Napa Valley Wedding for The Bride’s Guide
As some of you know, we’ve cozied up to Darcy, Shira and the fabulous team at Martha Stewart Weddings to offer up a Style Me Pretty Real Wedding every month on The Bride’s Guide. It’s been such a fun collaboration (I mean come on, people…it’s Martha) and one that we are so excited to unveil every few weeks. Our next real wedding, which is up in lights right now, was sent to us by what might be the world’s most stylish, fabulous bride. And one of those brides that didn’t take her day too seriously, filling it to the brim with THE. MOST. AWESOME. DIY projects a girl could ever wish for.
To see all of the wedding images, click here.
{click here to see the full wedding by Jamie Grenough}
Our wedding was all about rustic, raw beauty. Durham Ranch is a stunning property that is so well-suited to the rolling hills and farms of that part of Napa, and we wanted our wedding decor to integrate seamlessly. We picked a fairly neutral palette — mostly white, natural beige, gray and sage — to match the surroundings, with a few pops of red to mimic some of Durham Ranch’s own red accents.
We had a number of DIY projects — the biggest of which was making the chandeliers for the barn. We bought wood planks from a reclaimed barn, had a woodworker saw holes into them, glued mason jars in, dropped candles into the jars and strung them up with sailor’s rope. We also bought vintage grain sacks from a seller in Austria via Etsy and turned them into table runners. We used Ikea curtains to make pillows for the outdoor furniture. We stuck flip cams on the tables and asked our guests to serve as videographers. (And I want to note that, while we executed them, the ideas for the chandeliers and table runners came from our amazing designers at Atelier Joya).
We also integrated a few of our local favorite things into the event. My husband’s a pizza chef in San Francisco and has a lot of strong relationships in the city. His friends at Humphrey Slocombe created a custom Muscat-Peach sorbet for us and his friend Kiri Mah, the pastry chef at Pizzaiolo (where he used to work), made us an incredible coconut-passionfruit-blackberry cake. My husband also spent months meeting up with small wine makers before we settled on Peay Vineyard’s Scallop Shelf Pinot Noir, Stony Hill’s Chardonnay, Volker-Eisele’s Gemini White Wine and Robert Sinksy’s Vin Gris. And, lastly, because my husband is also a candy freak, we gave guests’ San Francisco’s Sweet Revolution caramels (a big hit).
During the cocktail hour, people milled around the pool and we served a full bar including a signature drink of “Lavender Mojitos.” The flower girl, my adorable niece, also tossed lavender when she walked down the aisle and we included it in all the bouquets and boutonnieres. We also used a lot of gardenias in the bouquets and table arrangements and, between them and the lavender, the place smelled amazing. We also set out picnic blankets and pillows during the cocktail hour so people could relax on the grass and watch the sun start to set (and pass out later in the evening!).
We also DIY-ed our huppah. The tallis belonged to my husband’s father, who passed away a little over 10 years ago. We tied it to birch branches we bought at the SF Flower Market. We also bought cheap fake birch flower pots, which Lisa Boone, at Atelier Joya, painted white for us. We then bought PVC pipe from our local hardware store, stuck it in the middle of the pots and poured cement around the pipe to make it stand straight. We then stuck the birch branches into the pipes. We did this all in our apartment’s breezeway.
The entire wedding was inspired by the book “The Giving Tree,” which was one of my favorites growing up and something my stepfather referenced in a toast shortly after we got engaged. Our invitations, which I must say were absolutely beautiful, had the light imprint of tree bark, which carried through all the paper pieces, and a sketch of a tree with our initials carved in a heart (you see that logo on a lot of things) designed by our friend, Michelle Beilner for Jot Creates. Part of what we loved about the symbolism of a tree is how old their roots are, how gracefully they mark the passing of time, how seemingly permanent they are and so on. We really wanted to pay respect to our own roots at our wedding, hence being married by our parents, being married under Jon’s father’s tallis and the family photos, going back generations, in the barn.
