And this wedding, that Amy Nichols (who we love here at SMP) sent us…is all of that, and so much more. The photographer, Andy Berry of PurkinjeBlue did an incredible job at really capturing the spirit of the day…telling the story to perfection.

The wedding was held at the Miraval in Glen Ellen and was actually only the second wedding to have taken place at this gorgeous venue. Miraval is a destination home that is available for things like weddings and events…and on a clear day you can actually see all the way to San Francisco. Kind of stunning actually.

There are two things that I love about this day. The color palette…and the RIDICULOUSLY gorgeous flowers. Table after table after table of the most beautiful flowers I’ve every seen. Designed by Taste Catering, the style is romantic and utterly delicious. Add to that a color palette of warm pinks, greens and yellows along with homemade charm in the chalk boards and you basically have perfection in my book.

Thank you so much to Amy Nichols and to PurkinjeBlue for sharing this incredible wedding with us. It’s completely ideal for all of our Spring and Summer 2010 brides. And it’s kind of perfect for me too.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 20 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Amy Nichols, Miraval, Napa Valley, Purkinje Blue, Sonoma
Post categories: Casual Elegance

I am a firm believer that pom poms make any space look better, brighter, happier. A sweet pom at a garden inspired affair is absolute perfection.

Here is a quick note from Annie…My mom and I did the flowers together, my friend Laura Jerrard did the cake, my cousin and I did the paper cut outs, and Ryan and I worked with Al’s Attire in North Beach to design my dress and his suit.

It was an effortlessly elegant, family affair and I absolutely love that.

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Post tags: Annie and Ryan, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Garden, Julie Mikos, Sonoma
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Do-It-Yourself Inspired

Sylvie Gil sent me these images and I am so in love. There is a sense of modern luxury about this wedding…a simple, gorgeous gown paired with a venue that is sleek and contemporary. Wait until you see the rest of the images. They are jump-for-joy great…I swear.

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Post tags: healdsberg, Modern, Napa, Silvie Gil Photography, Sonoma
Post categories: Contemporary, Traditional Elegance

Tiffany of Adeline and Grace Photography sent us Megan and Jason’s gorgeous wine-country wedding at the beautiful Cline Cellars winery. The winery is 45 minutes north of SF and is totally perfect … “Cline Cellars is such an expansive and diverse property: 6 ponds, a replica of an old Spanish Mission, barrel room and a guest house villa all surrounded by vineyards.“  Sounds perfect …

These flowers are so striking. Really makes me want to study floral design!

The event was designed by Beth Lipin of BA Lipin Event Design. Apparently, her team transformed the immense Barrel Room into an intimate gathering positively glowing with 750 votives and candles! Now that’s AWESOME.

Since Jason’s family is in the baking business in Buffalo, the cake was of paramount importance. Michelle Bommarito (… of Food Network Challenge fame) created a 5 tier cake which incorporated her signature scroll design and also included chocolate fondant bands that echoed the large wine casks in the Barrel Room.

Wedding papery was created by Lysa Goodman Poore of Demby+Solomon. LOVE the Save-The-Dates!

Guests were greeted before the ceremony with glasses of fresh-squeezed lemonade.

{did you notice the ‘fly’ in the bouquet … }

A little more info from Tiffany of Adeline and Grace Photography …

The wedding team that Megan and Jason chose played a key role in the outcome of their final vision, which in turn made my job very fun! The girls had a relaxing morning at the villa before the ceremony started. Halfway into their final prep stages Catherine Conlin and Beth Lipin brought the girls their incredible flowers. Catherine surprised Megan with a small fly (as in fly fishing) attached to her bouquet, as Jason loves to fish. These little fly details were carried over into the groomsman boutonnieres as well. Before we knew it the ceremony was about to start. The ceremony took place at the end of Cline’s great lawn. As guests arrived they were greeted with glasses of lemonade donning “I do” flags. The guests also had their first taste of Megan and Jason trivia. Throughout the wedding, picture frames with fun tidbits about the couple were placed in common areas: program tables, cocktail hour, the bar and guest book barrel. Megan walked down the aisle through 2 inches of red, light pink and yellow rose petals. There were tears all around, including Jason. After the 30 minute ceremony concluded guests enjoyed cocktails on the lawn before entering the barrel room. Beth outdid herself! Over the past few hours over 750 candles were lit across the wine barrels transforming a massive space into a cozy elegant affair for Megan and Jason’s 136 guests. The head table was set with a rich gold linen with a contrasting purple runner. Every table had a different feel, but all within the same color palette of golds and purples. Megan and Jason were announced by Big City Revue who knew how to get the party started! After their first dance they immediately cut their 5 tiered cake created by Food Network Challenge star Michelle Bommarito. The cake was amazing! Just afterwards Megan’s grandfather serenaded the crowd with “Sunrise, Sunset” As soon as their meal was finished EVERYONE hit the dance floor. The bridal party and family members sang with the band on stage! It was a reception to remember!

