A Napa Fairytale: The Bride Returns in a Cute Dress

Back in the bridal nook as a Mrs., I quickly changed into my custom-made dress that my MOH gifted me 2 weeks before the wedding. We also did a hair change and John plucked the gardenia from my ceremony hairpiece and pinned it back into my down-do. We probably spent a few minutes too many up there, but when you're excited and in a small space with 2 of your best friends, things get silly and you forget that you're suppose to be hurrying.

When we returned I was happy to see guests mingling in the courtyard and as night fell on V. Sattui, the twinkling lights added a gorgeous glow to our reception.

I made a quick inventory of the escort cards to see who was missing, which thankfully only amounted to about 6 guests. Most of the remaining cards were members of the bridal party who never swung by the table. I'm not sure what the face is for. You may have noticed I'm quite expressive.

I was happy and frustrated at the same time when I finally saw the inside of the barrel room. Happy because the flowers my aunt arranged were so pretty and the wine bag favors with the wine charms attached added just the right amount of purple to the room; frustrated because the table numbers I made didn't end up fitting on V. Sattui's wine bottles properly.

I didn't quite understand why the coordinator hadn't tried to cut them to fit, but resigned to the fact that it was my own fault. I should have made sure the week prior when we visited the winery, but it didn't cross my mind. Sure, it would have been prettier if they fit, but again, a tiny imperfection allows you to appreciate the bigger picture. Either I was going to be bugged by it the whole night or I could quickly let it go and let my mind relax around the other perfectly amazing things happening around me. I kept my mouth shut and never even mentioned it to anyone. I'm sure other people noticed too, but the more energy you give to something, the bigger it gets. So I gave it no energy.

I found my groom and we made some rounds. I love this photo. It's so us-- from me chatterboxing, to him listening to me with a sweet smile on his face, right down to the Amador Zin in his glass and the Early Harvest White Riesling in mine. Perfect.

(photos by Luke Snyder Studio)

Our guests were ushered into the barrel room as the wedding party was called outside to await our grand entrance.

Did you do a costume change? Didn't it give the evening a whole new energy?!