Warm summer day? Check. Tuscan-inspired surroundings? Check. Good food and drinks? With this wine country wedding held at the Ramekins Culinary Institute & Inn, I think we can safely say, “Check!” The stars were aligned on this Bride (flawless thanks to The Makeup Dolls) and Groom’s special day, and luckily Vero Suh Photography was there to capture it all in the full gallery right here.
From the beautiful Bride… Greg and I met in July 2010 at local restaurant and bar. I will admit I was not immediately smitten as I was in business mode – trying to recruit my would-be husband to work for my company. That night, we exchanged contact information and it was shortly thereafter that he recruited me for our first date. Little did I realize, when planning our wedding day, that we would get married on the exact same day, four years later, of our first date. It only came to our attention the week of the wedding, and it was such a serendipitous surprise.
In the months leading up to our wedding, we both were very vocal about what was important to us. For Greg, he wanted a warm summer day and great food and booze. For myself, I wanted a venue that could accommodate all of our wedding events and has a Tuscan feel. When we visited Ramekins, which met all of our criteria for our summer wedding, we knew it was a done deal. The owner of Ramekins also owns a local antique shop and brought wonderful European elements into the venue, such as a rustic gate and a wooden cheeseboard from 18th century France. It was a perfect mix of old and new, just like we wanted our wedding to be.
As for the day of, it was so incredibly hot, my husband definitely had his “warm” weather request met. I was almost a bit too warm to be honest, and it was really hard to get through pictures. However, by the time the ceremony came, we were so incredibly excited we could not let the heat get us down. My favorite moment was pre-ceremony in the grand hall where dancing would later take place, and we gathered with our entire wedding party and parents to have a quick champagne toast.
Our dear friend Kevin officiated our ceremony, which we co-wrote, and I could not have been happier with our choice. He knew both of us well, and he has a marriage we really respect. There was a chance my grandmother was not going to make the wedding due to her health, and we had written in a line acknowledging her presence from afar. Although we told Kevin she was going to be there, he still included the line that spoke to her sending her best wishes from a distance. It was actually a perfect moment–my Grandma, who had to overcome so much to make it, had her own special shout out during our ceremony. I could not have been happier.
Once we were officially husband and wife, sans tears because we were smiling too much, we let the party begin! We had a his and her cocktail, tasty appetizers and a family style menu on the patio, with string lights to set the ambiance. However, my favorite part of the wedding was when the dance party started. Our band was a popular local cover band, and we had kept the inside area off limits until this point. My husband and I insisted we start the party off with a few pop songs before we move into the formal dances, and I am so glad we did. It was such a fun way to transition from dinner to dancing! We then moved into the first dance, and the dance party was started.
The last part of the night I will share is the cake cutting. At this point, I knew it was the end of our scheduled wedding events and all that was left was dancing. We had both made a point to really enjoy each moment, and I will not forget when I leaned over to Greg and told him, “This is our last ‘wedding event’.” We made it really count, and he didn’t even put cake on my face! Once the cake cutting was done and we knew the cameras were going home, a wild dance party ensued and my husband and I officially capped off the best night of our lives.
Photography: Vero Suh Photography | Videography: Tim Fox Weddings | Wedding Dress: Liancarlo | Invitations: Just Ink On Paper | Shoes: Kate Spade | Bridesmaids' Dresses: J.Crew | Hair And Makeup: The Makeup Dolls - Airbrush Makeup and Hair Artistry | Lighting: Lux Production | Ties: General Knot | Groom's Attire: Burberry | Venue: Ramekins Sonoma | Event Coordination And Floral Design: WedSpring | Linens: BBJ La Tavola | Reception Band: Pop Rocks | Rentals: Wine Country Party | String Trio: Amethyst Trio | Veil: Sara Gabriel