Just a quick not about Tiffany Fosnight and Erica Mancini of Adeline and Grace Photography … They document weddings in a photojournalistic style on the west coast and the east coast. Tiffany photographs weddings in the Napa Sonoma Wine Country as well as the San Francisco Bay Area. Erica documents weddings in Rhode Island and throughout the Southern New England area including Newport, Providence, Boston MA and Hartford CT.

A HUGE thanks to Tiffany for sending us Megan & Jason’s absolutely breathtaking wedding!

ALSO … be sure and take a look at Deirdre and Jay’s beautiful Connecticut wedding (all 7 posts) on Style Me Pretty.

Wedding Vendors

Photography: Tiffany Fosnight of Adeline and Grace, Second-shooter~Nicola Borland

Papery: Lysa Goodman Poore of Demby+Solomon

Event Design: Beth Lipin of BA Lipin Event Design

Florals: Catherine Conlin of Wiggy Flowers

Venue: Cline Cellars

Catering:  Wine Valley Catering

Cake: Michelle Bommarito

Entertainment: Big City Revue

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 19 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Adeline & Grace Photography, BA Lipin Event Design, Big City Revue, California, Cline Cellars, Demby + Solomon, Michelle Bommarito, Nicola Borland, Sonoma, Wiggy Flowers, Wine Valley Catering, Winery
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Photography, Wedding Style

lovely photographs were taken by Andre Niesing

The oh-so-talented, Jenne Hohn, has been sweet enough to stop by and share a few of the gorgeous details with us!

Erin and Seth were married at B.R. Cohn Winery in Sonoma, CA on Saturday, August 23, 2007.  The gorgeous couple’s wedding weekend started with a Thursday evening rehearsal dinner at El Dorado Kitchen on the historic Sonoma Square.  Both avid oenophiles, a Friday afternoon wine tour served as a bachelor and bachelorette party for the couple and their closest friends.  A Friday evening Welcome Party was a great way for family and friends to mingle poolside at the Flamingo Hotel.

So much more to come!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | Comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Jenne Hohn, Little Black Book, Sonoma, Wedding Planner
Post categories: Casual Elegance, The Blog, Wedding Planners & Designers

From Paloma, the gorgeous bride…

As gifts to my bridesmaids, I gave each of them different hand made feather hairpieces from the Etsy seller Twigs & Honey (she made them by hand, and used my wedding colors) which they wore on the wedding day.  Myra from Twigs & Honey also made my hairpiece (the one I wore for my second hair style).

Maria Chang did my hair and makeup and was so amazing.  She arrived at my cottage at noon and stayed the entire wedding to touch me up.  We also changed my hair style after the cocktail hour.  Maria was such a trooper and wonderful to have around.  She made me feel more gorgeous than I have felt before in my life.

And as for the photographs, I don’t really need to tell you how fantastic Jennifer Skog is.  I think her work speaks for itself.  She also has a really fun, outgoing personality which only adds to your big day.  She was the first vendor that I hired, and also the one that I was most adamant about getting.  I am so grateful that she shot my wedding….  the memories are already blurry but I will have her photos forever.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Jennifer Skog, Maria Chang, Sonoma, twigs and honey, Viansa
Post categories: Traditional Elegance

photography by the amazingly talented Jennifer Skog

From the bride, Paloma…

My husband and I got married at Viansa Winery in Sonoma, CA on Thursday, August 14th 2008.  Scott & I live in the British Virgin Islands, where we own a restaurant and wine bar.  We chose to have our wedding in Sonoma because of our love of it’s wine and natural beauty.  We had 86 guests, who flew from all over the world to be with us (only 2 guests lived close enough to not have to fly in!).  We spent a week introducing our friends and family to wine country, and they all fell in love with the area just like us!

More to come!

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Post tags: Jennifer Skog, Sonoma, Viansa
Post categories: Traditional Elegance

Thank you so much, Kacie, for sharing your gorgeous day with us! The vintage charm is just about as pretty as it gets, and I am sure that your vision has inspired many others to create a similar look for their own weddding!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Eyescape Photo, Lisa Dick, Melissa Sweet, Sonoma
Post categories: Real Weddings, The Blog, Vintage Chic

From Kacie…

My husband Brandon and I were married on July 12,2008 in the garden of my parents’ beautiful wine country home, standing right where they stood during their wedding ceremony 27 years ago, surrounded by 100 of our dearest friends and family. We wanted to create an intimate, hand-made, elegant, free-flowing, graceful, and vintage-inspired wedding…kind of like a modern-day Gatsby garden party. My childhood home, which is full of family history since my dad actually purchased it from my grandparents when I was a little girl, was the perfect setting.

Our wedding was a true handmade labor of love– every single detail was handmade by my mother and family, including the invitations, hanging lace-adorned votives, vintage hanky prayer flags, table coverings, chair pomanders, my garters, and the little doily favor bags of jordan almonds, most of which she crafted from vintage linens, ribbon, and lace.

My dad built an amazing dance floor from scratch, a family friend baked our cake, and my cousin and best friend played us down the aisle to the Beatles’ “I Will.” My maternal grandmother was not well enough to be with us, but she sent her entire silver julep cup collection to hold our flowers, and gifted me her mother’s wedding & engagement rings (family heirlooms). I took pictures with her grand piano, (she was a concert pianist) which still sits in our music room.

