Oh, Sonoma, you get me every time. You know just how to make those winery weddings shine in the prettiest of sunlight, and today’s fete from Milou and Olin is absolutely no exception. Every moment of this day was graced with a sun-soaked, vineyard backdrop like this. Wedding dreams? I’d say so. See more in The Vault!
From Lucinda, the Bride… Lucky and I met at work, and were together for more than seven years when Lucky decided to get down on one knee. Our engagement was very romantic and every girl’s dream (will…at least mine). Lucky surprised me with a trip to Cabo (I thought we were going to Phoenix, AZ for work and we were literally in the Phoenix airport when Lucky gave me my plane ticket to Cabo and off we went). During our first night in Cabo he proposed to me during a private beach dinner.
Being from Colorado, we love being outside and really embrace the beauty of scenery. On top of embracing nature, we also share a passion of wine, so when it came to choosing a place to get married, it was very clear that wine country in California was perfect for us. Being out of state, I knew I couldn’t pull the wedding of our dreams off alone, so I found our wedding planner Lindsey Nickel, at Lovely Day Events. I would highly recommend future brides that are planning a destination wedding to use a wedding planner, we have never regretted that decision. I don’t know what we would have did without her. Lindsey did an amazing job and we couldn’t have put together the wedding we had without all her help, suggestions, and mastermind. She kept things stress free for us and literally took care of everything (she was the first person at the venue on the wedding day and the last one to leave). By having a wedding planner, our guests (and us) were really able to let loose and have a great time. We are still getting compliments from our guests on how this was the most beautiful and best wedding they have been too and the most fun they have ever had at a wedding, which is awesome!
During the wedding process, our goal and inspiration was for the wedding to be elegant, romantic, fairytaleish, and as much fun as only one could dream. During the planning process, I think if future brides pick the couple items that matter the most and focus on those. There are a lot of things to do during the planning process and things will not go as planned and letting things go and having someone help is key. With having a wedding planner, I knew I was staying on track and that things were being taking care of (during the planning process and the day of the wedding).
One area that was important to us was the venue, we knew the venue would set the vibe for the wedding. When we toured Gundlach Bundschu Winery there was an instant connection for us and we feel in love and felt at home. Not only was everyone there so hospitability (and they are every time we go!) it is a family owned, which is something else we were looking for (we didn’t want to me a number). The area where they host weddings is secluded and breathtaking surrounded by the vineyard and wine cave. It was perfect and exactly what we were looking for.
The actual wedding day, not going to lie, was the longest day. The time until the ceremony took forever – even the ceremony took forever. During the day, I was extremely nervous. Not because I was getting married but because I don’t like being the center of attention, and having everyone looking at me made me anxious. In order to help that, I was told to find Lucky and not look away, which I did and it took some of the pressure away… I felt like it was just Lucky and me. As slow as the day and ceremony took, the reception went lightning fast! Definitely try to take a deep breath and really embrace the moment, it is an awesome feeling being surrounded by people who love and care about you.
Since we had a destination wedding, we were hoping our guests would use this as a long weekend getaway, which people did. We had around 40 people travel to our wedding. People starting arriving on Thursday (the wedding was on a Friday) and the last group left Sunday evening. We loved this as it gave us more time with our guest and it took the pressure off at the actual wedding. We didn’t feel the urgency to make rounds because most of the people we had spent time with before the wedding or we would spend time with them after the wedding. This means our special day really lasted four days as we had events each day (wine tours, tastings, brunch, etc.), which is different than a traditional wedding near your home where everyone shows up for four to six hours and then it is done. Happy wedding planning, and enjoy every moment of it, it’ll go super fast!
Photography: Milou + Olin Photography | Event Design: Lovely Day Events | Event Planning: Lovely Day Events | Floral Design: Wine Country Flowers | Wedding Dress: Anne Barge | Cake: Crisp Bakeshop | Invitations: Sweet Zion Paperie | Catering: Park Avenue Catering | DJ: AMS Entertainment | Officiant: Weddings of Heart | Transportation: Woody's Wine Tours | Wedding Venue: Gundlach Bundschu Winery | Hair and Make-Up: Bella Bridal Hair & Makeup | Rentals: Bright Event Rentals