Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From the Bride…We took at trip to wine country when we first moved to Colorado, even though Chad did not like wine at all before we went on the trip!  We were at a pivotal point in our relationship, and wine country became symbolic for us – it was the place we reconnected and learned to compromise, and Chad really ended up loving wine.  We saw the beauty of the land and it made us feel so grounded…something about those vines!  Chad and I wanted the intimate wedding because we wanted to share it with those who have seen us through all of our years together. By having it with only our nearest and dearest, it allowed us to focus on each other because we didn’t have to worry about tons of people to greet, thank, etc. You could really feel the love… we couldn’t ask for anything more. We chose the Vintage Estate, because I loved the fact that there were different “vignettes” within one space that allowed us to move about, not have to trek to. I also loved the fact that Yountville had lots of options for our guests to stay and be able to walk to our event.

Also, I wanted a long processional walk.  Despite not having our ceremony in a church with the aisle, The Vintage Estate provided me the aisle/pathway for me to have that moment and take it all in.  From the beginning, I envisioned Chad in a blue suit…not the traditional black, gray or tan.  I wanted a jewel-tone palette and the girls looked great in the purples/pinks and voilet…the colors were set!

I also knew that I wanted a unique bouquet but keep with tradition of all white.  I loved that bouquet; it’s what made me feel like a bride. I guess that was my main focus: respecting tradition but really switching it up to make it as much about us as possible.  We found a hurricane glass candle holder at the NapaStyle store in the Vintage Estate, and had everyone sign that as our guest book (it is perfectly shaped like a large wine bottle).  It was really important to us to have the king’s table for all of our guests to sit at and to feel like one big family dinner.

We will celebrate with all of our loved ones in our home state of Ohio, with a 400-person bash on New Year’s Eve!  It will be modern with a white color scheme and very different from our intimate Wine Country Wedding.  The best of both worlds!

Wedding Coordination: Suzy Berberian Weddings & Events / Wedding Photography: Kara Pearson Photography / Location + Catering: The Vintage Estate / Officiant: Kimberly Thompson, A Beautiful Ceremony / Hair + Make-up: Hair and Make-up by Julie Morgan / Wedding Videography: Wing Hon Films / Floral Design: Valley Flora / Wedding Cake: Laurie Lucov Wedding Cakes / Music: Sutherland Entertainment / Linens + Rental Equipment: Classic Party Rentals / Wedding Dress: Vera Wang via Anna Be’ / Bride’s Jewelry + Veil: Sara Gabriel Veiling & Headpieces / Bride’s Shoes: Platinum BP via Nordstrom / Bridesmaid Dresses: J.Crew + Melissa Sweet / Invitations: Wedding Paper Divas / Calligraphy: The Bride / Engagement Ring + Wedding Bands: The Groom + The Jeweller’s Shop / Groom’s Suit: Ben Sherman via Nordstrom / Groom’s Tie: DKNY via Nordstrom / Groomsmen’s Shirts + Ties: Tommy Hilfiger

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: A Beautiful Ceremony, Anna Be Bridal, Ben Sherman, California Weddings, Classic Party Rentals, DKNY, Hair and Make Up by Julie Morgan, J. Crew, Kara Pearson Photography, Laurie Lucov Wedding Cakes, Melissa Sweet, Napa Valley, Nordstrom, Sara Gabriel, Sutherland Entertainment, Suzy Berberian Weddings & Events, The Jeweller's Shop, The Vintage Estate, Tommy Hilfiger, Valley Flora, Vera Wang, Wedding Paper Divas, Wing Hon Films
Post categories: California Weddings, Napa Valley Weddings

see the rest of this pretty day here!

From the Bride… When we thought about what we wanted from our wedding we new we wanted our day to be fun, a reflection of us, our relationship and faith, with a rustic DIY country feel as well as fit within our small budget – I think we pulled it all off! We were married not far from home in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia. We had a garden ceremony at The Vintage Golf Course, which was then followed by a garden party next to The Vintage Club House. The Vintage supplied all the garden games (the game signs were made by my father) and was actually one of the reasons we chose them as a venue. Plus the groom was excited that we got to ride around on the golf carts!

