Napa Valley Wedding by Zach Anderson Photography

There really is no better place for an outdoor wedding full of romance than Napa Valley. With seriously gorgeous vistas, days comprised of sunny perfection, and enough delicious wine to last a lifetime, it’s no wonder this couple chose to high tail it out of Ohio for their big day. The perfect peony and garden rose bouquet, the vintage postcards serving as table markers, the cutest little flower girl, and the incredible images from Zach Anderson all add up to make one blissfully beautiful day. Click here for the full gallery.

Click here to see the FULL wedding!

From the bride…After tossing around 3 totally different locales (a wedding in central Ohio; Charleston, South Carolina; or Rutherford, California) we settled on California.  We had 2 trusted reviews of Auberge du Soleil (both of our parents dined there during visits to Napa) so we knew the food was fantastic and after viewing pictures, we knew the view from the terrace was unbeatable! Matt and I met at Miami University (couples who meet at Miami and marry are referred to as a “Miami Mergers” for the non-Miami alums.)  As a “merger” with a quarter of our guest list being Miami graduates, I knew I wanted to subtly incorporate this connection on our wedding day.  I collected vintage Miami postcards (and vintage postage for our invitations) on eBay for months leading up to the wedding.  The postcards served as table numbers on our wedding day and now they’re framed and hanging in our home, minus the numbers.  I selected a vintage replica map of California for our “guestbook.”  I had a feeling a book would just collect dust in a cabinet after the wedding, but our map is hanging in our entryway and serves as a daily reminder of our wonderful day.

I hand selected every vase, votive, and table number stand that was used (shipping them to California prior to the wedding.)  Our florist, Asako Han, was absolutely wonderful and did a fabulous job of accommodating my ever-evolving vision.  My bouquet of peonies and garden roses was made even more special by the beaded lace that was wrapped delicately around the stem (a snippet from my Mother’s wedding dress.) One element of wedding planning I was unwilling to forgo just because we were having a destination wedding was cake tasting!  Patisserie Angelica overnighted a tasting to Ohio and I knew upon my first nibble that they had to make our cake.  It wasn’t easy, but we settled on 3 flavors: roasted banana with vanilla scented cream cheese frosting, chocolate beet cake with vanilla scented cream cheese frosting, and Tahitian vanilla with white chocolate butter cream.  Yum.  Needless to say, Patisserie Angelica will be receiving an annual order so we can indulge in their delicious cake on our anniversary.  In addition to the cake, Patisserie Angelica prepared 2 mini-macaroons to serve as our favors (raspberry rose and salted caramel.)  I decided to make special favors for all the children in attendance (cellophane bags filled with fake mustaches, glasses, mini Uno decks, slap bracelets, and various other trinkets.)  These favors were well received by children and parents alike.

Another important element to our wedding was recognizing our families: we collected pictures of our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents to display on our cake table.  I held a snippet of my Mother’s wedding dress, tucked my Nana’s hanky in my dress, and wore my Mother-in-law’s garter and other Nana’s bracelet… Wearing those items made me feel connected to some of the most important women in my life. Our ceremony was one of the most memorable moments of the day.  My uncle served as the officiant and our siblings (and my beautiful niece) comprised our wedding party.  We wrote our own vows which made the personal ceremony that much more special.

Venue + Catering: Auberge du Soleil / Photographer: Zach Anderson / Second Shooter: Scott Andrew / Hair + Makeup: Sherrie Long / Cake: Patisserie Angelica / Wedding Coordinator: Brittany Payton of Auberge du Soleil / Ceremony Music: Eloquence Strings / Band: Ever Music Group / Flowers: Asako Hana / Groom’s Attire: Armani / Matron of Honor’s Attire: J.Crew / Officiant: Uncle of the Bride / Invitations: Crane / Day-of-Wedding Stationery: Baumbirdy

13 Comments about “Napa Valley Wedding by Zach Anderson Photography”

1. miami merger says:

   October 11, 2011 at 11:24 am

   As a soon-to-be Miami Merger (proposed to and marrying in Oxford, OH), I absolutely love how they paid homage to Miami and Oxford from California. We sent Miami postcards as thank you notes to all who attended our surprise engagement party (also held in Oxford)... campus is just too postcard-picture-perfect not to! love&honor!! :)
2. Liz Utne says:

   October 11, 2011 at 11:25 am

   Amazing photos Zach! What a beautiful couple and beautiful location!
3. Caroline Ghetes says:

   October 11, 2011 at 11:25 am

   Zach is so flippin' talented! Love this wedding!
4. Adrienne says:

   October 11, 2011 at 11:27 am

   wonderful idea with the map!
5. Sharon Taylor says:

   October 11, 2011 at 11:49 am

   Very cute table settings with the pictures as the table numbers.
6. Emily says:

   October 11, 2011 at 2:50 pm

   absolutely gorgeous! the photos are amazing.
7. rljensen says:

   October 11, 2011 at 5:30 pm

   Your wdding was just beautiful. If you remember could you let me know where did you found those gorgoeus table number stands?
8. Anne-Marie Coulon says:

   October 11, 2011 at 5:41 pm

   I love everything about this wedding. The color, the light, it is so classic!
9. Sarah says:

   October 11, 2011 at 6:03 pm

   I found the table number stands here: http://www.nkuku.com/

   They have some similar options available here: http://www.lunabazaar.com/search.aspx?find=place+card+holder

   They're actually intended to use as place card holders, but we only had 3 long, narrow tables so they worked perfectly :)
10. Chandra ~ Oh Lovely Day says:

    October 12, 2011 at 12:40 am

    As a Miami alum myself (though not part of a merger couple) I loved seeing your postcard details! Gorgeous wedding. Congrats!
11. Ilene Turker says:

    October 15, 2011 at 6:00 am

    Where did you get the numbers, that they were so light and stayed on the postcard so well! Beautiful wedding
12. Sarah says:

    October 15, 2011 at 2:08 pm

    Hi Ilene, I searched high and low for numbers... I couldn't find anything quite right at craft stores, so I ended up going to Archiver's (a scrapbook store) and used their die-cut machine. They have a variety of paper and stamps... I used a graphite/metallic paper and their most classic numbers.
13. Patrice@WeddingIdeasNow says:

    October 17, 2011 at 3:20 am

    A wedding in the heart of Napa looks lovely! The bride is very stunning as well. This is a great example of a beautiful wedding using monochromatic colors!

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