California Wedding At Auberge du Soleil From Wayne Yuan Photography
Pretty much any wedding in Napa is gorgeous, but when you combine the awesome wedding venue of Auberge du Soleil with a drop-dead gorgeous bride wearing a truly amazing Vera Wang gown … hmmm … fabulous!
One of our newest Little Black Book photographers, Wayne Yuan sent us Susan and Erich’s beautiful spring wedding. Enjoy!
From Wayne …
Susan and Erich’s wedding was not too big, not too small, and absolutely fabulous! With 80 of their closest family and friends, they celebrated their wedding during Memorial Day Weekend in the beautiful Napa Valley. Guests all stayed in various villas and quaint bed and breakfasts around the area, welcomed by friendly hosts and bottles of wine. The Bride and Groom rented a huge villa at the top of a mountain overlooking all of Napa Valley. The views were breathtaking—we were 1500 feet above ground and we could see miles and miles across the vineyards. Most of the wedding party and close friends stayed there with them.
The wedding day began at 5am for the ladies. They got ready at the Bride’s family villa (that had its own tiny vineyard in front!) with makeup artist Aimee Lam. Susan’s dress was a gorgeous ivory Vera Wang gown, feminine puff sleeves and layers of tulle gathered at the bottom for a tulip feel. Her birdcage veil and pearl drop earrings added a stylish touch to the ensemble. Her hair was left down in light waves, but pinned back slightly.
The day before the wedding, guests were invited to a wine tasting reception at the Villagio Inn & Spa where they enjoyed whites, reds, and a good reunion with old friends. One of Susan’s close friends even made decadent sugar cookies for the occasion, flown in all the way from London! The rehearsal dinner followed at the Uva Trattoria where we were serenaded by a live jazz band and listened to heartfelt words from the father of the groom.
The ceremony was held at one of the most popular locations for weddings in Napa Valley—simply because the ceremony site is on an outdoor patio overlooking all of Napa, one of the most beautiful views in the area Auberge du Soleil . Lush baby-pink peonies and blue ribbons graced the aisles leading to the patio where the bride and groom would recite their vows. Susan and Erich first saw one another during a “first-look” session before the ceremony. His first remark was “That dress is so you!”
As Susan and the bridesmaids headed back inside to freshen up for the ceremony, a flute and classical guitar welcomed the wedding guests, and then the wedding party as they came down the aisle. One of the favorite moments was the ring bearer, in his adorable tuxedo shorts, running towards his father for his sweet reward (a lollipop was awarded if he walked down the aisle properly). With “ooh”s and “ahh”s, Susan met her groom at the patio edge, and with tears and laughter, they became mister and misses.
The fabulous Nancy Liu Chin designed the stunning floral decor. And don’t you just LOVE the way the soft folds of the cake by Patisserie Angelica mimic the design of the Susan’s gown (and bouquet)!
I really can’t tell you how much I LOVE her dress!!
A BEAUTIFUL parting shot …
Congratulations to Susan and Erich … and a huge thank-you to Wayne for sending their wedding our way!
Such a beautiful couple! The goom's look is perfection...like he was plucked off the top tier of a wedding cake. What is wrapped around the napkins? A menu or something else?
They are so incredibly happy! I love their facial expressions in each shot. I especially like the photo of the two of them holding both habds and facing each other. Perfection!
I meant hands!
oh that dress! i'm in love! ; )
wow!! the entire wedding is stunning but seriously that cake is perfectly what i am looking for!!
my friend works at patisserie angelica!
wow!!! this wedding is perfection! bride & groom look very happy!! i really love the flowers & cake.
Absolutely gorgeous! I am obsessed with the ultra feminine ruffles of her dress. So romantic! The couple's color palette is similar to what I will be using at my wedding next June so this wedding is great inspiration.
Magnifique & extremely romantic! Wayne Yuan (photographer) has captured such a deep, passionately romantic wedding that I almost feel that I personally attended! The Bride & Groom are truly in love & the setting was magical. Thank you for sharing this moment of love & adoration. (sigh)
Wow, that dress is so unique and gorgeous!
the dress is amazing! and that last photo is beautiful!
The florals are out of this world. Bridal bouquet = j'adore!
I'm completely enamored of the bird cage veils. They're so glamorous late-40's chic. Especially on a dark-haired bride.
I love the veil and the unique way to pin it back after the ceremony! Inspiration!!
Ahhh...what a phenomenal wedding captured by the incredibly talented Wayne Yuan. The images are perfect, the expressions are timeless. Bravo!!!
Wow what an amazing wedding! Love the birdcage veil and her dress is so unique.
http://lillylynnevents.blogspot.com
This truly was one of my favorite weddings in May! Susan and Erich were the easiest of clients and they gave me very little direction! Susan just simply said, "make it look pretty, feminine, romantic". That was pretty much it and she left me to create. What more can I say.
Her bouquet was delicious - it even smelled amazing. Pink peonies, white peonies, beautiful English garden roses, wired lisianthus, sweet peas. How delicate was this bouquet?
For the centerpieces, we had viburnum, imported hydrangea, imported large Ecuadorian roses, garden roses, and peonies in a cream "limoge" footed ceramic vase that was equally as stunning.
My favorite little detail was the large pale pink peonies on the cake that Patisserie Angelica added! Stunning. I just love working with those ladies who crank out magically stunning cake art!
And of course I adore Wayne! Thanks, Abby for the blog love. You know I'm a huge fan!!!
Such a beautiful wedding. Love the peonies, the cake and her dress. Her birdcage veil is perfect! This wedding is so soft and lush with a punch of blue. Nancy the flowers are spectacular!
I love the way that the whole bridal party wore pearl earrings with the bride wearing a special pair of Pearl Drop Earrings. They look so lovely and elegant. Congradulations on your wedding, it looked absolutely beautiful.
What a beautiful dress. Compliments to the florist - absosutaley beautiful.
i really love the dress ...whose the designer??? ohhhhhh i was in search of the perfect dress ans here it is :) amazing wedding
I love how the hem of the bride's dress billows, I suspect it's a tulip and bubble-hem effect. Tuxedos always make a dashing groom, but where is 'the ring bearer, in his adorable tuxedo shorts'? A very charming wedding.
The flowers are so stunning! The bride looks amazing - that gown was made for her!
Gorgeous! Where are the bridesmaid dresses from?
Yes me too would love to know where those dresses are from!!!
I was just watching Say Yes to the Dress on DVR and recognized this dress - had to come back and check! She was on the show! Didn't remember reading that but the dress was UNFORGETABLE!
I'd just like to point out this bride was featured on TLC......needless to say I think shes just looking for attention to be featured in 3 places. They showed her wedding on TLC as well. I really dislike her attitude, as gorgeous as the wedding is.
I just saw her on Say Yes to the Dress on TLC (rerun) and I had to come back and look up this post! She looks gorgeous and the photography is wonderful!
I also was going to say that she was on Say Yes to the Dress. Haha. Don't know that you can dislike her attitude for being featured in several places though. I'm sure she's just so happy and proud of the beautiful wedding they put together.
Was anyone ever able to find out where she found the bridesmaid dresses? I have really been into that color and trying to find something very similar to the ones she had.
I believe the bridesmaids dresses were from Jenny Yoo. As the photographer of the wedding, the bride did not ask us to feature her on Style Me Pretty. We loved the wedding so much that we wanted to share all the gorgeous photos that we captured. The bride was surprised and appreciated that we made an extra effort to have her wedding photos posted on here.
Thank you for that info Wayne! We DO appreciate you sharing Susan and Erich's wedding with us!! Your work is just amazing!