Our friends and family really helped bring our day together and keep it all under budget – my bridesmaid and friend helped make our invites, friends from the states kept sending over packages, my aunt helped decorate our cake and made macaroons for our dessert bar and my dad made pretty much everything else you see. On the day friends and family members gave Bible readings, two of our closest friends and bridal party members lead us in worship, Morgan’s uncle married us, we had our parents pray over us and we wrote our own vows – which were a surprise to each other on the day. It all made the day very personal and sweet. On the way to the reception we were in search of a dry country field for our wedding photos and found the perfect setting with the perfect light (the photographers were so excited!) – although I ended up climbing through a barbed wire fence in my dress with the help of the groomsmen to get the photos you see here! It was another funny moment!

Our reception was held at Margan’s Winery – we fell in love with the barrel room at Margan’s Estate as soon as we walked in and knew it was where we wanted to have our reception. It was so moody and rustic it hardly needed any decorating! My mum helped me make the hessian table runners and the flowers were brought wholesale and arranged in an assortment of jars by us and the staff at Margan’s – saving us a lot of money! The photo booth was definitely a highlight at the reception. We hung some Amy Butler fabric from our photographer’s stand, supplied a wooden crate full of empty picture frames and my dad helped me create chalkboard speech bubbles in different sizes. No one was ready to pack up at the end of the night (particularly our photographer, Christine!) and we got some very funny responses. Everyone also loved the dessert table and it was pretty much cleared out before dinner had even begun! My dress was a satin gown with a pleated tulle overlay and croqueted lace flowers which we sourced from New York. I found a dress which I fell in love with which was out of my price line so my dress maker, Kelly from Kel-Leigh Couture, helped me take the elements I loved and created a new gown – which I think turned out even better and was so me! Kelly also made my silk flower headpiece and veil and I purchased my shoes for under AU$100 from zappos.com. The girl’s dresses were made by a friend of a friend and the boys outfits were from Roger David. I made the boutonnieres myself from hessian, feathers, wire and buttons from All Buttons Great and Small. A lot of other items were sourced from my trip to the states earlier in the year, lots of online shops and Etsy. One of our highlights from the day was actually leaving our reception. We had a sparkler send off and everyone gathered on the lawn outside and we ran to the car as our friends and family whistled and clapped. We ended up getting to the car before the sparklers ran out and so we turned and ran back down again. We had also forgotten to do the garter and bouquet toss and now took the time to do it. We then drove away in my brother’s 1958 convertible Bug-Eye Austin Healey Sprite, complete with a Just Married hessian banner (made by the groom) and tin cans trailing behind. The perfect end to such an amazing day captured so beautifully by Pobke Photography!

Photography: Pobke Photography / Event Design and Planning: Bride / Ceremony Location: The Vintage, Hunter Valley, New South Wales (Australia) / Reception Location: Margan’s Winery, Hunter Valley, New South Wales (Australia) / Invitations: Bride / Hair + Makeup Artist: Amanda of Bellus Hair / Dress: Kel-Leigh Couture /

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 35 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Australia, Bellus Hair, Kel-Leigh Couture, Margan's Winery, New South Wales, Pobke Photography, The Vintage Estate
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Real Weddings, The Blog

Mike ~ of Jensen Wedding Films ~ sent us this clip from a recent wedding he was filming …

from Mike … Rajinder and Justin held their fabulous wedding Saturday at The Pavilion at The Vintage Estate in Yountville (Napa Valley). I was fortunate to capture this very fun mishap of a tray of wine glasses falling to the ground after being offered to the bride and groom immediately after the ceremony. The officiant- Dr. Judith Caldwell of Brilliant Ceremonies, did a wonderful job of putting the incident into perspective. The video clip below is yet another reason to consider hiring a Professional Videographer:)

Be sure your sound is turned up!

What a LOVELY save, by Dr. Caldwell!

We look forward to seeing more of Rajinder and Justin’s wedding from Mike!!  If you recall, Mike creates astounding panaroma ‘movies’ … featured {here} on Style Me Pretty.  His website and blog are loaded with great examples of his work.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Brilliant Ceremonies, California Weddings, Napa, The Vintage Estate, Yountville
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Wedding Photography