The weather is pleasantly crisp and there’s a glass of award winning Grenache in your hand while toasting to the bride and groom. Sounds like you were also an attendee at this amazing autumnal winery wedding!
Two of my good friends, and now family members, got married at a beautiful winery in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Read on to discover all the details about this exciting day!
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HIGHLIGHTS: Autumn Winery Wedding Ceremony & Reception
Autumn Winery Wedding Guest Arrival
As guests arrive, they are encouraged to snap a Polaroid selfie and add it to the guestbook. After the welcome table, a cheerful bartender offered guests a glass of award-winning red wine (hers) or classic Bud heavy (his) to enjoy before the ceremony began.
Unbeknownst to the guests, during this welcome reception the wedding couple was indulging in their first looks. They also took this intimate moment to share their personalized vows with each other.
Ceremony
At the officiant‘s cue, the guests take their seats facing a beautifully draped pergola. The ceremony procession included friends, family, and of course the couple’s two dogs.
Once “I Do” was said and sealed with a kiss, the bridal party skipped off into the vineyard for some group photos. Guests went through to the cocktail reception on the party pad and enjoyed bite-sized hot link appetizers and an open bar prior to dinner.
Reception
The reception had wooden farmhouse tables framing the dance floor under the venue’s party lights. Each table held a bottle of wine that doubled as both table number and memory book. It gave guests another opportunity to write a message for the couple to enjoy on that number’s anniversary.
After a grand entrance, the newlyweds took to the dance floor for their first dance. “Beyond” by Leon Bridges serenaded the lovebirds as they spun under the party lights.
One of the most fun and memorable moments was when the bride and groom quickly went to each table and took a photo with everyone, all before “Marry Me” by Bruno Mars finished playing! This way they were guaranteed to have a photo with each person that came to the wedding.
Another fun photo opportunity that included all the guests was with a sparkler send off. Note: Check with your venue before assuming sparklers are allowed. Also, have a water bucket available to place used sparklers in immediately after use.
There was great music, fantastic wine and dancing well into the evening. Late night pizza arrived at the perfect moment to ensure the guests had energy to enjoy the dance floor to its fullest potential.
Planning + Logistics: Autumnal Winery Wedding
Dogs on the Wedding Day
When animals are involved in your wedding day, you have to think through some logistics in advance. How will the animals be cared for throughout the event? Will your animals stay throughout the entire event or leave at some point? Who will care for your animals when they aren’t with you?
Matt asked one of his amazing coworkers to pick up their dogs after the ceremony and watch them overnight. The newlyweds sent their friend home with a plate of food and many thank you’s for taking such great care of their beloved pets!
“We’re so glad the dogs were part of our day, it was all worth it. Our family portrait is one of my favorite photos from the whole day.” – Cathy
Late Night Snack
Late night snacks are becoming a wedding day staple. Here again there are some logistics to arrange in advance to make these munchies available.
A few weeks prior to the big day, Matt and Cathy spoke with the manager of the local Round Table Pizza to preorder a pizza delivery. Their backup plan was to send their coordinator to pick up the pizza in case something went wrong.
“One of our favorite moments of the night! We even had a little photoshoot with the pizza! Word of advice here: get more than you think is necessary. I thought we ordered way too much, but it was cleaned out in like 10 minutes. Open bar, dancing, and good vibes means pizza is a hit!” – Cathy
HONEST Q+A WITH THE NEWLYWEDS
Q: What was the most exciting extra part of your wedding day beyond saying “I Do”?
A: We loved our private vows! It was nice to have a moment of intimacy and spend some time together, just us, before the chaos of the day ensues. Plus, we were then able to be together leading up to the ceremony, which had some really fun moments with our families and the bridal parties in the bridal suite!
Q: What was the biggest unexpected event that happened the day of your wedding?
A: Our pup Bailey whined throughout the whole ceremony, but I just remember thinking how funny and cute it was. Definitely not part of the plan to hear her whines off and on throughout the officiant’s speech. We were so excited to get married we barely noticed it, and frankly we didn’t care! Most things that went awry were so minor and we just didn’t care at all – we were just so happy to do the dang thing!
Q: Was there anything that you thought would be a big deal that turned out to be minimal?
A: I was worried about having time for all our photos before the ceremony, but we ended up getting tons. Plus, we snuck away during part of cocktail hour to get some golden hour sunset photos, which was totally unplanned. These ended up being some of our FAVORITE photos from the whole day!!
Q: What was the most troublesome part of planning your wedding day?
A: We did a mostly DIY wedding, so we bought a lot of stuff in advance and had lots of rentals. It was stressful to organize it all ourselves, load/unload everything, and worry about set-up. This is where our coordinator was a life saver! She handled most of the day-of organizing and set-up with ease.
Q: What advice would you give a new couple approaching their own wedding day?
A: Don’t sweat the small stuff, ESPECIALLY day-of! You can only plan so much, and you are likely the only people to notice if something didn’t go quite like you planned. Instead, soak up all the little moments because it goes by SO fast and it truly was the best day of our lives. Also, make sure to factor in alone time with your bride/groom to be. So much of the day is planned and involving other people, make sure you have some alone time too.
QUICK FACTS
- planning & design | diy + kate brennan (coordinator)
- venue | rancho victoria vineyard
- photo | natacha jolene
- florals | etsy – dried bouquets & boutonnieres
- catering | hickory hank’s bbq
- cake & desserts | ettores
- dj | mitch perez w/ showtime entertainment
- dress | lillian west (dress) | here comes the bride (shop in san diego)
- shoes | converse white high-top platforms (reception) & amazon white heels (ceremony)
- beauty | jessica mansu w/ do or dye hair boutique (hair) | elicia esparza w/ parlour 88 (makeup)
- suit | men’s warehouse
- rentals | 3 little birds
- time of year | autumn (happy anniversary you two!)
- budget range | $$
- colors | blush, rust, wine, & tan
- style | rustic-chic, wine country
I am looking for couples ready to share their wedding day story. Please nominate someone in the comment section below, or email me at jenni@anexcitingday.com, to be featured in my next REAL WEDDING post!
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