Sweet, Intimate Napa Valley Wedding: Kelly & Daniel {a Lovely Little Details affair}

Featured on Style Me Pretty. Images by Jessica Burke Photography

Sunshine, laughter, tears of joy, love, and lots of lovely little details. All was encompassed in this Napa Valley Wedding, which is oh so near and dear to my heart as it was the first wedding I planned and designed as Lovely Little Details, working with the sweetest couple you ever did meet, Kelly and Daniel. The lovely bride and groom live on the east coast and planned their destination wedding from afar, which is where their need for a wedding planner/designer came in to play. After my first phone consultation with Kelly, I could immediately tell that she was an absolute doll - a true sweetheart in every essence of the word - and we immediately hit it off. What really resonated with me about this couple, though, was their top priority for the weekend “We want our wedding to be an intimate and special time for our friends and family”. These two wanted to make sure that their guests felt thought and cared about, and that was such a sweet sentiment to me, to see a couple thinking of the bigger picture outside of material things.

All images were taken by the ever-so-talented and sweet Jessica Burke of Jessica Burke Photography.

From the couple: All together, we wanted the day and the details to be cohesive, not overwrought, where each came together to build an atmosphere where our guests could celebrate a very special day with us. We wanted our guests to really build a vacation out of a long weekend and to get to know one another. We wanted it to be an experience.

Kelly also has impeccable taste, and a sense of style. I loved the off-white J.Crew bridesmaid dresses, paired with the simple and elegant tuxes (the groom was dressed in Burberry).

And that gown - oh, that gown. Kelly was an absolute vision in her Vera Wang wedding gown and veil. Simply stunning in every way.

Oh, and PS: in my next life, I need a tree swing wedding photo. As soon as I saw that swing when Kelly and I were doing a site visit, I said “you need to get your pictures taken in that swing.” I just love it.

So as for the venue, Kelly & Daniel found a private estate in Calistoga, CA that was the perfect location for the weekend’s events, and some of the bridal party even stayed there with the family, bride and groom. From Kelly: The logistics of planning a destination wedding, even one for our small guest list were daunting, but manageable due to help from a number of our friends, family and our planner/designer, Jacin of Lovely Little Details. She listened to my ideas and wild visions for design and received shipment after shipment of things from the east coast we had started collecting for the wedding. 

One of my favorite parts of designing/setting up Kelly’s wedding was setting up the cocktail hour lounge. I was joined by my event designer, Chelsea Ryan Santos, on the day before the wedding (Chelsea also worked the day-of and was a huge asset to the management of logistics!), and we were able to play around with existing furniture at the estate, along with rentals, to create a space for cocktail hour, on the side lawn of the estate. This area was originally going to be where the ceremony was held, and we were going to use wooden pews to line the aisle, but just days before the wedding, the weather report was ominous and we had to make a game time decision to book a church as our plan B, just in case it rained. The church ended up being the perfect option in the end, and we used this area instead for libations and lawn games, with my hand-drawn chalkboard signs to point out the croquet and bocce areas. Chelsea and I also rolled the wine barrels to this area to create a bar setup (you should have seen the two of us moving these monster barrels, it must have been quite a sight!) We placed the cocktail rounds on the stone path and covered them with gorgeous cream-colored textured linens from La Tavola.

I custom designed the paper goods from placecards, to favor tags, to the “keep warm” signage placed in the rustic wicker basket filled with blankets, just in case a chill hit the air after the sun went down.

As this was a private estate, we had to bring everything in, from cocktail rounds, to the outdoor bar, to the long wooden tables, linens and all glassware, silverware and china. Kelly and I spoke on the phone and via email frequently, tying together the details and I made visits on their behalf to the flower mart, event and linen rental companies, and to the estate to take measurements and photos to make sure everything was exactly as they would have wanted.

I could seriously look at those flower images all day! The gorgeous blooms were done by the bride herself - yes, every bouquet, bud vase, and arrangement was crafted by Kelly. And they were absolutely stunning.

The favors consisted of custom printed wooden wine crates with the bride and groom’s wedding logo from Poole and Sons, filled with excelsior (note to self, don’t wear all black when filling wine crates with wooden shavings) and chocolate truffles, along with rosemary sea salt favors that I made (find the DIY tutorial here).

Guests enjoyed dinner and dancing to the music of Fil Lorenz Orchestra, with a big band sound playing Frank Sinatra and classic favorites, while mason jar tealights twinkled around the reflection pool in the courtyard, providing a romantic ambiance for a lovely evening.

And finished off with cake and macarons from Chef Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery, to end the night on a sweet note. Kelly found that amazing crown cake topper at Santos Cage Doll; it was a perfect detail. Recognize those kraft wrapped treats? I gifted the bride & groom with some fleur de sel caramels from The Caramel Jar, to add a sweet and savory accent to the simple and refined dessert table. They were a hit, as always!

It was a true joy to work with Kelly & Daniel, and bring their vision to reality. I wish them all the best in their new journey as husband and wife, they deserve all the blessings that life has to offer.

To book an event or for more information on services, click here.

Wedding Photography: Jessica Burke Photography / Floral Design: Bride / Wedding Design + Planning: Lovely Little Details / Band: Fil Lorenz Orchestra / Wedding Cake: Bouchon Bakery/ Ceremony Location: Grace Church, St. Helena / Bride’s Make-up + Hair: Betten Chaston / Wedding Invitations: The Bride / Calligraphy: Carmela Mazzarulli / Reception Location: Private Estate / Custom Wine Boxes: Poole and Sons / Custom Rosemary Sea Salt Favors: Jacin Fitzgerald of Lovely Little Details / Wedding Dress + Veil: Vera Wang / Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Bridesmaid Dresses:J.Crew / Groom’s Tuxedo: Burberry / Fleur de Sel Caramels: The Caramel Jar / Linens: La Tavola/ Rentals: Classic Party Rentals

Tagged as: elegant, intimate, LLD wedding, lovely little details client, simple, sweet