Wedding Venue: Solage, Calistoga

Apologies for being quiet these last few days. I had a wedding yesterday!

Last Friday, I had a meeting at the Solage, a luxurious resort just a minute away from downtown Calistoga, and nestled beneath the hills of the famous Silverado Wine Trail. The accommodations are eco-friendly studios and there's a pair of cruiser bikes parked outside every door. The resort boasts the Michelin star-rated Solbar, which serves up seasonal and local cuisine. Have your ceremony on the lawn and party in the reception hall which feels sort of like a wine hangar.

A wedding at the Solage is not for the $10K bride, but why not a honeymoon? (My motto is "make it work"!) 

Guitar Fred, Munch and I enjoyed having lunch in downtown Calistoga, considered a mud bath at one of the many spas in town, window shopped and cruised in wine country. A lovely way to spend an afternoon with my honey. Click on the read more below to see more photos or click here.

The Eames

Chairs. They are top of mind for many brides and most choose the chivari or else go with their venue's house chair. I had assumed the chairs at our venue would be the standard wooden white chairs or else brown and I learned a couple weeks ago that they weren't. In fact, the church administrator said, "They aren't bridal" and recommended we order rentals. There's no way Guitar Fred would let me spend $600-1,000 on chairs alone. So I asked her what they were exactly and she said the wooden molded Eames chair. I envisioned the stackable chairs you had in elementary school. Ick. But Eames -- that's a fabulous designer that I admire. So guess what, they look awesome and they are truly original Eames and vintage (not new like the updated version in the photo below). I'm actually digging it.

{Photo from I Heart Luxe}

 

 {Photo from Modern50.com}

Real Wedding: Tee Time for Karen + Yu-Ming

Here's a real wedding that took place at the Ranch Golf Club in San Jose. The view was breathtaking and the bride and groom were lucky that their wedding date -- also the first day of spring -- was sunny! All images by Nancy Rothstein photography. 

Working behind-the-scenes:

• Venue: The Ranch Golf Club, San Jose (event manager, Satra, and her team rock!)
• Wedding Coordination: Va de Vie Events (moi!)
• Photography: Nancy Rothstein Photography (a pleasure to work with!)
• Wedding Cake: Jen's Cakes (Amaretto Italian Cream was heavenly)
• Makeup and hair: A-List Makeup (yay! everyone's makeup and hair stayed put)
• Accommodations: The Cypress Hotel Cupertino
• DJ: Hayes Kolb

Re-energized

I spent the last two days in the Marin Headlands, just outside of Sausalito (the town we're getting married in), for a board retreat. Not only did I reconnect with the great outdoors, I was able to re-energize my excitement for our venue. Guitar Fred and I had been somewhat stressing and tossing around the idea of changing our venue because of the restrictions on photography and amplified music. Fortunately, we recently learned we can indeed have an iPod plugged into the venue's sound system to provide music while our band is on break. We also found an Oakland-based Episcopalian minister who will allow photography during our ceremony, so we can still get married at the Christchurch in Sausalito -- just not with the resident minister who restricts photography when he's presiding over the ceremony himself.

Both Saturday and Sunday's weather permitted spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean, the coast line and the Golden Gate Bridge. Hiking along the coast and exploring the old gun batteries in the Headlands reminded me of the many awe-inspiring activities our family and friends will be able enjoy the weekend we're getting married. 

I envision having our rehearsal "dinner" to be a picnic on one of these bluffs overlooking the ocean and we're going to start researching potential caterers who can make it happen on our budget. We called Guitar Fred's mom yesterday and encouraged her to book accommodations at the Marin Headlands hostel, just a quarter-mile from these beautiful vistas (all photos by me):

 

Inspiration #58: My Dream Bridal Shower

 {Max + Kat Engagement Shoot at Flora Grubb Gardens, Source: Gabriel Harber Photography}

One of my passions is gardening and I love tea parties. But I don't want the traditional English tea party you can have at ultra-girly tea parlors around the San Francisco Bay Area. Since most of my girl friends live in the area, I didn't want to go very far for my bridal shower and unfortunately we all live in apartments or condos without gardens of our own. And there's where Flora Grubb Gardens comes in. I've put in an inquiry to see if she'll let my gals host an intimate bridal shower, and I'll keep you posted. Here's some photos that will show you why I'm digging Flora Grubb Gardens (pun intended).

