Sun-soaked vows, an al fresco reception and the most adorable college sweethearts we ever did see – what more could we ask for, am I right?! Reed + James Events brought the bride’s dreams of a timeless aesthetic to life, alongside the talented team at The Flower House who created epic arrangements blooming with hundreds of white roses. If you’re looking for a traditional wedding in the heart of California’s wine country – look no further, the full gallery by Sweetlife Photography is just one sip away!
From the Bride… Teddy and I met in our college library. We were in the same class and hit it off during a group study session the night before the final exam. Teddy of course never went to class so I didn’t even know who he was until that night, but we hit it off immediately. Somehow neither of us wanted what should have been a miserable all-nighter study session to end. We started dating almost immediately after that study session, and were together for about 4 years before getting engaged. I think we both knew early on that this was a forever kinda thing, and as our relationship progressed so did that commitment!
Growing up in northern California, I always knew I wanted a scenic outdoor wedding, and with wine country just half an hour from my hometown, it seemed like the perfect choice. One of my family’s favorite traditions is wine tasting in Napa the day after Thanksgiving – there’s just something about enjoying good wine and beautiful views with your favorite people that is so special, and we really wanted our wedding day to echo that. We had a lot of guests traveling from all over the country and we loved the idea of giving them a Napa experience as part of our wedding weekend.
When I first started mood-boarding, I found myself clinging to words like “timeless”, “classic”, “elegant”, and maybe a touch of “vintage”. I wanted to be able to look back at our wedding pictures 50 years from now and still be happy (or at least not cringing) with all of our design choices! From the get go, I was drawn to muted earthy tones like taupe for our color scheme, and fell in love with the idea of all white florals.
Teddy and his family are greek orthodox, so growing up, the greek culture played a big role in Teddy’s life. Although we didn’t have a traditional greek orthodox wedding, we really wanted to incorporate elements of greek culture and religion into our wedding. After a few traditional dancing songs, we switched to greek music and kicked off the greek dancing. All of the guests, greek or not, got involved, and the big dancing circles ended up being one of our favorite memories.
Another way we tried to bring our personal taste into the wedding was through the signature drinks. We had two signature cocktails – 1 of which was obviously in honor of our furry best friend: “The Daphne Rita”. And the second was named after our college mascot as a little allusion to our story: “The Mustang Mule”. We had custom artwork done for the drink sign and drink stirrers (shoutout to @fleurishletters), and seeing those on the wedding day really made me feel like our vision came together.
So many people told me leading up to the wedding day that it would go by in the blink of an eye, and after hearing it for the 10th time I kind of just brushed it off, but wow is it true. I tried my best to be present and soak the little moments in whenever I could remember to and really just tried to soak in the fact that all of my favorite people in the world were in the same place together. One of my fondest memories of the day was a private celebratory drink Teddy & I had with all of the bridesmaids and groomsmen before walking out to make our entrances. It was unplanned but ended up being one of our favorite memories from the day!
We honeymooned in Bora Bora, and man, it was the best trip of our lives!!! We both had to be back in the US for another wedding we were in just two weeks after our own, so we didn’t want to waste any time leaving for the honeymoon. We left for Bora Bora the Sunday after our wedding and spent 11 days there – 6 days at Le Taha’a Resort (our favorite and a must visit if in French Polynesia), and then 5 days at Le Bora Bora.
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Photography: Sweetlife Photography | Videography: Got to be Fresh | Event Planning: Reed + James Events | Floral Design: The Flower House | Wedding Dress: Rita Vinieris | Cake: Flour and Bloom Cakes | Invitations: Minted | Bridesmaids' Dresses: BHLDN | Hair: Brianna Healy | DJ: Wine Country Entertainment | Wedding Venue: The Estate Yountville | Bride's Makeup: Summer Bridal Beauty | Bridesmaids' Makeup: Lexi Yee | Cocktail Sign Custom Artwork: Fleurish Letters | Dress Shop: Lovely Bridal Shop | Linens: BBJ La Tavola | Rentals: Bright Event Rentals