jessica & jeff – 10.06.09 {part 3}

hello everyone!  it’s already halfway through “sweet november” (remember that movie??  lol) and i couldn’t be more thrilled.  it’s my favorite time of year.  on any given day you’ll catch me sporting knee-high boots, a nubby woolen scarf, mustard-colored tights, and a ruffle placket peacoat! as kristin (my bff and owner of the treasured petal) likes to say, i am a fan of wearing everything in my closet at once. and that tends to work out well in the cooler months. 🙂 in addition to my autumnal wardrobe, fall conjures thoughts of pumpkin pie, warm apple cider and best of all… a big feast that centers around stuffing and mashed potatoes.  🙂  i am really looking forward to all of our family celebrations, fast-approaching in the next few weeks. (thanksgiving is next thursday???)

i have one more post to share with you from jessica & jeff’s stunning october wedding. hope you don’t mind a bit more eye candy!  😉  today i’ll be sharing with you an extended vendor roundup. since my first two posts only linked & hinted at the many fabulous people we had on board this event, i thought i’d give you a better look at the people behind the scenes who made this wedding something out.of.this.world!  NOTE: all photos in this post courtesy of jose villa, with the exception of four photos by becker (which are marked with a watermark… like the one below).  🙂

venue: 3 stones in pope valley, ca

i can’t say enough good things about this location and its site managers, brian & briana.  the first time i stepped onto the property, i just gasped.  it could be considered the quintessential napa vineyard setting in one sense (with its rolling hills covered with vines), but it also has such unique sub-locations on the property that make it a truly versatile venue.  the overgrown beauty of it all really appeals to my soul.  briana and brian could not have been more helpful and accommodating, either! if you are looking for a fabulous new location for weddings in the napa valley, please check it out.  and then book it.  and then call me, because i would LOVE to work there again!  🙂

photography by jose villa

i have worked with jose before and being a rational human being, i am obviously madly in love with his work.  everyone who sees jose’s gorgeous imagery falls in love.  it is dreamy, romantic, fine art photography at its best.  he truly stands alone in his style, in my opinion.  every photo that he produces is frame-worthy, full of light, sparkling with whimsy and that certain je ne sais quoi…  his work is timeless and i could not imagine a better photographer to capture jess & jeff’s wedding.  to top it all off, jose is the sweetest, most gentle man you will meet.  i adore him!!  many thanks to jose for doing a phenomenal job documenting the day and more than that, capturing its spirit on film.  (p.s. joel serrato came along as jose’s assistant and i can’t wait to work with him soon!  he produces the most beautiful super 8 wedding films — check him out!)

videography by elysium productions — contact: alex & julie

there is hope for a part 4 post on this wedding because of these two.  😉  can we say highlights video???  i cannot wait to see the beauty of this day captured on film.  alex and julie are THE videographers in southern california (and beyond!) and their work is always stylish, fun, and artfully edited.  i always tell my clients there is nothing like seeing your day on video.  you can hear the laughter, see smiles and reactions, and in my case…replay your husband’s tearful vows over and over and over again!!  julie shot my wedding wayyyyy back in ’05 and then shot my mother’s fab wedding last fall.  i couldn’t be more pleased with our videos and would recommend them to anyone.

florals by gilly flowers — contact: neil/gilly or sharon

ohhhh how i love gilly!  neil and sharon, along with their fabulous team, did an unbelievable job in creating and embellishing the environment for jessica and jeff’s wedding.  finding the ideal florist for this event was quite a daunting task, and we went back and forth about bringing a southern California florist up to Napa, or just using an established northern California florist who was closer.  although many options were weighed, once we had a quote drawn up by gilly, we knew that we had found the person to bring jessica’s wedding vision to life.  i remember our mockup a few weeks before the wedding, when we went in to the shop to preview a tablescape, a prop piece (the filing drawers), and one of the ceremony windows.  we were dying of anticipation all day long and when we walked in and saw how they presented everything, we were floored.  he had truly captured the spirit, the mood, the feel of this magical wedding.  on the day of the event, the team was tireless in perfecting every single arrangement, bouquet and piece of décor.  i was sincerely MOVED by their work…  it was whimsical, playful, colorful, wild, romantic, lush, textural and dripping with detail.  everything seemed very naturally brought together, but i know there was so much intention behind the placement of each stem, petal and leaf.  i can’t gush enough about them and their marvelous work.

