winery wedding – Hazel Photo Weddings

Carneros Resort and Spa Wedding

On our initial conversation, I immediately fell for Christine and Craig’s love story. They were friends from college that reconnected during COVID when a group of friends escaped to a big house in Rhode Island to ride out the lockdown. Here they fell in love.

Their wedding at Carneros was a true testament to their relationship and style. Not all couples that self-describe as “laid back but stylish” are truly both, but to their credit, Christine and Craig embody those traits fully and every detail made that evident throughout their wedding day.

During their engagement session in the Richmond neighborhood of San Francisco, we visited their favorite bar and bookstore before wandering out to China beach. The images captured pieces of their connection and the ease of their relationship. Click here for more.

Fast forward to their wedding day, we find ourselves in the heart of Napa Valley. It was my second time at Carneros Resort. The first time I visited, the ceremony unfolded at the arbor, and the reception took place in a banquet hall. For Christine and Craig, everything was set at the top of the hill, offering breathtaking views of sprawling vineyards amongst rolling hills washed in tender golden light.

The florals that made up Christine & Craig’s wedding altar exhibited a whimsical, almost creature-like quality. The vibrant arrangements added a touch of playfulness to the natural surroundings. Green Petal Designs knew exactly what they were doing!

Upon arrival, wedding guests were greeted with a refreshing drink, setting the tone for the festivities.

Parasols were provided for sun protection during the ceremony, adding not only practicality but also a visual element to frame the wedding altar.

Dinner was hosted in a courtyard with an outdoor fireplace, seated between a pair of buildings with the glow of bistro lights illuminating the scene from above. This lent a cozy feeling to the affair, dare I say hygge.

Christine & Craig wrote short notes to each of their guests as place cards, and their tables were named after meaningful places from their lives, complete with illustrations and photographs from each locale.

When dinner had drawn to a close, Christine & Craig slipped away for an outfit change. Christine’s day-to-night flipped from modern white wedding gown, to red sequined cocktail dress, Craig’s from white tuxedo jacket, to navy blue velour tux adding an exciting dimension to the celebration.

They rejoined the party just in time for a Chinese Lion Dance, complete with a jungle gym apparatus for the dancers to climb and jump around. By the end of the performance Craig and Christine were out there with the lions who were glowing red and blue.

Nieces and nephews added verve and joie de vivre throughout the evening, thoroughly enjoying the festivities.

DJ Justin skillfully curated the soundtrack, ensuring the dance floor was pulsing from start to finish.

As it grew late, the atmosphere remained enchanting. The mini ice cream cone late-night snack delighted guests, especially me.

Planning & Design: @somethingblueproductions, website

Photography: @hazelphotoweddings

Videography: @strehlowphotoandfilm.co

Venue: Carneros Resort and Spa

Floral: @greenpetaldesigns, website

DJ: @justintertainment

Lion Dancers: @liondanceme, website

Rentals: @encoreeventsrentals, website

Beauty: @gracelinmakeup, website

Signage: @olympicplaceprints, website

Thomas Fogarty Winery Wedding

Lisa and Alex were married at Thomas Fogarty Winery on October 23, 2021. Lisa had first reached out to me about photographing her wedding, almost exactly two years previous on October 24^th of 2019. While they did intend to have their wedding at Thomas Fogarty on October 24^th 2020, I wouldn’t put it past Lisa to find a photographer two years in advance. From that initial Zoom conversation I felt great excitement and anticipation about Lisa and Alex’s wedding. She was so positive and organized, and a delight to communicate with. Well… we all got to hold onto that feeling of anticipation much longer than we thought we might.

Lisa and Alex met as college students at UC Berkeley. Their friends and family were scattered across the country and globe, so gathering at Thomas Fogarty Winery with its hilltop retreat feeling was appealing.

After more than a year, we finally had the chance to meet in person in May of 2021 on the UC Berkeley campus for their engagement session. But more about that in the blogpost about their delightful UC Berkeley engagement session here.

Thomas Fogarty is a special type of winery and vineyard. It is both perched on a mountaintop, and yet a comfortable drive from San Francisco. The approach along Skyline is glorious: a wooded ridge line reveals views out into the valley. The Winery itself is composed of a series of generous buildings built into the hilltop with the view at top of mind. Almost every room looks out over the sky, the vineyards, and the valley below.

We began Lisa and Alex’s wedding day with a Chinese tea ceremony out on the deck under the gaze of a large double happiness symbol and a floral arch incorporated into one. The tea ceremony ritual that centers the elders and the ancestors took on a deeper meaning as a result of the delay caused by the pandemic. Finally the elders were able to gather safely to bless the young couple . Even at the height of the pandemic, an elopement was possible at a dining room table over Zoom, but this in-person blessing of elders could not happen safely before the vaccine, and finally, here it was. After the tea ceremony, Lisa and Alex changed out of their qipao and changshan into outfits a bit more suitable (get it?) for dancing, and we ran out into the vineyard to catch the last of the light and make a few photographs before dinner, toasts and dancing.

Thanks to everybody who made the day run so smoothly, especially Jutta Lammerts of a Day Like No Other, who dotted all the is and crossed all the ts.