though Beaulieu Garden is in the Rutherford region of The Napa Valley, the private estate feels like a gateway to the South of France. Upon entering the property, guests experience a mile-long Birch tree lined road before being dropped just a few steps away from the gate of property’s Rose Garden. As guest stepped into the garden, Butlers with tray passed sparkling wine and minted iced tea greeted them. The Rose Garden is in full bloom in August and with several picturesque gravel pathways leading to the ceremony, most guests fully took advantage of the Instagram moment. As they made their way to The Sunken Garden for the ceremony, they were offered white parasols and ushered to their seats by bridal party Ushers. Ivory Tuscany chairs were configured around the garden’s water feature to bring attention to the landing ahead featuring the backdrop of the ceremony vows. Natalie of Natalie Bowen Designs installed a lush floral arch made up of several off-white garden rose varieties, vines, wispy wild flowers and Hydrangea. She also placed grand arrangements flanking the bridal party ensuring they intimately fit into the space. With the bridesmaids donning navy blue evening gowns carrying asymmetrical berry hued floral bouquets along with the groomsmen in tuxedos, they set an elegant and formal tone for the event while providing just enough contrast to the ceremony design.

The reception was full of good times, remarkable people, and exceptional food, wine, and drinks (open bar the entire time). My mom and dad had custom wine and bottles made for the wedding that they served during the cocktail hour and reception. We had spectacular DJ + 2 piece band members that kept people dancing the entire time. We also had a photo booth that was a huge hit because it made everyone look flawless–the entire day and night was magical.

The goal of the event design was to really capture the essence of the couple – stylish, modern, carefree yet totally timeless, formal and rich in family values. They also wanted to throw a party with high energy that could span all ages making the event memorable for a long time.

In choosing a color palette, we decided on using navy, berry tones and classic ivory.

For a day time wedding in August, we felt navy was the perfect color to anchor the formality of the event. We Infused it into our invitations, escort cards, cocktail linens and bridal party attire.

Danielle has a really eclectic style and gravitated towards a lot of art deco and mid-century modern elements in our mood boards so we decided to work in those vibes within our event furnishings. She also loves berry tones and lots of texture. Natalie Bowen, our floral designer, really nailed the entire vibe by creating asymmetrical treatments with pops of raspberry, currant, plum and blush.

The dinner reception featured long modern Kings tables mixing black ceramic, gold rimmed and etched glass elements with modern minimalist floral treatments enhanced with candlelight. Guests each found their name in handwritten script at the top of letterpress menus to designate their assigned seat.

The dance reception lounges that surrounded the dance floor were clusters of mid-century modern style furnishings that set the tone for the mashup of tunes performed by their favorite celebrity DJ, DJ Viceroy.