catering by alex’s catering — contact: rolando

i heart rolando soooo much.  i could just leave it at that and it would say it all, but i know that doesn’t satisfy the average blog reader who doesn’t know who in the world rolando is.  🙂  rolando was our event manager from alex’s catering and he walked with us through the process of creating an inventive and tantalizing menu, laying out a smooth-flowing event, and coordinating rentals with classic in napa and st. helena.  he was my eyes and ears in so many ways throughout the planning process (while i was down in SoCal and he was up there!) and i enjoyed every exchange via email and joyful phone coversation we shared.  rolando is passionate about creating stunning, inspiring events for his clients and he has fantastic taste to boot.  on top of the pleasure of working with rolando, i also had the delight of eating the food at the wedding.  and let me tell you … the food was superb.  from plating & presentation to seasoning and serving, alex’s was en pointe the entire meal.  alex’s does events all over CA so make sure to give rolando a ring if you’re looking for an exquisite experience.

the final product and the artist’s rendering pre-wedding.  🙂

cake by perfect endings — contact: angela

perfect endings is THE wedding baker in napa, and as far as many are concerned, the country.  oprah has long been a fan of the masterful work of chef/owner sam godfrey  (calling him the Michaelangelo of baking!!) and his mouthwatering and stunning confections.  when jess and jeff settled on their napa location, i told her there was only one stop on her cake tasting tour up there.  they chose a scrumptious selection of cake flavors (including candy bar… yum!!) and then left the design of the cake up to me + perfect endings!  i sent lots of inspiration to angela (love her!) and sam, including photos from our mockup, an inspiration board jess had made early on, a save-the-date and invitation, and a picture of jeff’s infamous shoes.  🙂  the final product featured three tiers, one each inspired by jeff’s shoes, the wedding china and the beloved skeleton keys.

rentals by classic party rentals, st. helena & napa — contact: deva

classic party rentals is a national chain of event rentals and having worked with them many times here in SoCal, it was easy peasy to connect with their napa and st. helena teams.  our main contact was deva and she was lovely as  can be.  from our initial walkthrough, to dozens of changes to the order, to 3-day installation and post-party issues, deva was calm, resourceful and eager to deliver excellent service.  they provided the majority of our rentals, including the rough hewn wooden dinner tables, the too-perfect mismatched china (via unique tabletop, trucked up from los angeles!), and the etched glassware.

rentals by town and country event rentals, van nuys — contact: cindy

although we had a great local rental company up in napa (see above), we wanted every last rental to be carefully selected for the big day.  in our endless research we made a visit to town & country in van nuys and found a few pieces we knew we had to have.  after finding no suitable substitute anywhere else, we decided to truck some of these pieces all the way up to napa ourselves.  and that we did!  i love working with T&C, especially with dear cindy.  the special pieces we took from t&c included their distressed 1942 chairs (mixed in with ceremony and reception seating), copper chargers, and vintage mother-of-pearl handled flatware.  although we found quite a bit of mother-of-pearl flatware elsewhere, i have to say the pieces from town and country are (in my humble opinion) far superior in detail, quality and all-around loveliness.

lighting by got light? san francisco — contact: jon & levon

oh, how i love got light?!!!  my experience with this company from start to finish was nothing short of fabulous.  at our initial walkthrough and first meeting with levon (who personally oversaw our event), we fell in love with his ideas and sweet demeanor.  i also had the pleasure of working with got light? owner jon via email, and every exchange we shared was a total crack up.  he is HILARIOUS and wanted to do everything he could to make this wedding spectacular. love these guys and can’t wait to work with them again soon.  xoxo  🙂

stationery by two upon ten — contact: kari dyas (kadyas@aol.com) — **due to some issues with her website, i took the link down.  please contact kari via email with any inquiries!**

kari is a masterful artist, working with all things paper and otherwise, and creates the most thoughtful, unique, heart-wrenchingly gorgeous stationery i have ever seen.  collaborating with kari was a true pleasure and i loved working with her on everything from ink colors to fonts to wording and artwork.  she is a brilliant mastermind, pushing the envelope of creativity and carefully producing (by hand!) the most sublime pieces of art.  i treasure my copies of the save-the-date and invitation kari created, as well as my copy of the letterpressed dinner menu.  thank you, kari, for lending your artistic genius to this event, and pouring your heart and soul into the pieces you created!!  (kari is also the creator of the escort card door, finishing one side in chalkboard paint and the other with brass hooks for hanging the number tags.)

