Wine Country Weddings- My Daughter’s Dream
My daughter lives in San Francisco and she really loves wine country weddings! So our adventure begins! Last July, her boyfriend of seven years proposed to her in San Francisco (of course I was there). I knew about the proposa. So, under the pretense of her sister, Courtney, coming in town for her 30th birthday, she took off work so we could celebrate together. What Haley didn’t know was the celebration was really a well planned whirlwind wine country weddings venue tour with the three of us.
Wine Country Wedding Venue Stops
Our fist stop was The Lodge at Sonoma, a Marriott Renaissance Resort. Nedra Peterson (loved Nedra) toured us around which turned out to be the perfect wedding venue even after going to four other places. Quaint, lovely, and accommodating with the ceremony under the stars. The Stone Room was perfect for dancing and with the assurance of an off the charts menu, we signed the contract. ( I promise the extra Marriott points had nothing to do with it)!. Then, Alena Ribik took over all the coordination and planning. There’s no need to hire a wedding planner with her ability at The Lodge! Saving $$$ already!
The Menu at the reception
With wine country weddings, the setting is beautiful but most importantly to me is the food. Chef Joshua Murray, Executive Chef and Chef Jorge Petterson, Executive Sous Chef (arriving from Costa Rica) from the Lodge at Sonoma graciously gave me their time and attention. As Chef Josh said, “I will give you a menu that will excite and challenge everyone’s palate,” while Chef Jorge added some of his personal pizza making a memorable dining experience. We had an amazing tasting. The food tasting exceeded our expectations and so impressive packed with flavor and presentation. The Food will surely WOW my guests!! Thanks chefs!! Salad with goat cheese mousse and figs, amazing pasta, fish tacos plus…
Anne Appleman Flowers for Wine Country Weddings
Flowers were an easy decision for wine country weddings after my daughter met Anne Appleman. You know how someone gets it –well, sheunderstood and gave us such creative, unusual ideas for chic, understated wine country elegance. All white floral arrangements, with succulents in natural containers adorned with votives, will be the perfect decor for an outside wedding.
I can’t wait to share all the details after the wedding with lots of photos. Also, I loved the fact she was cost conscious and good about reusing arrangements. Wedding flowers were PHENOMENAL and Anne outdid herself!!!
Get the party going with BEST DANCING BAND EVER!
We love to party so we wanted a “rockin” band. With Steve Bloom from Hip Entertainment, our wish will come true! Easy to work with, gave us guidance and was a great communicator, Steve made sure we got exactly what we wanted! After listening to the bands, Hip Service was our overwhelming choice and I know we are in the best of care as I discovered Steve Bloom is in the band!
Months later, I am still being told that this was the BEST DANCING BAND ever and how did I find them!
Photographer: Elisabeth Millay Photography
LOVED Elisabeth!! Of course, the photographer was a major decision but such an easy one after seeing Elisabeth Millay’s work on other weddings. She also has been great to work with and we really loved her organization skills with an attention to detail. She makes us feel like we are the most important wedding (of course we are). I can’t wait to share the photos when I get some!
Invitations and Printed Material off the charts
Creative, energetic and innovative -that’s Jill of Stamped Paper. Jill, owner and so talented created invitations, the gift bags designs, napkins and all the many items we printed! Her attention to detail, her energetic ideas and guidance made the wedding perfection in the print department!
Wine Country Weddings- Gift Bags
We wanted local products for our wine country wedding gift bags and after lots of looking, I found some wonderful people with super tasting choices. A small business that cares, Napa Nuts had such a selection of nuts, trail mixes and treats and OMG, they were all fabulous. Thanks, Bonnie, for your help and giving our guests such a treat. My other favorite local treat to include comes from Sonoma Creamery who has the popular Mr. Cheese O’s with such an assortment of flavors. The perfect snack for our gift bags when our guests get the munchies. Nick was great in guiding me what to include and I also might get one of his specialty cheese trays, but these snacks are gift bag friendly.
Wine Country Chocolates A MUST!
And, of course we had to include something chocolate and what could be more appropriate than this fabulous tasting dark chocolate grape wine cluster from Wine Country Chocolates Betty (who helped me) just had her daughter’s wedding so she knows the drill. I can’t wait to taste these delectable treats! All these wonderful local vendors have offered to drop their goodies off at the Lodge-one less thing to worry about THANKS EVERYONE!!!
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Here’s to Sonoma!