We love seeing a couple who truly complement each other and Laura and Phil are an impeccable example. Rivkah Fine Art Photography captured the bohemian-styled pair in their epic Grandfather Mountain engagement. The sun majestically shone through the clouds, looking as if it were specifically highlighting Laura and Phil’s love.
The intimate mountain engagement was punctuated with windswept hair and meaningful embraces that made for exceptionally passionate images. For more engagement session inspiration, check out Negin and Josh’s exhilarating engagement at Angeles National Forest.
Though Jennifer and Christopher envisioned a destination wedding, the ultimately decided to get married stateside. Fortunately, the villa at Sunstone Winery provided a style reminiscent of Tuscany right in Santa Ynez, Califorina. The reception design by Alexandra Kolendrianos truly lived up to the beauty of the venue, from a sophisticated lounge area to a perfectly understated and chic dining table arrangement. Apertura photographed each detail impeccably and captured the most stunning golden hour portraits of the couple walking through the vineyards.
We were originally going to do a destination wedding in Greece, where my family is from, but as every bride knows you loose a bit of control when its over 6000 miles away, time difference and just doing things differently.
When we made the decision to have it in the states, we didn’t want any restrictions. We wanted complete control to paint our perfect day but still feel like we were transporting guests to a magical land and the villa was a perfect place. It’s a deconstructed monastery that was broken down in France and rebuilt in Santa Ynez Valley. Being at the villa with no one around really felt as though time stood still.
As for décor and theme, because the villa was so gorgeous, we wanted to embrace everything the villa stood for……a real old world feeling. Big beautiful, ruffled romantic flowers, vignettes, hurricane vases and chandeliers, chandeliers, chandeliers everywhere! This also included farm tables, antique settings, rod iron gates, candelabras and vintage furniture.
The Moments:
Everything was so perfectly executed and no one missed a beat. Since we planned this event over a year and half using the Villa as our playground with so many moving parts, we made sure to step away as a couple (7-8 times) throughout the evening and reflect on what was happening. Just live in the moment. Whether it was watching people during cocktail hour, eating our amazing dinner, dancing and the after party…..just recapping with one another all the amazing memories and feelings throughout the evening was magical.
The Couple Recommends:
We used over 2 dozen vendors to make our special day a true fairy tail and they ALL are the best at what they do. They truly were the A-Team of weddings. For us, as a couple, we would have to give credit to our wedding planner, Alexandra Kolendrianos. She handled everything from top to bottom, start to finish. The wedding was perfectly executed with zero hiccups. She held our hand for over a year and a half, did all the heavy lifting, left no stone unturned and dotted every I and crossed every T. Her attention to detail was magnificent.
Now, if you ask our guests, they would say the food and DJ. They said this was the best food they’d ever had and the best DJ they’d ever heard. We’re from San Francisco so its tough to compete with us and Duo blew our expectations and everyone else’s. That coupled with the dance floor packed all night with no one siting down for over 4 hours….literally….made an unforgettable evening.
Finally, I would be amiss if I didn’t mention our incredible photographer Ray Soemarsono who is truly one of the most talented artists we’ve ever met.
Building your color palette on pretty shades of pink is the quickest way to create an undeniable sense of romance for your day. Jen and Blake’s romantic Florida wedding took place at Don Shula’s Hotel where every moment looked like a page out of a fairy tale. Elaine Palladino Photography captured touching moment after moment, from Jen and her mother sharing a tearful hug while getting ready to the couple’s first look in the hotel courtyard to the whirlwind sparkler send-off at the end of the night.
There wasn’t a “theme” to our wedding but some words I would use to describe it would be soft and romantic with a touch of vintage.
The Moments:
My absolute favorite moment was surprising him with a special song when I walked down the aisle.
The Couple Recommends:
Elaine and Mike are the best photographers out there. They absolutely exceeded all of our expectations. Not only did we receive wonderful photos and memories but they are wonderful people and made us feel so comfortable and special on our wedding day.
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