The colors in the bouquets matched our wedding palette – dark purples and oranges with hints of green.

When I say we, I mean my bridesmaid Cat – the gorgeous tattooed brunette. She is an insanely talented person with the best eye for aesthetics I have ever seen.

I found my dress at Novela Bridal in SF. It was one of the first dresses I tried on. Didn’t buy it for a couple of weeks – shopped around some more, but I knew it was the one.

For the boutonnieres I asked for mini succulents and was incredibly happy with how they turned out.

at suggested gray tuxes with brown shoes – which is infinitely better than black tuxes for an outdoor wedding.

We ordered the same suit for all the groomsmen and for Dan, but ordered a vest for him so that he could be fancy.

And of course we chose burnt orange to coordinate with the bridesmaid dresses.

Cat found these amazing bridesmaid dresses on Etsy. They were burnt orange infinite dresses and I loved the fact that the girls could wear them any way they wanted with no alterations required.

I wanted to find a place which was “all inclusive”; food, venue, bar, lodging. Dan and I envisioned a kind of Mexican style hacienda theme. And since we love wine, we wanted to be married in a vineyard.

I googled weddings in San Juan Bautista. The first thing that came up was Hacienda de Leal, which is the hotel owned by Leal Vineyards. Just like that, I found the perfect venue.

When Daniel proposed to me it was with his mother’s rings. The center ring had 3 diamond clusters and there were 2 diamond guards. Cat, who manages a jewelry store, re-designed the ring.

The most special part of the ceremony was the fact that our officiant is a friend of my parents. He married them back in 1984.

Daniel and I met through mutual friends when we were living in Portland.Daniel is from LA and I am from SF. We would see each other at parties now and then but he did not ask me out for two years because his roommate liked me.

About one year into our relationship, Daniel’s mother – who had been battling cancer – fell ill. He moved down to LA to be with her, and I moved down to be with all of them shortly after.

We wanted the colors to complement the barrel room where the reception was taking place.

I have catered enough weddings to know that I did not want a wedding cake. Went with s’more station and dessert bar instead, and had a little cake so that we could do the ceremonial cake cutting.

The barrel room was somewhat dark, and since this was a fall wedding we chose burnt orange and Cabernet as the main palette with pale green as an accent color.

My brother Josh gave an incredible and unexpected speech at our wedding. Josh says when it comes to how you treat each other, always strive to raise the bar rather than test to see how much it can be lowered..

I am definitely a food snob, and this venue had outstanding food.

My bridesmaid Kelly made the toppers, which I think Dan used to smear frosting on my face.According to him, Dan and I – no matter what we are going through – try to be as nice to each other as possible.

“When it comes to how you treat each other, always strive to raise the bar rather than test to see how much it can be lowered.”

Bay Area Wedding Photography by Apollo Fotografie

Venue: Leal Vineyards

Hair & Makeup:Emelia Wessel

Caterer: Staff provided by Leal Vineyards

Wedding Planner: Kendra Saenz of Leal Vinyards

Transportation: Leal Vineyards / Hacienda de Leal

Florist: Deluxe Design and Decor, provided by Leal Vineyards

Daniel and I met through mutual friends when we were living in Portland. Daniel is from LA and I am from SF. We would see each other at parties now and then but he did not ask me out for two years because his roommate liked me (gross). About one year into our relationship, Daniel’s mother – who had been battling cancer – fell ill. He moved down to LA to be with her, and I moved down to be with all of them shortly after. Sadly, she passed away the following year. When Daniel proposed to me it was with her rings. The center ring had 3 diamond clusters and there were 2 diamond guards. Cat, who manages a jewelry store, re-designed the ring. It turned out a lot bigger than I expected, and when I first saw it I was so appalled and upset I cried. But this was also the same reaction I had to the marriage proposal, so I thought maybe it was a good sign. After wearing it for a week I completely fell in love with the ring. What I didn’t tell Daniel, and what was the absolute hardest secret for me to keep until the day of our wedding, was that we used the original gold from her ring to make his band.

We wanted the colors to complement the barrel room where the reception was taking place. The barrel room was somewhat dark, and since this was a fall wedding we chose burnt orange and Cabernet as the main palette with pale green as an accent color. When I say we, I mean my bridesmaid Cat – the gorgeous tattooed brunette. She is an insanely talented person with the best eye for aesthetics I have ever seen. This stuff is effortless for her; she pretty much designed the entire look of my wedding in a short conversation over breakfast.