There’s so much more I can share — like dancing to She & Him’s phenomenal version of “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me,” walking down the aisle to Goh Nakamura (a local musician who I discovered via YouTube, where I work) singing his incredible rendition of “Just Like Heaven” (available on YouTube!) — but I’ll stop for now. Here are the vendors who helped make our day so beautiful…
Wedding Flowers & Design: Lisa Boone and Priska Kaspar of Atelier Joya / Venue: The Durham Ranch, Mint Locations / Catering: Living Room Events / Wedding Photography: Jamie Grenough / Wedding Cake: Kiri Mah / Coordinating: Elissa Thorp of Delysium / Lighting: Ben Davis of Refraction / Ceremony Music: Goh Nakamura / DJ: Thomas Golubic (a great friend, former KCRW DJ in LA, music supervisor extraordinaire) / Wedding Hair: Ashley Smith from Oxenrose / Wedding Make-up: Alexia Ogle of Shu Uemura / Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier / Wedding Invitations ad Paper Goods by Michelle Beilner for Jot Creates
Monique Lhuillier is a member of our Look Book. For more information on how members are chosen, click here.
47 Comments about “Napa Valley Wedding for The Bride’s Guide”
6 Links to “Napa Valley Wedding for The Bride’s Guide”
Leave a Reply
| « Baltimore Wedding At The AVAM Museum From Romance of Flowers | Romance of Flowers ~ Oatlands Plantation Wedding » |
 |
Visit us on Facebook |
 |
Follow us on Twitter |
 |
Subscribe to our RSS Feed |
- More Style Me Pretty...
- September 1, 2010
- August 31, 2010
- August 30, 2010
- August 27, 2010
- August 26, 2010
- August 25, 2010
- August 24, 2010
- All Archives
About
Press
Advertise
Submit A Wedding
Contact
Terms Of Use
A perfect rustic wedding! Love the table runners and the menu looks amazing!
I have seen this ranch featured several times now on some sites.... Does anyone one know how to contact the ranch? I have not been able to find their website or any info anywhere!!
that reception is so rustically chic! the lighting, the tables, those bails of hay, the photos on the walls. wow.
@Brit ... The closest thing I've found to a website is here: http://www.mintlocations.com/propertydtl.cfm?ptid=2&pid=75&pcat_id=1 #
Best of luck in contacting them! :)
Yep, Leandra is right. Mint Locations is the right contact for Durham Ranch in St. Helena.
I really like the groom/groomsmen suits - do they belong to each person or did you rent them? Also, the table number canisters are great - where are those from?
this is my kind of wedding! so gorgeous and i love the table settings and flowers!!
Thanks for all the lovely comments! Kathleen, my husband's suit was Gucci and my brother's was Prada (he's the light haired groomsman). Fancy pants, I know. I'm not sure about my brother-in-law's.
The water bottles were another inexpensive DIY project. We bought them from Ikea -- I think they're around $2.99 each -- and then bought vintage looking decals on Etsy and applied them ourselves. The best part is we now use them around the house and they still look cool!
how many water bottles did you purchase per table? Wonderful idea!
This wedding is amazing...I can't even believe the DIY projects they tackled to pull of this gorgeous reception.
Gorgeous wedding! I love the chandeliers and the table runners a whole lot. The entire event has such a relaxed elegance to it. Beautiful.
Love the chandeliers. Were they a pricey project?
This wedding is so perfect, I love rustic chic. This bride has some serious style!
Every wedding you post Abby, gets better and better! SMP is hands down the best place for wedding inspiration.
This wedding is a rustic chic vineyard dream come true! I am definitely going to borrow some of the fabulous D-I-Y ideas for my October wedding! Thank you so much for sharing!
Ohhhh my, amazing chandeliers.
WOW. Seriously this is a wow wedding. Such great DIY projects, so elegant and yet also perfectly suited to the rustic environment. Nerdy question, but wondering how you attached the chandeliers/rope to the ceiling? Did you have to drill into the space??
xo, Ara
Yes the chandeliers are gorgeous, rustic, and perfect! Thanks for sharing the DIY techniques with us. I love how you can reuse them so easily for different events since there's no electrical fuss like a lit chandelier. So great!
so pretty!! Love it!
one thing though, the bridesmaids are beautiful but those dresses are NOT flattering.
Any idea where the bride's shoes came from? I've looked everywhere for the perfect blue shoes and can't find them!
Love this! Thank you for the beautiful post!
Love this! Every detail is gorgeous. Can you tell us the name of the Etsy seller for the grain sacks? Also how many did you have to sew together to make the runners?
So pretty!!
Okay, answers to a bunch of questions...:)
Shawna, we put 2 bottles on each table.
