A home spun Wine Coutry Wedding

I took this one the morning we set up

Sarah and Thomas celebrated their marriage in a true wine country way.
Following their church ceremony, her uncle's home was the site for the festivities. "Shamwari" the first green home in Sonoma is on 4+ acres, surrounded by vineyards and a creek. It was no surprise that the favorite wine of the night was made from the grapes grown here.

When I first met with Sarah over a year ago, she asked if  I thought the home a good choice. It wasn't just good, for them it was perfect!
When you think about a home wedding, its easy to envision the flowers, and candle light. But what most forget about is getting it to that place. 2 days before, I met with Sarah at Shamwari with the flowers she had ordered from the local flower mart (she, her MoH and I put single blooms into various sized jars, vases, and bottles for the tables). The Bride, Groom, MoH, MoB and her partner were in the midst of setting up tables.(The morning of the wedding, her dad and his fiancee put out all of the chairs!) And like many brides, Sarah didn't always know exactly what she wanted, but did know when she didn't like something - and thats really just as helpful.
Though she had had an idea of how she wanted her tables to be laid out, her mom made other suggestions. My first reaction is to always support the bride's choices. But if you don't have a strong feeling about something like this, its ok to let go and go with the flow....
Since Sarah and Thomas' dinner was served family style, changing the layout wasn't an issue. If this had been a preselected entree, once the floor plan and meal chart get to the caterer its important to leave it as is - of course there may be 1 or 2 changes if there is a last minute cancellation, but try not to mess with it!

Sarah is a true Princess Bride in my eyes for several reasons. Though it was a very hot day, I never heard the couple complain. Her bustle broke, twice, so she either held it, or let it just trail behind her not worried at all about the lace through the dirt. And they opend their dessert station (Coldstone) early as some of the little guests couldn't wait.There were many moments like this that could have had another bride in tears, but the only tears shed on this day were from her sweet bride's maids as she walked down the aisle.

Sarah's easy going nature encouraged everyone to have a wonderful time. Your guests are always watching you to set the tone, and will either mirror your reaction of the day or watch you as if watching a movie.

And like all great fairy tales, "they lived happily ever after..."











All photos, with the exception of the 3 below, and the Shamwari one were taken by Sarah's photographer. A big Thank You to Carissa Woo for the amazing professional photos. To see more of her work check out: http://www.carissawoophotography.com/


 the deck lights marked the dance floor

Sharing a sundae

cell phones can't do it justice, but I loved the reflection of them in the pool!