A Wine Country Wedding With Rich Tones and Overflowing Florals

Samantha Melei
January 20, 2020
Categories: Real Weddings, The Blog

For this bride and groom, having the details from colors to florals fit their Wine Country venue at Calistoga Ranch was very important and boy, did they succeed! Along with Rue 29 Napa Valley, they planned their picture-perfect day with beautiful blooms by Nancy Liu Chin in a mix of soft and rich colors in the most stunning arrangements! Take a look below to see all of the details and decor and beautiful images of the happy couple in the vines, by Sabine Scherer Photography!

From Floral Designer, Nancy Liu Chin…For Melissa and Kerry, it was very important to have the wedding decor and flowers be reflective and inspired by the colors and mood of Wine Country. Overall, I would say the design was a balance between informal elegance and refined naturalism. The decor was inspired by the venue, Calistoga Ranch and its surroundings, which has this relaxed but luxurious feel. The colors were some of my favorites. Colors ranged from deeper tones like merlot, burgundy, plum and fig balanced with soft neutrals. Throw in copper/rose gold metallics and a pop of a deep blue and you have a really rich and luxurious palette.

The Ceremony started with neutral tones. Guests arrived at a vineyard where a four-post chuppah served as a focal point. The bride and groom stood under a lush and natural wood chuppah where seasonal foliages and vines like Southern Smilax, eucalyptus, honeysuckle, pittosporum twined up and down the front of the poles. Tucked into the greenery were large-headed roses, garden spray roses, dahlias and other seasonal flowers in neutral creamy hues that had pops of blush and light peach-pinks. Bay leaf and Eucalyptus greenery garlands decorated the aisle. Roses, spray roses, stock, dahlias were tucked amongst the garland and flagged each side of the center aisle. A clear acrylic welcome sign with a hand-painted navy background standing on a wooden beam designed by Blushtype served to welcome guests into the ceremony space.

After a lovely ceremony in the vineyards, guests were invited to the Lommel Lawn were a cocktail reception was held. Guests sipped Moscow Mules in copper mugs or a Signature Margarita while feasting on delicious hors d’oeuvre from Calistoga Ranch. As the weather cooled off, guests could wrap themselves in warm blankets that the couple thoughtful provided.

As guests walked past a row of boxwood hedges they found themselves entering a dinner reception where strung lights and crystal chandeliers were hungover long farm tables that were draped with custom deep blue gauze runners and decorated with lush blooms of flowers in dark ebony footed bowls. Figs and dark champagne grapes accented the tables along with copper stands with menu signs hanging. Laser-cut names were tied to napkins and placed on copper chargers from Encore Event Rentals. Melissa and Kerry chose a family-style dinner with wine pairings. Guests feasted on cheese + charcuterie boards, mushroom agnolotti, chevre ravioli, Sonoma fed short ribs, Mary’s organic chicken, heirloom potatoes. After dinner, guests were invited to the Calistoga Ranch wine cave where they danced the night away!

An interview with the Bride…

Tell us about your wedding! What was the inspiration behind your day? Did you have a specific theme, style or color palette? Did you incorporate any cultural or religious traditions in any part of your day?

The design and feel of the wedding were inspired by the location of the wedding, Calistoga Ranch. Calistoga Ranch has a soft-romantic tranquil and elegant feel to it as it is cozied in majestic hills above the main street of Calistoga. There was no specific theme, style or color palette. It was all about delivering an experience to our guests. We incorporated colors into the design that enhanced the colors of the surrounding area to emanate that feeling throughout the wedding decor.

Let’s talk about wedding decor. How did you decorate your space for the ceremony and the reception? Was any part of the decor DIY?

The overall design concept was an elegant fall wine country wedding with hints of modern informality. Our color palette was inspired by timeless beauty with hints of fall. The ceremony took place in the vineyards and was accompanied by soothing nudes, light blushes, fall pinks, and peach-nude flowers around the Chuppa, within the garlands down the aisle, and in the bouquets. Guests were shuttled about .25 mile above the ceremony location to Lommel Lawn, which overlooks the valley and local lake for cocktails and canapés. The flowers at cocktail hour progressed to a more peach hue and the cocktail tables were covered in a rose gold fabric. The bar stood under an old oak tree on the lawn, where guests could order one of our signature cocktails: a margarita on the rocks with salt and edible flowers on top or a Moscow mule served in a copper mug. As the sun was setting, the guests made their way to dinner, passing through large hedges, grabbing a glass of champagne. They then walked into an open area consisting of rustic long farm tables which created an organic dance floor for our first dance. On the tables were dark blue flowy runners as well as small and large vases of flowers of soothing nudes, light blushes, fall pinks, and peach-nudes as well as richer colors such as plum, figs, wine, grape hues with actual figs and grapes on the table. There were small rose-gold and copper votives spread throughout and twinkle lights and crystal chandeliers suspended in the clear stary sky. The three-course family-style dinner menu was suspended on copper stands on each table. There were three different wine glasses at each setting for the wine pairing with dinner circling a copper charger and wooden laser cut place cards. After dinner, the guests moved from the lawn across a lantern-lit bridge into a wine cave for dancing. As the guests walked into the cave they were welcomed to romantic candle lights and pictures of the couple. The cave opened up to two elegant cream sofas, chairs, and rustic wooden coffee tables setup up on each side of the dance floor. A dessert buffet with the couple’s favorite sweets and a petite cake decorated with white and plum-colored flowers, figs, and grapes were the focal point of the room.

Did you personalize the day in any way (food trucks, guest entertainment, etc.)? What were some of your favorite parts of your wedding?

We added personal touches from the start of the wedding all the way to the end. We wanted our guests to feel like they recognized parts of us in every element of the wedding. The majority of our guests flew in from all over the U.S. and we even had a few from overseas. We wanted them to feel welcome to our wedding from the start. We put together hand-designed welcome bags which included: our wedding program, water from Calistoga Ranch, Altoids, Advil, Thatcher’s Gourmet Popcorn, and guides to Napa Valley. We had a Jewish ceremony and decided to sign the Ketubah during our ceremony so all our guests could bear witness to us signing the traditional Jewish marriage contract. During the cocktail hour, we had our guests sign a “Wine Dogs of California” book since we both love dogs. Our families are both foodies and appreciate great wine too. When in the Napa Valley, why not have a family-style meal and a wine pairing to go with it. We planned a three-course dinner with each course paired with a wine from the Napa Valley. One of those courses had to be pasta since we both love pasta. This course was not going to be family-style since we did not want to share this course with others. In the wine cave, we stocked the dessert bar with our favorite desserts: chocolate chip cookies and lemon bars. We also had tray-passed mini chocolate chip cupcakes that matched our cake. The DJ played our favorite hits from the 90s to today as we danced the night away. If for some reason, our guests were still hungry there were late-night munchies of sliders and fries.