Whitney and Alfonso’s Real Wedding is the perfect kind of celebration to ooh and ahh over at this time of year. They hosted an ultra-romantic fall wedding at the Ponte Family Estate Winery in Temecula, California, and the rich golden colors that surrounded them created a truly spectacular atmosphere!
The Goals: To honor their love of wine country and the romance that Whitney had always envisioned for her wedding day, Whitney and Alfonso were thrilled to discover the Ponte Family Estate Winery and to choose it as the venue. Their elegant ceremony was held in the garden that overlooks the vineyard and Temecula Valley Mountains, and their intimate reception took place in the mission-style barrel room, among candlelight and floor to ceiling wine barrels. Whitney and Alfonso were also very excited to have beautiful images of the two of them and all the moments of their wedding day, so they very happily chose photographer (and People magazine editor) Ulrica Wihlborg to capture every detail.
The Design: The design of the wedding day was entirely based around their vineyard romance theme. Using a warm wedding color palette of pink, red and white with organic fall accents of brown, the wedding’s decor blended with the season while complementing the location’s natural backdrop. Centerpieces were made from red, pink and white flowers with twisting brown branches, and floral wreaths hung on the barrel room doors. The calligraphed wedding invitations from Folios of M Thomas reminded Whitney of the vines from the vineyard, and their white chocolate covered wedding cake from The Cake Studio looked like a blooming rose.
The Look: Whitney adored her romantic ballgown and she echoed the fabric roses that were nestled in its skirt by wearing one in her hair. The wedding dress acted as her “something new” and the rest of the traditional good luck items were given by her loved ones. “For my something old I wore a pair of my mother’s diamond earrings. My something borrowed was my sister’s veil that she wore at her own wedding, and my something blue was an embroidered handkerchief that a friend made for me.” Whitney’s bridesmaids wore chocolate brown silk taffeta dresses from J. Crew with jewelry from Banana Republic, and Alfonso and his groomsmen wore tuxedos with vests from Men’s Wearhouse.
The Moments: Whitney joyfully remembers how much she loved the moments when she and Alfonso saw each other for the first time, when they were pronounced husband and wife, and when they danced their first dance, but the most sentimental moment occurred as her mother walked her down the aisle. “Having only one parent now, it meant so much to me to have my mom give me away.”
At the end of the night they had a grand send-off complete with sparklers held by their guests, and looking back on it all now Whitney says, “I had always pictured that my wedding would be the most romantic day of my life and it truly was.” Perfect!
The Pros: To learn more about the wedding professionals who helped create this wedding, please visit our Real Weddings section.
Thank you for sharing your day with us Whitney and Alfonso!
To plan your own Southern California or Seattle area weddings, check out our Plan Your Wedding Hotlists, and to find your dream wedding photographer for weddings anywhere in the world, don’t miss our World’s Best Wedding Photographers Hotlist!
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