A Napa Fairytale: Reception Entrance

With the guests seated in the barrel room, the DJ kicked on some fresh tunes and introduced our fun wedding party! Each couple entered to a different song clip and they totally danced their way in. So fun! Mike and John were my favorite. :)

My groom and I got a kick out of watching our bridal party enter and patiently waited to be introduced for the first time as "husband and wife". I super loved having fresh flowers in one hand and a glass of wine in the other!

We high-fived it in a line down our wedding party as DJ Adam pushed play on our song and I was swept up into the arms of my husband for our first dance...

(photos by Luke Snyder Studio)

...please notice Amy in the background. Love her!

A Napa Fairytale: The Processional

The groom, best man, and reverend had the best view in the house as they watched the party make their processional down the aisle. From my bird's eye view, I could just see each couple walk down the top set of stairs before they disappeared into the courtyard below me.

So happy we decided on the string trio for the ceremony. I felt like their presence added so much to the moment.

Once our moms walked down the aisle, they stepped behind the flowered curtain to light our individual candles. They shared a proud mom moment with a sweet hug.

I love Amy and John's faces towards Mr. Barrettes as they approach their positions.

Each flowergirl gave Mr. Barrettes a high five when they reached the end of the aisle-- too cute!

Our ringbearer was too cool for a high five and he and Mr. Barrettes did a fist bump.

(photos by Luke Snyder Studio)

I decided not to wait in the room any longer. Was it a rule I had to be inside? Forget that-- I wanted to see what was going on! 

I had a moment with 2 of my performer friends, who were making a late entrance into the courtyard behind the ringbearer. They traveled from Maine and I loved spotting them arrive at the last second. There was time for a quick breath as the strings changed their tune and I received the nod from our coordinator as my dad stepped into place...

Where did you wait for your big entrance? Did you see your processional?

A Napa Fairytale: The Wedding Party

Our party knows how to strike a pose! It wasn't hard for this cast of characters to take a good photo and I was happy that we knocked out these shots in about 5 minutes.

Somewhere on the blog, a bee mentioned that she missed having individual shots of her wedding party and I thought that was such a great idea, I immediately added it to my photo list. Take the opportunity to get beautiful shots of your favorite people!

This one is definitely a framer. I love the way little girls stand for photos =)

(photos by Luke Snyder Studio)

With our formal shots wrapped, we were all dismissed until the ceremony. I scurried back up to my bridal nook to freshen up and maybe have a glass of wine and the gentlemen headed down to the tasting room. We had about 20 minutes until places and I could hear the buzz of our guests waiting for it to begin!

A Napa Fairytale: Finishing Touches and a Quick Photo Shoot

After we were dressed, it was time to wrap it up and get going! I gave the ol' pearly whites one last scrub, my fellas finished tying their ties, the girls touched-up their faces and we headed to the lobby for a quick debut and an impromptu photo sesh.

Dad liked his Father of the Bride hat! It was a cute touch.

After spending the morning getting me dolled up, it was time for John to step into his Man of Honor attire.

The lobby of Avia is beautiful and Luke took the opportunity to snap some fun shots as we re-grouped.

With everyone looking at me, I had the urge to do a quick little port de bras.

Luke directed me to the cute green settee, where naturally I hammed it up.

Seeing my wedding party inspiration come to life was exciting! The flowers, the dresses-- it was just purple enough to be fun, but not so purple that it was overkill.

(photos by Luke Snyder Studio)

And we were off! I'm pretty sure I was on the phone with the best man. I think he was just checking to see if we were on our way. I assured him we were and told him to send the groom to the back where Luke had planned our first look-- not cool if we saw eachother as we pulled up! 

The ride up the wine trail was gorgeous. It was a perfect day for a wedding! Raja sat on my lap the whole way there (not directly on the dress), as if to let me know he knew what was going on and to make sure I remained calm. 

We decided on the way up that he would not be in the wedding. The logistics of how to get him down the aisle, then back to his crate and put away for the evening were getting complicated even though it originally seemed like a simple process. His tux that I prepared him to wear was lost in a sea of bags and there wasn't time to search for it. So I let it go. He was our "son", but he was also a dog. He wouldn't be mad at me if he wasn't in the wedding. He'd want me not to be stressed out about it. He would end up making a cameo at the reception and that was good enough for us. 

When we pulled up to V. Sattui my bridal party did some recon to make sure the groom was out of sight and I sat in the car and had a moment with my baby. I kissed his furry little face one last time, opened the door and stepped out into my very own Napa fairytale....

Gifting our Wedding Party--it all Comes Together!

Hi there Hive! We're down to 2 days before we head to Napa again, and 4 days away from the Big Day! I've been running around like a mad-woman, getting together the gifts for our wedding party, which I will spend a better part of this afternoon wrapping.

The only gifts not included in this post are the ones for my MOH and Mr. Barrettes. Later. Promise.