Fairytale Garden Wedding at Beaulieu Garden With an Ode to Italy
Aysia and Robert wanted a magical springtime Italian fairytale garden wedding with a classic blush, pink and white palette. The couple envisioned an intimate wine country evening filled with dancing to live music, flowing cocktails, and great food and wine under the arbor, surrounded by plenty of candlelight and chandeliers. Beaulieu Garden was chosen for its timeless Italian garden feel and private estate setting in Rutherford/Napa CA. The weather turned out to be even more perfect than they could have imagined.
Robert proposed on the beach, in North Shore Oahu HI with a beach picnic and sunset photoshoot. The beach picnic vendors pretended to take some photos of Aysia for their Instagram. She was turned away and asked to turn around, where Robert was down on one knee with the ring box in hand. It was a total surprise. Even though Aysia had picked out her center stone and design she did not know when or where it would happen.
The bride's gown was purchased from Pronovias, flagship store in NYC. Aysia was looking for something sparkly, floral, and mermaid-style cut. She visited 3 other shops before finding the perfect gown adorned with sequined and crystallized floral appliqué. To make it her own, she asked to have the original gown off the shoulder and added a glittery tulle over the skirt for extra drama. The dress is worn with Aquazurra meteorite iridescent PVC and crystal embellished sandals. For the dance party, the bride wore a halter style short empire waist tulle and feather dress custom made by friend and dress designer Kristi Vosbeck, paired with Alexander McQueen crystal embellished leather sneakers to make it more comfortable and fun.
Aysia wanted the wedding to feel colorful and fun, so she chose various tea-length and floor-length gowns in a beautiful shade of sage green. Each dress was unique in cut and fabric style, which really conveyed the personalities of each bridesmaid. The bridesmaids wore dresses from the Windsor Store.
The groom sported a bespoke suit by Tom Barnett from Buffalo NY. The lining inside the cream-colored jacket was custom-printed with their wedding monogram and paired with black velvet-trimmed tuxedo pants. Coffee cups and croissant cufflinks were designed as a gift from the bride by Yingia Puk of New York. The groom walked out in black velvet slipper-style loafers from Del Torro.
The couple picked some of their favorite foods for the Hors D’oeurves which included oysters, mini tuna tartare cones, and beef carpaccio crostini along with a large cheese plate. They wanted a mix of Italian and Asian-inspired cuisine. The main dishes included sea bass and a prime rib. The guests enjoyed the specialty cocktails picked specially by the bride and groom. Diamond gin fizz for her and Mezcal old-fashioned for him. In addition to the 3 tier semi-naked cake dusted in gold, there was also a gelato cart and mini hand pies for the guests to enjoy. Coffee is life for the groom, so of course the couple needed a specialty coffee cart to keep the party going. The night ended with dancing and late-night bites which included slices of white pizza and mini fried chicken sandwiches; some of the bride and groom's all-time favorite foods.
Keeping with the romantic Italian theme for her wedding, the florist Bloomwell and Co used a classic pallet of white, ivory, and blush flowers to accentuate every corner of the outdoor garden wedding. She created an organic and modern bouquet for the bride and her bridesmaids sprinkled with greenery. The couple had the florist create an asymmetrical open arch for their alter and tall sprawling bouquets lined the backside of the guest's chairs in the sunken garden where the couple said I do. For the cocktail hour, the florist adorned the fountain in the Italian garden with a ring of bouquets. Smaller arrangements were placed on every cocktail table seating under white market umbrellas. At the reception location, the florist created a beautiful arrangement of hanging birdcages and flowers above a mirror where table numbers were handwritten on paper and displayed with guests' names for seating. Behind the bridal table was a climbing display of flowers up an arbor trunk, along with tall wild bouquets of blush and white garden roses, snapdragons, and sweet peas mixed among clusters of hurricane candles. Smaller bouquets in gold vases were aligned down the center of the long rectangular banquet tables which were placed under the twinkling lights of the arbor. On guest tables were large white agate slices with table numbers written in gold, while above hung gold chandeliers adorned with hanging greenery to set the perfect romantic mood. Lighting was very important to the couple so tables were set with blush candles between the bouquets and clusters of hurricane candles adorned the old fireplace under the arbor, where a loveseat and chairs were arranged to take a rest and chat.
For the cake, the couple chose a three-tier semi-naked cake with edible gold leaf from Flour and Bloom which adorned the same flowers as in the bouquets. Each tier had a different flavor. The bottom layer had vanilla cake with alternating layers of fresh raspberries mixed with buttercream and lemon curd. The middle layer was a chai spiced cake with honey buttercream and the top layer was chocolate, chocolate chip cake with an espresso buttercream. The couple unanimously chose all three of these flavors as their favorites during the cake tasting without knowing what the other liked.
It was important to the bride to bring in a little bit of magic, so the couple had a string trio play modern tunes during the ceremony and all of the cocktail hour. Their very good friend was also their officiant for the wedding which made the ceremony extra special and intimate for the couple. After dinner, the guests danced to live music, which included a saxophone player who doubled as a DJ, named Rob Bennion. The night ended with a dance party under the stars while enjoying the specialty cocktails and late-night bites picked out by the bride and groom. The newlywed couple danced away in bliss to a live serenade of Here With Me by D4vd.
As cat parents, Aysia wanted to include their kitties in the wedding. M Design perfectly captured their portraits in watercolor for the signature cocktail signs and blank printed the custom-designed monogram from Nooney Art onto cocktail napkins. The ice cube for the fashion even had A&R embedded on the top. To evoke even more romanticism hurricane candles were placed in clusters at the outdoor fireplace and along the front of the couple's head table. Aysia and Robert also wanted their guests to have fun making memories by taking photos at the cutest vintage bike booth from Magic Tymes Photo Booth.
Guests arrived with a welcome glass of champagne from a vintage white bookshelf next to a gold framed mirror that read "It was always you.” in white cursive lettering. There was a welcome table where a game of Jenga was displayed as their guest book. Guests wrote well wishes and advice in gold Sharpie while having a sip and waiting for the ceremony to begin. The couple wanted the guests to enjoy themselves as soon as they stepped into their romantic fairytale wedding.
