Fill these wedding favor cones with cinnamon roasted almonds. Or Hershey Kisses. Or Jelly Bellies. Or Lavender Buds. What about rose petals? Fill them with whatever your little heart desires. The cool thing? These free wedding templates from Martha Stewart are easy as pie, and depending on what you fill them with, they can be very inexpensive. Just purchase some crepe paper, ribbon and some colored paper to print out the favor cones.
Miles of rolling hills strung with lush green grapevines that are ripe with plump, sweet grapes. It’s no wonder that so many brides and grooms head to wine country to tie the knot. A vineyard is a gorgeous setting to say ‘I do.’
Whether you are looking for an outdoor ceremony amidst the vines, or an intimate wine themed reception indoors overlooking the vineyard, wineries are ideal small wedding venues for couples wanting to add the splendor of nature to their nuptials.
Wineries not only provide a picturesque setting, many are equipped to meet a couple’s wedding day needs from start to finish.
From coast to coast, there are thousands of wineries across North America – with California being the most abundant source.
Misty and Michael got married at Castoro Cellars, a winery on California’s Central Coast.
A small stone circle, amidst trees and grass in the vineyard served as the altar for the 60-guest vineyard wedding.
“Our ceremony began at 6:30 pm, an hour or so before sunset,” says Misty. “Seeing the hills beyond the winery at dusk amazed us.”
Instead of having the guests seated in rows, the wedding guests formed a circle around the couple.
Just after the ceremony, guests gathered in a grassy area in the vineyard where hors d’oeuvres were passed around butler-style. The bar and tasting room were also open at this time.
Finally, guests were seated for a “winemaker’s dinner.”
“We served a Mediterranean menu, family-style. Each course was brought to the table and passed around with everyone serving themselves. Also, a bottle of wine was introduced with each course and every table received a description of how that particular wine complemented the course,” says Misty. “The whole family-style service really sparked conversation.”
Misty says the wedding was even more beautiful than she imagined.
“Everyone was totally in tune with love, romance and friendship … I’ve never seen that achieved with a wedding of 300 – or even half that amount,” she says. “We planned the darn thing, and WE were impressed.”
Bonnie, 35 & Kevin, 35
Sylvan Lake Estates in Angwin, CA (Napa, County)
Wedding Date: September 20, 2008
Number of Guests: 36
Wedding Ceremony Location: The ceremony and reception took place in the front gardens of a gorgeous Tudor estate in the hills above Napa Valley. The home is owned by friends of the groom’s parents.
Wedding Reception Location: See above
Why did you have an intimate wedding?
Kevin and I had been dating for nearly eight years, and when we decided to get married we knew that for us, a large elaborate wedding simply wasn’t going to do. It didn’t fit our personalities. We contemplated exchanging vows on a glacier in Iceland, or at a kasbah in Morocco, both places we had visited and loved, but then we realized that what would mean the most to us would be to exchange our vows in front of the people who had loved and supported us throughout our lives.
What are some the challenges that you faced planning an intimate wedding?
The biggest challenge is saying no! The wedding industry is so geared to large, elaborate, circus type events where you are pressured to do EVERYTHING, and where every little thing has to mean SOMETHING. You have to be very focused on choosing what is important to you, and sticking to those goals throughout the planning process. It’s so hard when there is so much information on how to do a wedding “right”, and right involves about 3,000,000 things that really mean nothing to you, but you’re worried about offending someone and about etiquette and you’re thinking about your friend’s wedding who had the doves, the photo booth. The list is endless.
Was it difficult to pare down the guest list?
Not really because we kept going back to our original goal; sharing our wedding day with those people who had loved and supported us throughout our lives.
Did you have any ‘issues’ with the small guest list from friends and family? If so, how did you address them?
Originally our guest list was going to only involve parents from each family, however, my mother – in one of those brilliant ‘mother moments’, convinced me that it would be lovely to involve immediate family from each side. She was absolutely right. Not all of them could come due to the distance, but it certainly was the right thing to do in our situation. I can’t imagine not having had my aunts and uncles there.
What were the highlights of the ceremony?
So the funniest story involves our vows. Kevin and I come from very different religious backgrounds, and for us organized religion is very much not a part of our lives. Keeping religion out of the vows was important to both of us, and we emphasized that at length with the Officiant. However, somehow our customized vows did not make it to the ceremony, and every other sentence involved God, Christ, or the Holy Ghost. At first, I just raised my eyebrows a little, but then, after the 20th God, Christ and Holy Ghost, we just got the giggles. So we spent half the ceremony trying very hard not to make each other laugh.
The sweetest part of the ceremony was when my 14-year old daughter walked me down the aisle. Fourteen is such an emotional age, and she was a bit overcome, and started crying while she was giving me away. It was so touching and somehow very beautiful.
What were the highlights of the reception?
The most moving moment was our best man Joe’s toast … He’s as close to a brother as Kevin and I will ever have. Joe gave such an emotional speech, sharing with everyone just how much he loved us and what an impact we had on his life … It brought everyone to tears.