J, in theory, the chandeliers should not be a pricey project if you plan well and know someone who owns the kind of saw that drills holes into wood :) Unfortunately, a friend started on them for us, but it became too difficult so we paid a woodworker and that did end up costing us. I would say, in total, the planks, woodworker, jars, candles, silicone glue and rope cost us $200/plank. Not cheap at all. But we're making that back a little as we slowly sell off the planks to furniture stores, friends of friends, etc. and they could be done for less.
Ara, Ben from Refraction Lighting here in SF hung the planks for us. No drilling necessary. I believe he looped the rope over beams running across the ceiling and used carabiners to secure.
Carlie, the shoes are Prada and ridiculously comfortable. I had foot surgery two years ago and can't really wear heels, but these guys were great!
Jen, the Etsy seller is just called "grainsack." The woman is awesome. We bought these literally 3 weeks before the wedding and she rushed them to us, trans-Atlantically, for no extra fee. Love her! Each grain sack = one runner when cut along the seams.
the plank chandeliers really make this wedding a standout...but I also love the simple tablescapes.
Perfect. I love this wedding. Are there any pictures of the invitations? What did you do for seating arrangements?
Love the chandeliers. Can't believe it was the DIY project. Where did you get the idea? Is there a how-to guide somewhere? What about the gorgeous centerpieces for the tables? Did you DIY those as well? I love how much attention you paid to the details and how personal and unique it turned out to be.
Beautiful wedding and I love the bouquets!
love the tablerunners and the mason jars to hold flowers
The decor for this wedding looks like it came right out of a Pottery Barn catalog! I AM IN LOVE.
Congratulations, Style Me Pretty! That's great news about your Martha Stewart feature. I was just up in New York City last weekend to meet with Shira and the team and they're fabulous. I look forward to seeing more of your work in The Bride's Guide!
Wow! The photographs are amazing! :) Everything looks perfectly thought out...i can't believe you had some many DIY projects. Congratulations!
Eeeeeek! I LOVE this! So many great DIY ideas, I don't even know where to start, bravo!!
This is one of my favorite SMP weddings yet, and I've been reading since the beginning. This couple did a wonderful job—congratulations to them both!
I am also walking down the aisle to an acoustic version of Just Like Heaven, but my brother in law is playing the guitar!
I am so excited about this. I just put a link to this story on my blog. I LOVE Maison REVE and I have seen these planks in Maison Reve. I had just done a feature on Maison Reve on my blog and highlighted these lovely chandeliers. Oh my goodness this is prettiest wedding. What a dream. Thank you for sharing this with all of us. Congratulations to the lovely bride and groom.
Hey I just have to comment again. This is the wedding of my dreams.
I put a link to this post on my blog and was wondering if it is okay to add some of these pictures with my link.
I had highlighted those chandeliers at Maison Reve. Are those your chandeliers in Maison Reve? I can't get over this. I have those (or same type) chairs around my dining table as well. I wish I could get married over again. My husband and I have been married for 16 years, wish I could convince him to do it again.
Take Care,
Maria
Sorry I didn't give you my email~ losttrailranch@hughes.net
Hi Sara!
Are you interested in selling the table runners to another bride? me?!
Thanks!
my email is regina_baptista@yahoo.com
OH MY GOODNESS this is just the most LOVELY wedding! I am so thrilled you posted on the diy for the chandeliers and for the runners...after looking at this post, I was so hoping to find the information. Only one question left --- where did your florist/you find those amazing wood planters for the center of the table?!? THEY ARE FANTASTIC!!! This whole event was just brilliant! Congrats!
I am stunned by your beautiful wedding photos. Thank you for including Sweet Revolution into this special day. All the best, Anastasia, Sweet Revolution
I also love, love, love the chandeliers! I'd love a quick how-to, if you had time to share. I'm trying to figure out how the jars stayed wedged into the plank? Was there a lip added on the top of the jar that kept them from falling through the drilled hole? Where did you find the planks again?
In the off chance you still have some of the planks for sale, I'd totally be interested! I'm located in SF.
I love the wooden rectangular planter boxes used for the centerpieces. If you don't mind me asking, where did you rent or purchase them from? If you still have them, would you be interested in selling or renting them? If you could email me that'd be awesome! leigh@theflorallab.com Thanks!