michael, performing the couple’s first dance and wearing my scarf… courtesy of the borrow-a-scarf rack.  🙂

dj – mark of denon & doyle

mark did a fantastic job working a pretty complicated event.  🙂  we had 3 set-ups (one for ceremony, one for cocktail hour, and one for reception) and mark was great in assisting all the talented musicians who lent their gifts to the event.  we had singers at the ceremony, michael norwood‘s performance for J&J’s first dance, and kyler’s sets.  mark has lots of experience supporting musicians (and has traveled with various bands on tour!) so he was an ideal fit for the event.  after dinner, he knew just what to play to get the crowd on the dancefloor.  and that’s where everyone remained until the end of the night!!

special performance – kyler england

jessica told me early on that having kyler sing at her wedding was a MUST.  kyler is one of her favorite singers and she thought a live performance would be fabulous during dinnertime.  kyler ended up doing 3 sets during the evening and i was moved (more than once!) by the sound of her voice.  it is SO pure, crisp, soft and lovely.  you’ve gotta hear some for yourself.  🙂  her rendition of “the scientist” (my all-time favorite song) by coldplay brought tears to my eyes. amazing.

hair and makeup by nicole deanne

nicole is soooo talented!  she has all of the important marks of an excellent stylist: great personal style, a genuine love of what she does, innate skill and efficacy!  she and her assistant beautified all of the bridal party, both moms, PLUS a few random folk (like me and anna… lol) and still had time to get ready for the big wedding themselves.  nicole is also popular with my brides and it’s no wonder why!  she is so fabulous with what she does and i love working with her. check out her latest work at her website and blog.

custom linens by sin.dee.gee

kabrel found sin.dee.gee (aka Cindy G.) and commissioned the production of all of our napkins (burlap and cotton squares) and runners (burlap with velvet and silk dupioni trim).  cindy was quick, efficient, and very well-priced.  check out her etsy for some of her creations, and feel free to contact her with your own custom linen orders. 🙂

custom signage by family attic signs

the beautiful, chippy, antique-feeling signage all over the wedding was created by family attic signs.  i’m a big fan of signage, even if we know most guests are going to find their way around just fine without directions.  🙂

vintage candy girl by peachy’s puffs

i was elated to find peachy’s puffs just a few weeks before the wedding.  although some of our early brainstorming sessions had touched on the possibility of bringing a vintage candy girl to the wedding, we had let the idea fall to the wayside while other more pressing items surfaced.  as i was finalizing plans for the big day, i came back to this idea in my notes and found the perfect company to facilitate our little fantasy!  peachy’s puffs provided us with a lovely candy girl, complete with tasteful retro costume!, to serve guests an assortment of vintage candies.  though there is the option of having them provide the candy, i decided to handpick all of the items myself to ensure a wide selection of flavors and (just as importantly) fanciful packaging!  i found candy heaven on earth in burbank at rocket fizz.  it’s a MUST-STOP for anyone who loves vintage soda pop and candy.  i called my dad while i was shopping and gushed to him about the taffy flavors and old-school candies…many of which he recalled from his youth!  while you’re there, make sure to get a zagnut for me.

photobooth (@ RD) by foto cabina

jess & jeff’s retro-carnival-esque rehearsal dinner wouldn’t have been complete without the fab foto cabina brought all the way up from soCal!!  many thanks to the fine folks from foto cabina for facilitating so much fun!  it was a total crowd pleaser.  🙂

save the date calligraphy by laura hooper

the save-the-dates were addressed by the one and only laura hooper… in record time, i might add!!  she did a fantastic job and i think her stunning script was the perfect addition to the first ‘taste’ of the wedding that guests received.

invitation calligraphy by mara of neithersnow

i am a bigggg fan of mara’s unique calligraphy and was thrilled that jess wanted to use her for the invitations!  i sent mara a bunch of labels (these from paper-source, with a little brown border) and she did a wonderful job with them.  the labels were affixed to craft paper packages since the invitations were.. BOOKS.  if you don’t know about the fabulousness that was jessica & jeff’s invites, check out this post.  🙂

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i think that’s all the J&J goodness i have for now!  i will definitely be posting a teaser video from elysium when that is debuted.  🙂  hope you all have been inspired and delighted by these photos and this wedding, the way i have been.  i can’t tell you what a joyful and rewarding experience it has was to see this beautiful day come to fruition.

enjoy the rest of your beautiful wednesday!  i’m feeling a bit icky (you know when you *start* feeling sick?  the painful throat, enlarged lymph nodes and popping ears??  is the popping ears thing just me?  lol) so i’m off to comfort myself with some udon & california rolls… one of my ultimate comfort meals. hoping that copious amounts of emergen-C and my favorite tea ward off whatever’s ailing me before it turns into something full-blown.  🙂

xoxo, angel