{Succulent Tea Party at Flora Grubb Gardens, Source: Apartment Therapy}

 
{Max + Kat Engagement Shoot at Flora Grubb Gardens, Source: Gabriel Harber Photography}

{Flora Grubb Nursery Wall of Chairs, Photo by Colleen Baptista"}

Change of venue blues

{St. Mary's Star of the Sea, Sausalito CA -- Plan B venue}

So, when Guitar Fred and I picked our venue, we had thought we'd have both the ceremony and reception at the Campbell Hall and Garden, which is owned by the historic and beautiful Episcopalian Christchurch just across the street. When I mentioned to my mom that we were sacrificing getting married in a church for the sake of meeting our budget with a garden ceremony, she offered to help out.

We were ecstatic with this generous offer and followed up with the staff at Christchurch to book it. Because we had already booked the Hall, the church rental was discounted by $200 to $1,500 and getting the minister to officiate would be an extra $500. Total cost to get married at the Campbell Hall and Garden? $3,800.

Our excitement was building until we read the fine print --photography of the ceremony  is NOT allowed and videography has to be conducted from the door with ambient lighting! WHHHAAAAATTTTT??!?! Davina + Daniel Photography are flying all the way from Montreal, Quebec, and there's no way we'd let them miss out on shooting our ceremony.

So, what's Plan B? We think we've found a new ceremony venue -- and we're still keeping our reception at the Campbell Hall and Garden. Guitar Fred is Episcopalian and I'm Catholic, so getting married in Sausalito's Catholic St. Mary's Star of the Sea is fine by us -- and they only cost $1,000 and do allow photography. This would bring our ceremony + reception rental cost to only $2,800 instead. Now, we're just crossing our fingers that St. Mary's is available. Pray for us. *wink*

For more on St. Mary's Star of the Sea, check out photo #17 on Vaughn n' Go's blog below! Curtis and Catherine's Wedding at St. Mary's Star of the Sea by Vaughn 'n Go Photography

Sneak peek: Campbell Hall & Garden, Sausalito CA

Guitar Fred and I met on an outing to Love Farms in Healdsburg, CA (Sonoma wine country) and I dreamt of getting married on a farm or ranch until I started shopping around (one place cost $85,000 -eeks!).

Three weeks into our engagement, we found the Christchurch's Campbell Hall and Garden atop a hill overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge and the sleepy seaside town of Sausalito, CA.  The Hall is not a very popular venue, compared to the oft-booked Sausalito Presbyterian Church, but we got it for a great price ($1,800 all day including  BYO caterer, chairs and tables).

So here's the plan:
1) Take photos in downtown Sausalito by the San Francisco Bay and elephant statues
2) Get married in the garden (the trees overhead will be a natural arch)
3) Hold the cocktail "carnival/fair" hour in the patio
4) Boogie and feast in the reception hall (adorn the exposed wooden beams with paper lanterns or garlands)

What do you love most about the venue you've picked (or are looking at)? For me, it's the stunning red doors at the Hall's chapel across the street. (The photos below were taken with my cell phone, so I apologize for the quality.)

Casa Real Winery - Wedding 11.07.09

Here are photos from the wedding I was a part of this past weekend (bridesmaid!). More photos to come when they're available from Ann Hamilton!


Venue: Casa Real at Ruby Hill Winery, Pleasanton CA
Makeup: Sherrie Long (bride and mothers); A-List Makeup (bridesmaids)
Photographer: Ann Hamilton (primary), Gene Higa (2nd shooter)
Bride's dress: Amy Kuschel, San Francisco

Bridesmaids' dresses: Nordstrom.com, JS label 

String quartet: An Elegant Touch of Strings