We’re wide eyed in wonder over this natural, bohemian, and earthy wedding in Sonoma, California on our wedding blog today. From its organic theme to its lush decorations, and of course, the overwhelming presence of love, it feels the way every wedding should; beautiful, yes, but intrinsically about the bride and groom.
The bride says, “The décor and color palette were inspired by the natural colors and elements of Sonoma County; A soft miasma of muted olive green, cream, tempered blush, taupe, flowy and feathery pampas grass, faded wood with accents of white and muted gold.” These earth tone colors were the perfect compliment to the stunning scenery and rustic Olympia’s Valley Estate venue. The place has so much meaning to the couple, which is evident by the way they incorporated it into their big day. Read on for every little detail that went into making it truly magical…
The bride shares…
Olympia’s Valley Estate in Petaluma, California, is known for its lush greenery, gorgeous hillside views and its charming simplicity. It was the perfect match for our organically inspired modern and earthy wedding. When we toured Olympia’s Valley Estate we immediately fell in love with it for so many reasons. The venue by itself is just stunning and embodies all things Sonoma County but we also felt personally connected to this property. Jesse grew up in Petaluma and was raised in a Heritage home similar to the Heritage home at Olympia’s Valley Estate. The property and family that runs and manages this exquisite venue made us both feel at home – it just felt very us!
We definitely wanted to use the natural elements around us as inspiration. We were going for an organic, kinetic, ethereal, and earthy wedding. So, it was only natural that we wanted to incorporate the local terrain. We were inspired by our coastal flowy and feathery pampas grass, the wild fresh florals and greenery that grows throughout the county’s countryside, and the beautiful apple orchards that can be found in the most hidden locations throughout western Sonoma County. The local topography, much like our love, is pure, simple, wild and free and we were lucky enough to find an amazing team that helped us capture these elements and share it with our beloved family and friends.
We envisioned a ceremony occurring amongst the willow trees down by the pond with a lush circular floral alter. Simplicity was very important to us and we felt that by having only the lush alter it would elevate the surrounding beauty, while still honoring our pure and sacred moment. Guests were to enjoy some of our favorite Italian foods like flatbread pizza and bruschetta at cocktail hour behind the beautiful heritage home. As the day transitioned into the evening we wanted our guests to be escorted into the barn where the reception and dancing was to be held. We chose to have the barn draped in chiffon to soften the space and create a romantic and inviting environment.
The beautiful organic design concept was introduced to our guests from the initial Save the Date and invitation suite by the Southern California Based stationary designer – A Fabulous Fete. The chic suite was personalized with wild greenery and floral watercolor illustrations. This soft color palette of the stationery suite was carried through to the bridesmaid’s dresses and their headwreaths. We also chose a very simple and classic look with black tuxedos for the groom and groomsmen.
We decided to break up some of the acrylic signage and add white wood trimmed signage with black calligraphy throughout the wedding as well. The acrylic signage was very important to us. Again, we wanted to honor the natural beauty that surrounded us, and by using acrylic signage we were able to let the local terrain shine through. To add some extra elegance and keep it very simple, we incorporated a lot of white elements to showcase the organic warm brown, green and taupe hues of the property.
At the end of the day we ultimately wanted our wedding to reflect us and to do so we made sure that from ceremony to reception there were details handmade by us. We designed and handmade our napkin favors, wrote our own vows, and created a special and unique signature cocktail. In honor of our beloved cat Bella, we decided to name our signature cocktail after her – The Bella – A Moewscow Mule. I hand painted our cat’s face onto one of our acrylic signage pieces, and both Jesse and I designed and crafted the straws to be placed into every cocktail. It was a hit! Guests enjoyed it and we loved being able to have our furry baby a part of our special day.
Instead of a formal cake for everyone, we opted for donuts and a beautiful ice cream truck from a local farm right up the road from our venue. Again, it was important for us to honor all things local so we chose to have all of our food locally sourced, farm to table, all from Sonoma County.
Our first dance was to Big Mountain – Baby I Love Your Way. Jesse, for the past 10 years, has always has sung this song to me, so it was only natural that this reggae song would be our first dance. One of the most beautiful elements that was not intended but naturally happened on its own throughout our design process were all the circular elements. From the circular arch to the circular details on my shoes to the donuts and the bridesmaid’s headwreaths – circles were present and happily welcomed. After we met with our officiant she expressed the symbolic meaning of circles – circles represent equality. They are drawn for protection. A circle has no break, it is infinite, a symbol of forever. To us, hearing these words made us feel once again at home.
Overall our day was very us! Jesse and I have an undeniable natural love for one another and from the moment anyone walked onto the property that specular day we wanted them to feel the love between us, celebrate with us and dance the night away alongside us!