With a rich wine-country inspired color palette, hair and makeup from It’s a Date at the Powder Room, and pretty invites from Three Little Words Paper, this Sonoma wedding from L’Relyea Events is definitely pretty. See all the heartwarming moments from Mike Larson and Spencer Sarson Visuals in The Vault!
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From L’Relyea Events…This St. Francis wedding was an autumn evening dream. This Atlanta, Georgia couple invited their guests to join them for a romantic & intimate winery affair. We wanted to play into the time of year by focusing the colors on burgundy, cream and some greenery. It created a elegant yet cozy event as fall took its place in wine country. We added simple yet significant details throughout, from weaving pashminas on the ladies dining chairs for extra warmth, elegant warm florals throughout, up-lights illuminating the vineyards, and twinkle lights to create a romantic atmosphere for the guests to dine and dance throughout the evening.
From The Bride…I met Chad in one of the most exciting and romantic places you could meet your future husband: the office. Ok, so while that isn’t the most exciting of places to meet, the journey we have been through together since our initial meeting and courtship has been an amazing one, filled with a common interest in traveling, enjoying new foods, and living life!
After a dating period of 4 years, it was time for Chad to pop the question. He wanted the proposal to be memorable, but also a surprise. He convinced me he was taking me on a surprise birthday trip, as my birthday fell around the same time as our engagement. Since birthday surprises were not the ‘norm’ throughout our relationship, I was slightly suspicious, although very excited, so I managed not to ruin the surprise.
His trip took us both to the beautiful islands of Turks and Caicos, where Chad had a private catamaran chartered to take us out to an uninhabited island, where he proposed on the beach!
Since the proposal fell in the month of December, and the fall is my favorite time of the year, that left me less than a year to plan, so I knew I would need the help of an expert wedding planning team. With the help of Julia and the l’Relyea Wedding Planning team, my vision was able to come to life from across the country!
I always loved the concept of destination weddings. Weddings that only last a few hours to me just seem too short, and I really wanted to enjoy the company of friends and family from across the country for an extended weekend. Chad and I had visited the Napa Valley/Sonoma Valley region in the fall of 2013, and decided this would be a great spot for a destination wedding. Many of our friends had expressed an interest in visiting the area, but had yet to make plans to do so. This gave them the perfect opportunity to visit the area.
I started working with l’Relyea events in February with a visit to the area to tour different venues. They put together a complete schedule to see 10 venues in just 2 days. Chad and I chose St. Francis for its combination of an amazing view, a beautiful property, and ‘blank canvas’ as you might call it. This would not be a cookie cutter venue, as each detail had to be selected from the chairs and tables to the linens.
The only other trip I made to the area before the big day came in April where we had our engagement session with Mike Larson, visited caterers, tasted cake, and had a walkthrough of the venue. Julia immediately started painting the picture for me as we walked through and discussed where each part of the event would take place.
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Photography: Jake Odening | Cinematography: Spencer Sarson Visuals | Event Planning + Design:L’Relyea Events | Floral Design: Papillon Floral Design | Cake: Moustache Bakery | Invitations: Three Little Words | Catering: Elaine Bell Catering | Hair + Makeup: It’s A Date at The Powder Room | Lighting:Twilight Designs | DJ: Verducci Productions | Venue: St. Francis Winery & Vineyards | Rentals: Encore Event Rentals
