Dara & Tony

October 27

Santa Rosa, California

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Q & A with the Bride:

1. What was the one thing about your venue that made you know it was the one?

It was the venue itself. When we first got engaged, we looked at over 15 wineries, and they all looked the same to me. I felt like the guy from the movie “Sideways” screaming about Merlot, but I was swearing off looking at another row of grape leaves. Then we walked into DeLoach. Yes, there were grape leaves but also so much more. 

2. Which three details from your wedding were your favorites?

First, our flowers. Our florist, Olivia, transformed DeLoach into a fairytale. I sent her a few pictures of the look we were going for and really just let her run with it. She nailed it, above and beyond. I cannot say enough about her and Papillion Floral. They were professional and so fun to work with! Second, my hair. I just loved my hair, it was perfect. If I could have Jolene at The Loft salon do my hair like that every day I would. Lastly, our food.  Food is very important to our family, and this was an area where we really wanted to seek out the best. Not only did the food look gorgeous, it tasted even better. 

3. Give us the one moment from your wedding that you can’t stop thinking about.

Towards the end of dinner, after speeches were finished, the sun had set and candles were lit, my husband and I looked at each other and then looked out at both of our families and friends, eating, drinking and laughing. Everyone we loved was in the same place, smiling under the same twinkling lights for us.

Amber & Stephen

October 5

Malibu, California

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Q & A with the Bride:

What was the one thing about your venue that made you know it was the one?

Our venue had all of the elements of a carnival – a Ferris wheel, a merry go-round and the inside of the reception area looked like a giant circus tent. We also loved the idea of having elements of indoor and outdoors. The venue was nestled away in the mountains and had a very romantic feel.

Which three details from your wedding were your favorites?

1. Candy Bar
2. Table Arrangements
3. Activities (Caricature Artist, Photo Booth, Palm Reader)
   

Give us the one moment in your wedding day you can’t stop thinking about.

Stephen and I did a first look before the ceremony. We were both so nervous. I can’t stop thinking about walking up to him and seeing him for the first time in his suit and seeing the way he lit up when he saw me in my dress. It was magical. 

Searching for a wedding venue is all about finding a spot that matches your personality and style. We’ve interviewed hundreds of brides over the years about how they found their wedding sites, and wanted to share a few of them with you to provide some inspiration as you begin your venue hunt.

Photo by Evin Photography

“We chose to have our wedding and reception at my parents’ home because of the beautiful backdrop and landscape that was already present. We wanted an intimate setting with all our close family and friends , so it was absolutely perfect,” -Ashlie, married May 19 in her parents’ backyard in Tennessee. View more photos from this wedding

Lindsey & John

September 22

Petaluma, California

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Q & A with the Bride:

1. What was the one thing about your venue that made you know it was the one?

We loved the meandering paths through the beautiful terraced gardens. It was very romantic, and we could envision all of our guests having the chance to explore the grounds.

2. Which three details from your wedding were your favorites?

The bridal party Mendhi (henna party) was definitely a highlight. We sat around drinking chai and chatting. The henna was so beautiful and unique, and it was a lasting reminder of our awesome weekend of wedding fun! Another highlight was the bridal party dance that we performed to set off the dance party. I choreographed a super fun booty-shaking dance to a medley of three songs. Every time all the bridesmaids were together leading up to the wedding, we would practice, laughing the whole time. It was so much fun to perform, and the crowd loved it! We designed our wedding altar and had it built by our friends at Heritage Salvage with all salvaged materials. It was gorgeous, rustic and tied in my Chinese heritage. The design was inspired by Chinese arches, and we hung a gong in the center that we used ceremonially.

3. Give us the one moment from your wedding that you cannot stop thinking about.

It’s hard to choose just one, but it would probably be when we were eating dinner. I just kept looking around at all our friends and family enjoying each other’s company and felt so incredibly happy to be in that moment surrounded by so much love.

Emily & Allan

November 18

Sacramento, California

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Q & A with the Bride:

1. What was the one thing about your venue that made you know it was the one?

It was so unique and had beautiful vintage decor. It’s in a very old, historical building in downtown Sacramento. The Metropolitan Ballroom, which is where we held the reception, is on the 7th floor, and has an amazing view of the state capital. I always imagined having an outdoor wedding, but I had trouble finding the right venue in the Sacramento area. We actually went to The Citizen randomly on our way to look at another venue, and we just fell in love with it. It really fit our vintage theme, and it was great to be able to have the wedding party and our families all staying in the same place where the event took place.

2. Which three details from your wedding were your favorites?

1. The vintage vignette that served as the guestbook table and featured the escort cards that was outside the entrance of the ballroom. The details were just so amazing, and it was inspired by 1920s-30s era travel and also by the Indiana Jones and Jungle Cruise ride in Disneyland! We love Disneyland, and I love going through the lines in those rides because the details are so fun and old-fashioned. I also loved the escort cards; they were luggage tags with skeleton keys. I stamped guest’s names on the tags with a typewriter font stamp set and then tied on the skeleton keys. My bridesman, Ray, (my best friend, who in was in my wedding party, helped me with them, and it was a lot of work, but I love that it was a personal touch and something that I got to do with my best friend.

2. The cake and dessert table because I really wanted a lot of different cakes and desserts. I loved all of the different cake stands, and the vintage books that were on the table.

3. The floral arrangements were amazing and Bob, my florist, did such an amazing job with my my bouquet and my bridal party’s bouquets. I really loved all of the centerpieces, and he went beyond floral arrangements and created beautiful vintage table tops.

3. Give us the one moment from your wedding that you cannot stop thinking about. 

Allan’s daughter, Amalia, and my niece, Paige, who were our flower girls, surprised us with a choreographed dance to Justin Bieber’s “Never Say Never.” It was so amazing, and they had been working on it for a month. We had no idea that they were planning on performing at the wedding! I was so proud of them because they did such a great job memorizing the moves, and they were so brave to perform in front of over 100 people! I was a cheerleader in high school, and loved choreographing dances so it was so neat to see the two of them doing something I love so well! It was just such a fun surprise and everybody loved it!