Fresh Outdoor Wedding in Sonoma
There is something so very charming and magical about a backyard wedding. Maybe it is the cozy atmosphere, or the comfort that comes from being surrounded by friends and family in an intimate venue. Even if you aren’t blessed with a huge backyard, you can still capture that feeling of a homespun affair – case in point, Emilie and Gray’s outdoor wedding in Sonoma. This lovely day had that “IT” factor and I am IN LOVE with every last detail captured by the awesomeness that is Kate Webber. Can’t get enough of those streamers? Be sure to check out the full wedding gallery .
{Click here for the full gallery of images from this fresh, fun wedding}
I know this is a bit long but the bride, Emilie, had sooo many wonderful snippets to share that I couldn’t possibly leave out one single detail. And, she was inspired by Style Me Pretty through out her planning process… we love that!
Venue: While we both grew up in Maryland, not more than a mile away from one another and felt a heap of pressure to get married there, we simply didn’t fall in love there. We fell in love in the Bay Area taking road trips to wine country. The landscapes take our breath away and the easy lifestyle is totally inspiring. We wanted the decorations to be fresh, comfortable, and easy on the eye. Essentially, we were going for an atmosphere akin to a dinner at our place with friends, kicked up a notch. The yellow screams fresh, fun, and lively while the gray suggests a little sophistication. The color juxtaposition constantly caught our eye as we were planning, kind of like the sun shining through on a cloudy day.
Food: We wanted the food to be local, organic. We’re pretty passionate about the environment and wanted to tread lightly. The cupcakes were done by a friend of a friend and we knew we wanted them as soon as we sat down at the baker’s house for a tasting. Besides, cupcakes are so much more delicious than regular cake. Our guests raved about them.
Ceremony: We wanted it to be a real reflection of us. We love the Beatles, so the violinist playing Here, There, and Everywhere as our wedding party walked down the aisle. The musicians (Ann Wang & friend) also wrote the music for Flashdance’s What a Feeling, which always makes me feel like a million dollars every time I hear it. Of course, I wanted to walk down the aisle to something like that. And it absolutely struck me when played on the violin. Gray’s bother-in-law married us and used a passage from Charles Darwin’s diary as he contemplated marriage. Gray works at the Cal Academy of Sciences and the choice of passage was perfect. Gray’s sister read E.E. Cummings’ I carry your heart with me and very talented and dear friends of ours played the guitar and played the Beatles Something. The ceremony continued with friends standing up Quaker style to read quotes from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathon Safron Foer, a book we read aloud to each other when we first started dating. It closed with an exchange of our vows, which we wrote ourselves, and our guests singing Huey Louis’s Power of Love. It absolutely rang us and rang fun!
Reception: We wanted the reception to be comfortable, casual, and engaging. We had several things for guests to do from leaving us love notes on fabric squares (I’ll make that into a quilt for our 1 year anniversary) to getting their pictures taken by the hanging cloth photo backdrop (I’ll use the fabric to reupholstered a piece of furniture in our home so it can live a little longer with us). There were also some DIY mustache “sticks” for a little prop for the photo backdrop photos. To make sure the grounds were entirely accessible, we posted homemade chalk boards with directions and drink details.
Details: Our cocktails were designed by our parents who were desperate to play a role. I loved Gray’s father’s cocktail, The Love Maker: Maker’s Mark any way you like it. Another cocktail was from a local farm in our hometown, Fergie’s Punch, in honor of the Alice Ferguson Farm. Our tables were named after our favorite places, some in San Francisco, some in Maryland and North Carolina, where we vacation with our families.
Favors: We wanted our guest to keep cool, so we offered pre-ceremony beverages and fans. Each table-setting had a packet of California Poppy seeds for guests to plant at home to remember their trip to California.
Venue: Little House Weddings / Photographer: Kate Webber / Wedding Coordinator: Denise Kramer Weddings / Caterer: Park Avenue Catering / Florals: Dragonfly Floral / Dessert: Sweet Peony Cakes / Band: The Smoking J’s / Wedding Gown and Shoes: J Crew/ Bridesmaids: J Crew
36 Comments about “Fresh Outdoor Wedding in Sonoma”
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LOVE those streamers! and the fabric pieces (what a cool keepsake to make something from them!)
This wedding looks so relaxed yet so put together as well! love.
What a beautiful wedding! I too love the streamers. I'm getting married in July and my fiance and I are both science geeks and particularly interested in Darwin. I would love to find out what quote you used!
first off, i LOVE that she made that j.crew dress strapless. second, i'm actually looking at it as an option and it's really nice to see how it shows up in pictures. so pretty!
HI! I love this wedding! I am looking for yellow shoes for my wedding in July? Does anyone know what kind of shoes the bride wore?
Hi Kristian, Emilie's shoes were also from J.Crew. Lovely, Italian-made goodness! Enjoy!
What a fun wedding! I am also doing yellow and gray outdoor wedding, and this gives me some glorious inspiration! I am particularly interested in how you did the "photo booth"--did guests take their own photos against that fun backdrop or did you hire a pro to do the honors? Thanks and congratulations!!
