Oh, this wedding. It’s filling me up with so many wonderful emotions, I could just hug these two lovelies and never let go. Their wedding was 10 years in the making, and when that day finally came, they did it oh so right (and on a budget). Each of the stunning, light-filled images from Onelove Photography are worthy of a frame and the prime spot on the mantle – so join me in soaking up every last gorgeous bit of this love-fest right here.
From one of the Brides..My wife and I kept waiting and waiting for marriage to become legal for gay couples. After 10 years, we were tired of waiting for the laws to catch up with our love, so we decided to have the wedding of our dreams and have it “sanctified” by those nearest and dearest to us. We are both native Californians and met during college in the San Francisco Bay Area. Even though we now reside in Chicago, we really wanted to have our ceremony outside and in our home state. For a few months, it seemed that nothing in the Bay was in our budget until we found Vine Hill House, a working apple orchard and vineyard located in Sebastopol (Sonoma County). The space really represents the natural beauty that is so unique to California..plus the owners are so amazing about letting you craft the wedding of your dreams.
Our two goals were to create a day that didn’t feel forced and come in at a budget of $20,000. To achieve that we first decided to not compete with the venue’s natural, rustic elements and to do what we could ourselves while relying on key vendors to give certain areas a more polished look. I sewed oversized linen runners in different colors to get a casual, yet coordinated look (sidenote: I even got my wife to sew a few!). We made our own save the date cards and invitations (the seal on both envelopes was round cork since we were in wine country). My mom made the centerpieces from round galvanized pots with an herb variety. At the last minute, we added apples from the venue’s orchards. The table numbers represented the number of years Maria and I have been together. And one of my favorite elements was our place cards. Since I’m a librarian, my bridesmaid Nicole designed the place cards from old library catalog cards. We decided to send Guatemalan coffee (my wife’s family is from Guatemala) with our thank you notes in lieu of wedding favors.
Our vendors went above and beyond to work with our budget without compromising any design. Mina, the owner of Arjan Flowers and Herbs, truly got our vision and created arrangements that were native to the area, including adding berries and apples. We hired RoliRoti Gourmet Rotisserie to cook amazing food all sourced locally. The pies were from a local bakery that used local fruit, including apples from Vine Hill’s orchards. After being with the person I love for more than 10 years, I never imagined that a single day could have such a big impact. Everything from the people attending to the venue, ceremony, and reception told a story about us as individuals and as a couple.
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Photography: Onelove Photography | Floral Design: Arjan Flowers and Herbs | Event Design + Planning: The Bride | Ceremony + Reception Location: Vine Hill House | DJ: DJ St. Patrick of Golden State Productions | Cocktail Hour + Staffing Catering: Trends Catering | Dinner Catering: RoliRoti Gourmet Rotisserie | Wedding Cake: Pies from Mom’s Bakery featuring apples from Vine Hill House | Linens: La Tavola | Table runners: DIY | Invitations: DIY | Wedding Dress: BCBG Max Azria | Shoes: Valentino | Bolero: Carol Hannah