Timeless Yet Modern Chicago Chic in Napa Valley Wedding
Hannah and Marek were looking for a sophisticated, elegant, well-edited, and effortless vibe for their wedding weekend. Marek is a fan of architecture, so we brought in touches of the Mont La Salle building details into the stationery design, constructed a custom seating display (in the style of one of their fav Chicago hangouts), and upgraded the reception chairs to something a bit more modern. We all had fun playing with the rentals and layering tone on tone pieces from the linen, to the china, to the paper in all of the big and little details. From the couple: Our wedding represented a huge milestone for both our families. Our vision for our wedding weekend was to honor our families and tradition, while also thoughtfully incorporating meaningful components that are important to me and Marek. It was also important that we created a good experience for our guests, who traveled from all over the country (and world) to be with us for a weekend. We wanted guests to feel included, taken care of, well-fed, and ready to have a good time! We’d describe our design aesthetic for the wedding as elegant and chic, yet understated and timeless. Our wedding colors and florals contributed to an overall vibe that felt fresh and crisp.
From Hannah: I knew I wanted a dress with a timeless silhouette, sleeves, and a train. I fell in love with the “Love” gown by Eisen Stein Bridal as soon as I saw it on the mannequin at Mira Couture. It felt classic, timeless, romantic, chic, and a tad whimsical. I loved the combination of the A-line silhouette and sweetheart neckline. The sleeves also felt reminiscent of a Filipiniana dress. For a dramatic effect, I wore a 144” cathedral length veil from De La Rosa’s Bridal. I paired the dress with Jimmy Choo Sacaria 85 High Block heels. I wore an ivory, v-neck, art-deco inspired Adrianna Papell gown for the reception.
The bridesmaid dresses were a mix of Vera Wang, Reformation, BHLDN, and ASOS. From Hannah: I let the bridesmaids pick the gown that they liked and found most flattering. The maid-of-honor, my sister, created a vision board to ensure a cohesive aesthetic.
Marek work a bespoke tuxedo and cream dinner jacket, the latter inspired by the commencement attire at Georgetown Prep. The Groomsmen wore The Black Tux.
From Hannah and Marek: Food is a big part of our relationship, and we wanted to share our love of food with guests. We had food at all of our weekend events. Chef Juan Zavala at Mont La Salle kicked off the weekend with an incredible rehearsal dinner featuring some of our favorite dishes — salmon and risotto. We worked with Chef Logan at John Anthony to customize our welcome reception appetizer menu. We loved working with Carneros to customize our cocktail and reception menu. We also had an open bar for our guests. One special request we had was to serve donuts at our reception, as donuts are one of our favorite desserts. The vanilla bean glazed donuts at Carneros Resort and Spa were a big hit!
From the couple: "White hydrangeas were the focal point for the florals. Marek gifted Hannah a stunning arrangement of white hydrangeas from La Salle Flowers at the proposal. Hannah wanted petite bouquets for her and the bridesmaids. Hannah had a classic Lily of the Valley bouquet. Mignon Floral Co. provided a fresh take on the bridesmaids bouquet – petite, crisp, yet modern. " From Planner: How fitting that the engagement flowers were from La Salle and their Ceremony venue was Mont La Salle - kismet!
From Couple: We wanted our cake to be simple and elegant. Palette Cakes handcrafted sugar flower hydrangeas, which adorned a two-tier cake. The double-barrel base created a modern and chic aesthetic. From Planner: Palette Cakes also provided some lovely mini desserts for our display to add to the delicious donuts - vanilla bean creme brûlée, chocolate chip cookies, and fresh fruit tarts.
From couple: We wanted our ceremony to be solemn and traditional. It was important to us that we had a Catholic Mass that incorporated Filipino wedding traditions – the cord, the veil, the unity candle, and the coins. Wine Country Entertainment did a phenomenal job with our ceremony music.
From couple: The Church Exit. Our exit from the church after the ceremony was our favorite memory from our wedding weekend. Our photographer Sean Thomas Photography had a vision for the exit that exceeded what we could have ever dreamed of. We walked down the steps of Mont La Salle chapel, surrounded by guests throwing biodegradable white ecofetti. It was such a happy moment to be surrounded by our family and friends.
From couple: The Wedding Weekend events. Many of our guests traveled from California, the West Coast, Chicago, the East Coast, and London to celebrate with us. With that in mind, we wanted to create a weekend experience for our guests. After our rehearsal dinner at Mont La Salle on Friday, we kicked off our wedding weekend with a Welcome Reception at The Mansion by John Anthony Vineyards. Our planner Kate recommended the venue – we fell in love with it for its historical charm, vintage design, and its location in Downtown Napa, where many of our guests stayed. It was also spacious – it had a large outdoor patio with a bar and multiple rooms inside. It was absolutely perfect – we welcomed guests on the patio, as the John Anthony team served wine, beer, and light appetizers. It felt like a house party! We also had a farewell brunch the day after our wedding at the Hilltop of Carneros Resort, overlooking Napa.
From couple: Cocktail hour music. In addition to live music at our ceremony, we wanted live music at our cocktail hour to set the tone for the evening. Hannah’s dad loves jazz music, so Hannah requested some of her dad’s favorite songs and artists be played at the cocktail hour – George Benson, Wes Montogomery, Django Reinhardt, to name a few. The Jim Martinez Band did an excellent job honoring our requests! They also played live piano and guitar during our reception dinner, which created a romantic vibe.
