Elegant Garden Wedding In Napa Valley

By Magnolia Rouge

BEAULIEU GARDENS ESTATE looks like the most stunning venue!! I've seen it online before but this elegant wedding by THE EDGES WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY is the first time I've featured it on the blog. With it's manicured french gardens and old stone fountains and statues it provided the perfect canvas for an unforgettable wedding. The gorgeous couple were in safe hands with Leslie from ROSEMARY EVENTS on board with the planning, and one of our favourite florists OAK & THE OWL created the beautiful florals. And let us not forget those stunning bridesmaids gowns by ADRIANNA PAPPELL so pretty!!

Blair and James met in the summer of 2007 on a blind date at 11 South Bistro in Jacksonville Beach. Huge Jacksonville Jaguar fans, they planned a trip that October to the inaugural game in London. Before meeting with friends for the game, James proposed to an unsuspecting Blair in Paris. They quickly decided on an intimate destination wedding in Napa Valley where the couple had visited annually since they started dating. It was the perfect backdrop for an outdoor wedding during Napa's harvest season. Blair said. They hired one of the top wedding planners in the Bay area Rosemary of Rosemary Events who organized a weekend visiting 16 different locations throughout Napa and Sonoma. As they entered the gates of the estate beneath the breathtaking canopy that lined the drive they knew they had found a special place. Every turn brought another surprise of beauty and elegance. Rosemary's reputation and guidance was incredible. Napa can be a challenging place to host a wedding and their seemed to be a collective sigh of relief from the venue's and vendors knowing her team involved.

September quickly arrived and there was indeed a relative calm. As part of that process the couple interviewed several photographers recommended by Rosemary and chose Matt Edge who's energy and contemporary style of photography were a perfect fit. Family and friends began arriving and connecting at restaurants in San Francisco and vineyards throughout Napa. Most of the guests stayed in Yountville and the event was officially kicked off at a cocktail hour at the Villagio Hotel and Spa. Rosemary also coordinated the opening party where the couple took over of Redd's sister restaurant ReddWood a chic but casual Italian restaurant that James' described as Manhattan meets Napa Valley. Recently listed as one of the world's top new restaurants by Conde Naste.

On the big day, the venue came alive in a way Blair and James could only visualize before now. The guests entered the beautiful tree lined drive that captured the couple just nine months before. They were then greeted with a speciality drink and followed the gravel pathways through the French style rose garden into another garden centered with a stone pool of blooming lilies. The groom's mother, a minister, officiated the ceremony in the sunken garden and the guests then retired to yet another tucked away garden where the band performed at the cocktail hour and the dinner following. The guests then migrated down another path lined with the couples favourite quotes beneath a sycamore arbor and where seated in the outside dining area beneath an intricate oak-vined trellis. Nancy from the Oak and Owl provided the floral design, creating a dramatic light scape with a tapestry of soft candles set in glass globes. The globes where suspended above the tables draped with olive vines mixed with blush florals. Paula La Duec, a high acclaimed caterer in the Bay area provided an incredible four course seated dinner, signature cocktails and a chimay beer ice cream float that punctuated an incredibly culinary weekend.

Following dinner and an amazing Napa Valley sunset, the couple led their guests to the moonlit poolside dance floor where James surprised Blair with a serenade of �you and me� by Lifehouse with his nieces on violin. True to the couples personality, they brought it all back to earth with an after party at Panchas, a Yountville dive bar. The only regret? Shelby & Jackie, the duos's two dogs could not make the trip.