My parents grow pinot noir grapes, and we served their wine with local Sonoma County cheese and fruit at the wedding reception!

My husband and I are singers, (we met 8 years ago in the high school choir and have been together since!) so music played a huge part in everything–my sister sang a song she’d written for us during the wedding ceremony, we sang to each other, and later we brought in the incredible San Francisco swing band Stompy Jones to keep everyone dancing into the wee hours!

More to come!!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 18 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Eyescape Photo, Lisa Dick, Melissa Sweet, Sonoma
Post categories: Real Weddings, Vintage Chic

Kacie designed an inspiration board for on of our contests a while back. Here it is…

And here is how her insanely gorgeous wedding turned out…

photographs are all taken by Kacie’s childhood friend, Dawn Heumann, and her sister in law Lisa Dick

I am impressed by how beautifully the inspiration board translated into a real wedding. The vintage chic charm is just so lovely…it seems like every detail was tended to.

Stay tuned, we have more details and photos from Kacie’s wedding!!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 18 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Eyescape Photo, Lisa Dick, Melissa Sweet, Sonoma
Post categories: All Real Weddings, Inspiration Boards, Real Weddings, Vintage Chic

Top Row: Emily from J Crew, Photo from In Style Weddings; Center Row:First two by Martha Stewart, third photo by Ariella Chezar; Bottom Row: Champagne on Brides, Gown in Martha Stewart, Brownies by Mari’s NY

Before I get into the details of the wedding, I want to touch on a point that so many brides seem to struggle with…the color palette. It seems that when a bride talks about her wedding (and I am definitely one of those brides), there is always somewhat of a theme and always, a clear color palette. And many times, I find that the color palette is translated so literally that the end result seems a bit contrived and overdone. So I wanted to take this wedding as an opportunity to show you that using certain colors as inspiration can be done in such a way that the elegance and sophistication of the wedding, is allowed to breath and thrive.

Sarah’s colors are pink and brown. Rather than using one particular shade of pink and chocolate, I have instead decided to do a spectrum of varying colors and textures, all in the same color family…the pinks range from a dusty rose, to a more bold, magenta. The chocolate ranges from a deep espresso all the way to the lighter hue of natural wood. I feel strongly that by using color to inspire, rather than create, your wedding will seem much more chic than if you were to simply do a pink and brown theme. I also really like the idea of incorporating color through elements that are naturally beautiful…the richness of actual chocolates, the warmth of a glass of champagne, the pinks in particular flowers. Again, this will add to the natural elegance of the affair.

Starting with the fashion, the bride really wants to marry an old/new feeling…vintage chic if you will. I love the gown above because it has such a clean, modern shape but then is draped with that gorgeous vintage lace that makes it feel appropriate for a small, intimate affair. I see her hair in a low, loose bun or completely down with a bit of wave in it. Antique, gold earrings to complete the look. I love the idea of having the men in a simple black tux then perhaps adding a little color with the tie…maybe a very pale pink or champagne color. The bridesmaids I see in the chocolate Emily dress by J Crew (chiffon)…flowy and romantic.

Since both the ceremony and the reception are being held in the same location, it would be great to bring in decor during the ceremony that can be re-used in a new way for the reception. Rather than having Garland, I really like the idea of doing tall, rod iron planters overflowing with greenery and pink flowers at every other row. After the ceremony, these can be strategically arranged around the reception area. The chairs for the ceremony could be a deep chocolate brown with either white or espresso cushions that can translate easily into dinner tables once the room is flipped.

I believe that when you have both portions of the wedding in one location, you really need to let the natural ambiance of the space speak for itself. With this wedding in particular, being in such a gorgeous venue, I feel like you really shouldn’t bring in too much or try to modify the look in a way that fights with the natural beauty and ambiance.

The ceremony should be outside (you can’t beat the Napa Valley weather), among the natural beauty of the vineyard. Very little additional decor is needed if you do it this way…perhaps simply the chairs, some additional heavy floral arrangements and the bridal party (yep, they count as decoration too!).

After the ceremony, guests could be greeted with a cold glass of champagne. It would be great if Sarah could arrange a loosely, guided tour through the caves for her guests, while the photos are being taken. This will leave such a lasting impression on her out of town guests, as it is something completely unique to the area.

Food should reflect the fresh, organic ingredients that are locally grown…heirloom tomatoes, asparagus and goat cheese, organic meats. Napa and Sonoma are food and wine meccas and yet nothing is ever overdone or too modern. It is all about easy entertaining and I think that this wedding should simply follow suit. The music should be timeless and elegant…a band is ideal. The flowers should be natural and not overly designed. The table decor should be simple and elegant. The favors should be petite bottles of Gloria Ferrer champagne, or something native to the area.

Every component of this wedding should just blend in with the natural surroundings. I can completely envision the guests dancing outside, among the stars, to some great Sinatra song…completely romantic and effortless. So innately elegant that all of the little details are unnecessary.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2007. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Ariella Chezar, Gloria Ferrer, J. Crew, Mari's NY, Martha Stewart, Sonoma
Post categories: Inspiration Boards