My husband and I live in NYC, however we are both originally from California, so naturally we knew we wanted to get married in California. What did not feel so natural was trying to find a location and venue living across the country. We honed in on the Napa region immediately and planned a trip to visit several sites. After schlepping to and from meetings and site visits in Napa, we realized the location was not easily accessible for our guests, who are from all over the country, and nothing resonated with our vision and style. We quickly switched gears and focused on the city. After much research, I stumbled upon Flood Mansion online. My parents quickly scheduled a site visit and we were sold! The space is timeless, historical, cozy for our guests and has breathtaking views. Our number one focus through the entire wedding planning process was our guests! We had been together since college, so we wanted our wedding to be an evening of pure celebration of us, our families and friends. We made it a priority to have good food, energizing music, a large beverage selection and transportation available. Nail down your priorities early and then lock down vendors you love ASAP!
With our style being classic, clean and contemporary I wanted to be able to look back at our wedding photos without being appalled by the color choice or dresses. So we stuck with a neutral color palate. With that being said, I could not fall in love with a white dress. I was keen to find a dress that was contemporary, but classic. However, I didn’t want it to be expected. I was a sales woman’s worst nightmare. I tried on dresses for eight months and first saw my dress in Town & Country Magazine. It is true; you will know when you put it on. It may take trying on 200 dresses, but it will happen. Trust me and think outside the box of standard white wedding gowns.
Our wedding day was perfect in every way. We loved the morning spent with family and friends, the speeches and watching our guests cut a rug on the dance floor — ripped tux pants and all! My biggest piece of advise to a couple planning their wedding is don’t over complicate the details; hit the easy button. Also, do take a minute to step back and take it all in. This is hard, but the day will be the best of your life, but also the fastest!
