EST. 2011
Ah, I still can’t believe how fun our wedding day was! It truly exceeded our expectations, and our expectations were pretty high. You spend so much time planning that you feel you know exactly how it’ll shape up to be, but I was taken back throughout the entire day and evening. I’m excited to open up a bit more about how our experience and the best day of our lives unfolded. I will start with the day and walk you through some of the details there and then will cover the venue and vendors below!
The day started early with my bridesmaids over champagne and opening gifts. Matt headed off to golf on the property with the guys and then onto lunch before they planned to get ready. I got my friends these amazing jute bags I found on Amazon filled with a handful of things like a Cuyana Travel Set, a gel eye mask to keep in the freezer, a picture frame, hair ties made by a friend of mine, and mini champagne bottles.
My bridesmaid dresses were one of the hardest parts of wedding planning in my opinion! I wanted everyone to be unique, true to their style but also make sure that collectively they were cohesive. Not kidding when I say that I started browsing 6 months ahead and slowly picked out one by one with each friend and the last one was ordered a few weeks before our wedding. I love how they all turned out though! I ended up mixing florals with solid nude dresses. They all looked so charming side by side.
My dress is by Rachel Gilbert via BHLDN (it’s called the Lovelle dress). To be honest, I had a completely different vision in mind leading up to our wedding (and engagement, let’s be real)… but when the day came to look around, I realized that the dress style I thought I would go for wasn’t really my style. It was a more classic bride look (sleeveless, v neck, puffy skirt)–– and while I love that, I wanted to find a cut that was more me. I kept eyeing wrap styles and lots of beading. A part of our inspiration in our wedding vibe was The Great Gatsby (my favorite book), so I loved the idea of wearing something with a 1920’s vibe. It was the only dress I tried on and decided to go for it!
I decided a couple of months out, that I wanted us to do our own hair and makeup (post on this here). A few reasons why, but mainly because I have never loved when someone else has done my hair and makeup and I just wanted us to look like ourselves as if we were going to a fun backyard dinner party. Also, there was more time for us to spend time together.
My sister-in-law offered to help me with my hair if I needed some hand on deck for the back… and then created this masterpiece. I was *stunned* at her skills –– when I need my hair to look like a goddess, I know who to call. Thank you, Lauren!
Matt and I are passionate about music, so we spent so much time carefully curating our wedding playlist and picking out songs for the processional, first dance, etc. I wanted to share them because those moments were probably some of my very favorite memories from our wedding. Time and effort well worth it, the songs were spot on…
While the bridal party walked down the aisle…
Ends of the Earth by Lord Huron
While I walked down the aisle…
Good to You by Jonny P
Our intro song as a Mr. and Mrs…
First by Cold War Kids
Our first dance song (and the meaning behind it)
Swallowed in the Sea by Coldplay. So, a year or so into my relationship with Matt, we were driving home from a concert and I remember this moment so vividly… (side note: Matt been a fan of Coldplay all his life and I knew a few songs, so he got me into them more when we started dating. I decided after a while of listening that this song was my favorite of theirs). We were driving down Franklin Street in San Francisco and this song came on and he turned up the volume. He was singing along loudly as he does, and I just felt this rush of happiness take over and I teared up. I remember feeling SO happy in that moment, and so in love. Later down the road in our first apartment together, the song came on one night after pizza and wine and we spontaneously stood up and slow danced along. From that exact moment I knew if we got married someday, it was the one.
I want to thank you all so much who sent in advice for brides to be (I will link the post here) because I took every tip to heart that day and it made the experience so wonderful. I felt incredibly calm and collected, which really surprised me. I didn’t feel nervous all morning while getting ready, however, the nerves did pick up while the bridal party hung out in this room while our guests arrived. It was 45 minutes that felt like 3 hours, haha.
Also, I am TERRIFIED of public speaking (like shaking and speak robotically end of the spectrum…), but I stood up there as present as can be and said my vows with ease. I couldn’t agree more that on your wedding day, something takes over and you’re just in the moment and the happiest you can be! Your goal should be to take it all in, every second, and be present as possible.
Everyone says the day goes by so fast, and now looking back on it 2 months later it definitely was behind us in a blink. *But during the weekend, it didn’t slip through my fingers because I was connected, present, and appreciating everyone there, every detail, every moment.
So here are the people to thank and the details that brought our dream to life…
We loved getting married at Meadowood, it’s such a special place to us. It was where we spent one of our early anniversaries and has become our favorite resort in wine country. We adore St. Helena, too. We have a wine club close by, delicious restaurants (like our faves Farmstead where we did our rehearsal dinner and Charter Oak) and Yountville a short drive away, too.
Beyond the beautiful setting of Meadowood, we really loved the fact that they were turnkey. I am not a good planner, so having a big portion of our plans taken care of was so lovely. They handled tables and chairs, dinnerware, lounge sets, linens, twinkle lights, food, drinks, and our cake. Everything turned out impeccably. I wasn’t the bride who forgot to eat, I’ll say that much…
I had a vision for our cake and their onsite baker blew me away, it was insanely cool––
Jo Malone London was the first vendor on our list from the beginning. As you may know, I’ve been close with their team for many years now and so having them scent our wedding was the dreamiest detail. It meant so much and we came home with loads of candles and every time I light them, the smell brings me back to that evening. We went with Pomegranate Noir (this scent particularly brings me back as soon as I light it) and Orange Blossom. We wanted garden fruits to align with our backyard garden dinner party direction. It was the best touch!
Our photographer, Tawni Bannister was next on our checklist. I am SO grateful that our paths crossed! She reached out to me earlier this year as she was planning a move from New York to San Francisco and wanted to connect as she followed my blog and was looking to meet new friends in her new home to be. She mentioned that she did a few weddings each year, and when I saw her portfolio, I emailed her back immediately with a big fat YES. I fully trusted her eye and direction and it was the best feeling. I love photography so I had a feeling before meeting her that I would be fussy with finding someone. She did the best job, we couldn’t love our photos more. So happy to now lived in SF (she moved here a week before our wedding) and I have a new friend and someone to help me with photos for BoC. 🙂
Natasha Kolenko did our flowers and brought my vision to life so well! I mentioned this before in previous wedding planning posts, but I wanted it to feel a little less formal, traditional wedding — and more like a fun and charming dinner party. It was like a midsummer nights dream, blooms that felt straight from the garden peppered down our tables in no particular order. We wanted to do green and white flowers and then pops of some of my favorites: David Austin roses, ranunculus, anemone. It took my breath away when my bridesmaids and I took a peek before guests arrived. So so happy with how our table turned out!
We went with Dart Collective for our DJ, which we LOVED. A huge thanks to those who recommended them, they couldn’t have done a better job. Everyone asked us about the music during and after the wedding, such a hit. They were so lovely to work with, too and were so organized and on top of it. Our first dance song was a little bit on the longer side, so they edited it to make it shorter and just absolutely killed it.
For the videographer, we hired Hit Maker Films, which also came recommended by friends on Instagram. Working with Kyle and his adorable wife was seamless! I wanted to main focus to be capturing the raw moments of the evening unfold, and I cannot wait to see what he comes up with!
If you have any questions or if I missed anything, feel free to leave a comment below! Happy Friday, friend! x
