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.
The Couple:
Jennifer and Christopher
The Wedding:
Sunstone Winery, Santa Ynez, California
The Inspiration:
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.
The Wedding Team:
Photography – Apertura
Event Planning – Alexandra Kolendrianos
Venue – Sunstone Winery
Floral Design – Camellia Floral Design
Catering – Duo Events
Cake – Crushcakes Cupcakery
DJ – Red Shoe
Live Music – Ybarra Music
Invitations – Lazaro Press & Design
Hair & Makeup Styling – TEAM Hair & Makeup
Wedding Dress – Vera Wang
Bridal Accessories – Tiffany & Co.
Groom’s Apparel – Tom James
Lighting – Images by Lighting
Rentals – Town & Country Event Rentals, Archive Rentals, Rivre Works
Transportation – Santa Barbara Limousine Link
Congrats to Jennifer and Christopher on a gorgeous wedding! Be sure to check out Ashley and Jeff’s sweet and simple backyard wedding in California to see more stunning photography from Apertura.
.jpg "Photographers")
