This beautiful wine country wedding by MEGHAN MEGAN PHOTOGRAPHY is modern elegance at it’s best. Gorgeous couple Anne & Chris loved the Healdsburg area and once they found the two venues they knew with some small personal touches they were the perfect option for them. On a golden summers day they held their heartfelt and laughter-filled ceremony in the outdoor courtyard of MEDLOCK AMES and followed it up with a reception at nearby SHED – a nearby venue and food market in downtown Healdsburg that offers local, artisan, and curated foods. Guests sat at long farm tables and enjoyed the farm-to-table environment as the sun set. The bride wore a stunning VERA WANG gown whilst her gorgeous bridesmaids were dressed in neutral gowns from ADRIANNA PAPELL and LIGHT IN THE BOX.
HOW DID YOU MEET? It was September 8, 2012 and we were both attending a dual birthday party for our mutual friends. Anne started chatting with my buddy, and after their conversation he came over and told me I had to meet her. As we started talking it turned out that Anne’s dad is from Chicago, close to where I grew up in Indiana (even though Anne, as a California girl, had no clue where Indiana was) and we connected through our similar interests and shared values.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROPOSAL: I wanted the proposal to be as much of a surprise as possible. It was a Friday afternoon in August 2014 and I mentioned that we should enjoy the weather and go hiking in the Marin Headlands after work. I had the trail and exact location picked out but fog rolled in and I was forced to improvise. We ended up wandering along an unknown trail near the top of Mt Tam. We were on our way back when I quietly kneeled down and called her name. She was surprised!
DESCRIBE YOUR WEDDING FLOWERS: I was a bit of a groomzilla when it came to the flowers (hey, I’m a landscape architect). We both liked the same images that we came across during planning but I had a vision for the large planter behind us at the ceremony and the simplicity of the green foliage and white flowers in porcelain and clear glass containers for the reception. Thankfully our florist was extremely patient with us and very talented. We couldn’t have been happier with the execution.
FAVOURITE DETAIL OF THE DAY: There were three! Our first look under the oak tree. I’ll never forget seeing Anne in her dress for the first time when I turned around. Second was the Rose wine! We get teased often for how much we love rose so we knew that had to be part of our wedding. We’ve also been to many weddings where people are sitting down, waiting for the ceremony to start, wishing they were holding a drink. We decided to serve rose to everyone as they entered the ceremony and it was awesome to see everyone coming off the school buses, smiling, and holding a glass of rose that was glowing in the setting sun. Thirdly the air plants. The place settings and tables at the reception were very special and memorable. We designed the menus, layout, etc and sourced air plants for each guest. When we walked in and arrived at our seats I remember us looking around at everything, smiling at each other, and waiting for someone to pinch us.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OUT TO A COUPLE PLANNING THEIR WEDDING? If you get stressed (you will) just take a deep breath and tell yourself that everything will get done. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from friends and family and delegate tasks. I wish we had done that earlier in the process. It was also a learning and growing process for our relationship – Anne makes decisions and moves on, and I over analyze and worry about every detail – which was difficult to embrace at the time, but something we look back on and laugh about now.
MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT: When we read this question we said the exact same thing – our vows. They were loving, thoughtful and funny and reflected what we admire in each other. Everything seem to slow down and fade to the background in that moment.
ANY OTHER DETAILS THAT HELP TELL THE STORY OF YOUR DAY? Yoga is very important to Anne so we wanted to incorporate that into the weekend. She asked her favorite teacher (Anna Hughes) to come up to Healdsburg the morning of our wedding to teach a personalized class. We were joined by friends and family in the space where we would later hold the reception. It was a very unique and special way to start our wedding day.