What was the best thing about having an intimate wedding?
Being able to spend quality time with every guest without feeling rushed. I was so relaxed and happy, and had the time to relish each and every moment.
What advice do you have for couples who are considering an intimate wedding?
One bit of advice is that an intimate wedding isn’t always an inexpensive wedding, so don’t let budget be the only reason you’re having an intimate wedding.
Beyond that, remember to be true to yourselves, have fun and remember to breathe!
Vendors:
Caterer: Piper Johnson Catering
Piper Johnson manages events at the estate, and handled all the food and rental items.
Flowers: Flowers by Anne Anne Nounou does a phenomenal job of creating beautiful flower arrangements at a very budget-friendly rate.
Wedding Cake: Sweetie Pies
I still have dreams of this cake – it was THAT good.
Photographer : Susan Adler
Susan is an artist when it comes to photojournalism. She just has that way of capturing those special moments and making them come alive in the photographs. There isn’t a single photo she took that I’m not in love with.
Dress: Custom Couture by Amy Kuschel
Amy does “custom couture” gowns for a very reasonable price. The saddest part of my wedding day was putting away my gown. I have never felt more gorgeous than I did wearing her design.
Photos: Susan Adler Photography
The words wedding and home don’t always go together, especially if you are having a big guest list. However, if you have opted for a small wedding the two can be a match made in heaven.
At-home weddings are becoming increasingly popular, especially for couples who want to add a personal touch to their weddings.
With 60 percent of couples living together, many already own homes and love the idea of tying the knot there. Others couples may choose to get married at the home of a relative or friend.
For many couples, have a wedding at home means a small guest list. Stephanie and Mark, for instance, had only 25 people at their farm wedding.
“They live in a great heritage farmhouse. An artist lived there in the 1940’s and painted spectacular murals on the walls in the living room and dining room, so it is quite a backdrop for a wedding, especially combined with all of the flowers we had,” says Stephanie.
Julie and Mike got married in the home Julie grew up in, surrounded by only eight guests.
“I had lived my entire life there until I was 21, when I bought my own house an hour away. My dad was the original owner of the house, and I remember how proud he was when he made the last house payment. To be married there made me feel closer to my dad,” says Julie. “It added to the intimacy that there were few guests and the house is somewhat small. It just felt right.”
Although the words wedding and home can be a match made in heaven for many, they are not for everyone. Depending on how elaborate the wedding is, they can be more costly and stressful than a wedding elsewhere.
If you are having your wedding outdoors at your home or the home of a friend or relative, chances are you will have to rent a tent, as well as tables, chairs, and linens – which can add quite a bit to your costs. Even if you are having the wedding indoors, there’s a chance you won’t have enough tables and chairs to accommodate everyone. Unless you are making dinner yourselves or having family do it, you will also have to hire an outside caterer.
There’s also the stress of getting your home ready for the Big Day. (Trust me. I know all about this one. We had our outdoor wedding at our home and it was a lot of work getting our digs ready!) To reduce your workload, enlist friends and family (we sure did!) to help get your house ready. Also, have them help decorate, which can reduce your costs.
Last, but not least – make sure your bathroom facilities can handle the wear and tear of frequent use. If not, consider renting portable restrooms. The last thing you want on your wedding day is an overflowing toilet! You don’t want the words wedding and home to spell disaster!
Creating the wedding guest list is a breeze for some couples. For others it’s the source of some serious conflict.
The first thing to consider is whether you want a large wedding or one with a more intimate feel.
If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve chosen the latter and the task of creating your wedding guest list will be a little more challenging. (Can we really leave Aunt Hilda off the list?)
Another factor that will come into play when creating your guest list is who’s footing the bill. If your parents are major financial contributors, then naturally they’ll have more say in who to invite. If you’re paying for the majority of your wedding you will have more control of the guest list.
Some questions to ask yourself when creating your guest list:
– Who are the important people in our lives?
– Is it necessary to invite co-workers?
– Are we including guests simply out of guilt? (i.e. They invited you to their weddings.)
– Are we including guests that we haven’t seen within the last year?
– What if a guest does not have a significant other. Are we allowing guests to bring dates?
– Do we want to invite children?
– What about extended family? Is it necessary to invite second cousins and great aunts?
Going small
Although intimate weddings can be lovely, having a small guest list can mean some difficult decisions because it will mean that some people in your lives will be excluded. This can result in hurt feelings.
Also, parents might not agree with your idea of having an intimate wedding. They might be upset by the idea that certain family members will be excluded.
Friends and co-workers that aren’t invited might also take offence at your decision to go small.
It will require strength to deal with people that don’t agree with your decision to have an intimate wedding. The best way to handle difficult people is with honesty. Tell them the reasons why you are having a small wedding, and that it would be impossible for you to invite everyone you know to the wedding.
Not everyone will come around. That’s okay. This is your wedding. Stay true to yourselves.
Besides, you can always have a post-wedding party to include those that aren’t invited to your wedding!