Kim, we had my associate running this but set it up in such a way as to allow the guests to snap their own shots! FUN.
Hi Nancy! I'm thrilled to share our wedding details with the SMP community! Here's the Darwin excerpt Dan used:
"Reasons for not marrying: freedom to go where one liked; choice of Society & little of it. - Conversation of clever men at clubs - Not forced to visit relatives, & to bend in every trifle. - to have the expense & anxiety of children - perhaps quarrelling - Loss of time. - cannot read in the Evenings - fatness & idleness - Anxiety & responsibility - less money for books."
But the arguments for a union won the day: "Children - (if it Please God) - Constant companion, (& friend in old age) who will feel interested in one, - object to be beloved & played with. - better than a dog anyhow."
He married Emma in 1839 and they had 10 children.
I am in LOVE with that dress from JCrew!! It's so cool to see the Bride put her personal stamp on it. Hmmm, something to think about . . .
also loving that dress! tried to find it on jcrew - didn't. - anyone know the style number?? thanks!
Hi, Emilie? May I ask you a question? I live in CA now and am getting married soon myself. I also grew up in Maryland near the city of Annapolis and when I saw this post I thought your wedding looked so fun and whimsical! When I saw that you both grew up in Maryland and that your husband's name is Grahame, well, I couldn't help but wonder if he just might be the same Grahame I was a nanny for while I attended junior college (since it isn't a very common American name)? Is Grahame's mum from England, perchance? In any case, congratulations, I am very happy for you and your wedding looked so lovely and fun and you all looked so sweet and dapper! And by the way, LOVE LOVE LOVE the quote from Darwin...thank you so much for sharing...Hugs, Katrina
May I ask where the bridesmaid dresses came from? I am really struggling to find Grey dresses that my girls love and I think those might be just the right fit...fingers, toes and eyes crossed. Congratulations on a be-u-tiful wedding!
Hi Katrina - Grahme's lovely mother, Margaret, is from North Carolina, not England! Sorry to disappoint. Enjoy planning your wedding. Best wishes, Emilie
I love everything about this photos!!! amazing colors and details on everyone... love the shoes and the "chucks"... visit my blog to participate on my latest giveaway
Thanks for sharing the quote Emilie! From the pictures it seems like that quote was perfect for your wedding. . . charming and lovely. Congratulations!
Emilie, Thank you for sharing your photos!! I am in awe, what a beautiful couple and lovely day you created!! I am having an outdoor wedding in July and would love to have chalkboards. Did you create these yourself? Congratulations to you and the Mister! :)
Gorgeous celebration! Love the colors, chalk boards, and back drop! The photos are beautiful. Congratulations!!!
Kate Webber is absolutely incredible. Gray and Emilie’s wedding turned out to be everything they had hoped it would be. Kate was able to capture the essence of what is Gray and Emilie. You can tell from the pictures that it was so much fun -- for everyone!
Emilie,
Congratulations! You don't know me, but our fabulous mutual friend Becky King will be my Maid of Honor in less than two weeks!
Shawn (aka Biscuit, my fiance) and I have heard such wonderful things about you and Gray and your wedding - Imagine my surprise to find it posted here on Style Me Pretty today! I wish you all the best.
Audrey
I'm so glad to share some of our details. I certainly learned a ton on SMP in planning this and am happy to pay some of the inspiration forward!
Gown: The Madison Metallic Rose Gown
B'maids Dresses: JCrew
Chalkboards: we painted odd pieces of wood from a hardware store with chalkboard paint.
Thanks Emilie! I am so inspired by your wedding and definitely going to give the chalkboard project a try. Best wishes to you! :)
HI Emilie!
Your wedding was beautiful...I loved all of the little details! I was wondering where you got your Mason jars from...they are the perfect size and shape!
Thanks for sharing your day!
Hi Cicely,
The mason jars were part of our rentals at Park Avenue Catering. I'm not sure where they got them.
Audrey! Congratulation to you and Sean!
Where did they find these amazing yellow tall vases? They would be perfect for my wedding!
Looooove this! Where are the shoes from?
What a special wedding and gorgeous photos. .
The seed packets and the Converse are my favorite elements....but it is all just magical.
Congrats to Emilie and Gray, may your life always be filled with such beauty and whimsy. Off to a roaring start! xoxo
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the picture of the couple in the tree house with the sun shining from behind the tree.
Amazing!
Emilie - I'm a bit late to this but congratulations on an absolutely ideal wedding! There are sooo many similar touches to our upcoming backyard wedding:)
QQ for you - we are ordering paper lanterns. What color were yours? Thanks so much!
-Kate
Emilie,
I loved all of the photos from your wedding! I am planning my own wine country wedding, and thinking of using Denise Kramer and Park Avenue Catering for my wedding, and would love to know more about your experience with them. Thanks.
Absolutely adore the yellow shoes! And the groomsmen's too!!
Brightly colored shoes are such a hot trend right now. We've seen every color of the rainbow and then some adorning the toes of the brides at our outdoor wedding site in San Diego
If anyone could tell me where to buy the bride's shoes, I would be forever grateful!
The is a such a beautiful, unique wedding!