I'm a big foodie in my non-wedding hours, so the thought of a wedding weekend inspired by a dinner party is just my style! Especially when it's a wedding as filled with delectable looking food, floral design and decor as this one! Couple Anna and Steve, with the help of Jenne Hohn Events and Chestnut Vine Floral Design, really hit it out of the ball park with their rustic and romantic Sonoma, California wedding. These photos by Meaghan Elliott Photography look heavenly!
The Couple: Anna and Steve
The Wedding: 7.9.11 - El Dorado Hotel, Sonoma, CA
What three adjectives best describe your wedding? Romantic, intimate, and refined.
What was your wedding color palette? Neutral with pops of yellow, coral, citron, and orange.
What inspired your personal wedding style, and how did you incorporate your style and personalities into your big day? We based our wedding around a quote from a John Lennon song that really describes us ... "Love is you...you and me". We wanted the whole weekend to be about our love for each other and the people who care about and love us the most.
We live a very busy lifestyle and travel a lot, so we wanted to have four days of festivities to bring our closest people together to celebrate the start of our forever. We wanted it to be very romantic, intimate and non-traditional. Also, food and prohibition cocktails are big things that Steve and I enjoy in our down time, or when we are entertaining our friends and family, so our inspiration was to create the feeling of a normal dinner party for four days, with a wedding added in. Obviously with a bit more pizzazz, but we didn't want any part of the weekend to feel like a traditional wedding ceremony or reception. And it didn't! It far exceeded our expectations and all 64 of our guests were blown away, and still talk about it to this day.
Looking back, what are the moments, decisions or memories that you love the most about your wedding? We are so happy that we had a smaller wedding weekend, and that we made sure it stayed very personal. This gave us the ability as to bond with our guests, and for everyone to really get to know each other. We were really able to connect with all our family and friends during this special time in our life and to have the most fun memories. Even though it did go by so fast, we still got to savor it since we had many events with all of our guests.
What piece of advice would you give to a bride planning her wedding today? To do what truly makes you and your fiance happy at the end of the day because it goes by so fast, and looking back you want to have made all the right decisions for the two of YOU. It’s about embracing the love and commitment of you two, not anyone else.
The Wedding Team:
Photographer: Meaghan Elliott Photography
Event Planner: Jenne Hohn Events
Ceremony Venue: Maysonnave House
Reception Venue: El Dorado Hotel
Officiant: Tina Fioretti
Invitation Designer: BLOOM 415
Catering: El Dorado Kitchen
Florist: Chestnut & Vine Floral Design
Wedding Cake: La Foret
Bridal Accessories: Thomas Knowell Designs
Bridesmaid's apparel and accessories: Teri Jon
Groom & Groomsmen Apparel & Acessories: Ted Baker
Hair and Makeup: Sherrie Long Makeup Hair and Effects
Live Music: Ecoutez
Wedding Favors: Donation to Women's Cancer Charrities
Rentals: Classic Party Rentals
Wedding Rings: Vintage
Thank you so much Anna and Steve! What a stunning day!
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