If you ask me, vineyard weddings are pretty by default. Picture perfect scenery and, um….wine?! But then there are those vineyards that are just gorgeous, like today’s from Melissa Prosser Photography. Personal details and beautiful fall colors abound in this one, folks. Don’t miss the image gallery!
Can you give us an overview of the event? We were married at Wolf Mountain Vineyards in Dahlonega, GA. Todd’s family is from Ohio and mine is from Alabama so we wanted a venue that allowed our families to enjoy the beautiful scenery. We both love wine and getting married at a vineyard was a perfect fit for us! Our guests were able to overlook the Appalachian mountains during sunset at the reception and enjoy the local wine.
Tell us how you met. Was it love at first sight, blind date, friends forever? We want to know the particular! It was love at first sight! We met on eHarmony and I was very pessimistic on the process of meeting the love of your life online but that is exactly what happened! When I met Todd for the first time I didn’t want the night to be over. We immediately set up a second date and I had to cancel at the last minute due to unexpected travel for work. We still joke about that today! I made up for it and drove hours to meet him at the airport before he flew out for his next trip. We have been inseperable since our third date and I am so thankful that eHarmony introducted us.
Was there a specific theme or style? The style for the wedding was focused around fall colors. I have always loved the fall and the changing of leaves and I really wanted to incorporate the beautiful colors in our flowers. Thankfully the weather also cooperated for us and it was nice and cool, the perfect start to fall! We also incorporated our love of cooking and drinking great wine. We chose Wolf Mountain for their great wine selections and also incorporated our love for cooking into our wedding favors.
What inspired the theme or style? We tried to incorporate our personalities and interests into the wedding. We wanted our guests to walk away knowing that our celebration reflected who we are together as a couple.
Now for the proposal… details! I had no clue that Todd would consider proposing the way he did, he accomplished what he set out to do….Surprise me! I came home from a long day at work and Todd poured me a great glass of wine from his last trip out to California. I love to scrapbook and he told me that he put together a digital scrapbook to show me. We went down to our basement at home and he put on a DVD. The DVD went through our entire dating process, every trip, every milestone and all the pictures to go with it. I was crying within minutes! As the DVD progressed, the slide went blank and it said “On June 1, 2010 we took a very big step in our relationship….” I was totally confused thinking….but that’s today. Then it said: “We got engaged!!!” I looked over at Todd in shock and saw he was holding the ring. I started sobbing and told him “YES!” As if that wasn’t enough, he asked me to look again at the television and the next slide said, “Two days later we left to spend the weekend in Napa Valley to celebrate. ” I am so touched that he went through all the effort that he did to make this time in our relationship so special.
What were your playful twists that made the event unique? We did several things to make our event unique: We had our guests throw paper airplanes when we left the reception instead of the traditional bubbles or sparklers. My husband and I are both avid travels for work and leisure and we wanted to incorporate that into the wedding. All of our guests immediately got the pun and loved the idea! One of our favorite things to do together is stay home and cook. We created a website where our guests could enter their favorite recipes. It was a year long effort but we walked away with a treasured and unique wedding favor. We included family pictures into the cookbook and all of our guests loved them. We also included Georgia themed items in the OOT bags for our guests including: peanuts from Plains, GA where Jimmy Carter is from, Peach preserves, Goody’s Powders because you can’t find them in the North, and personalized water bottles. My husband grew up on a farm in Ohio. His parents raised pigs and Todd grew a love for all things pork. His grooms cake was a cheesecake made into the shape of a pig’s butcher chart. It was a huge hit at the wedding! I walked down the aisle to the song that was playing when Todd proposed to me. Brad Paisley, I hope that’s me. I cry every time I hear the song! We went to Italy in March of 2011 and fell in love with the country. (who wouldn’t right?) While we were walking through a small town I found a pair of blue hand made leather flats. They were on sale and in my size! I bought them and they made a sentimental touch to our wedding. Italy is one of our favorite countries and it was nice to have a part of that with me that day. I had a custom wedding dress hanger made for my dress. The hanger had Mrs. Grando written in wire on it and it was a special touch.
Describe your wedding in one-two sentences so that someone who didn’t attend can envision it. A day that reflected Todd and I as a couple. Beautiful weather, beautiful venue and great wine.
Tell us about the food and desserts. Wolf Mountain does a wonderful job on the food selections for the wedding. We chose to have a buffet to keep the atmosphere relaxed during the reception. We had so much food! Ham, beef, salmon and chicken were served for protein options and of course we had to have something southern on the menu! We served fried macaroni and cheese, it was a hit with our guests. We had our wedding cake and groomscake made at Classic Cheesecakes and Cakes in Atlanta, GA. Mark Lotti did such a wonderful job! My cake was cherry amaretto and the grooms cake was half oreo cheesecake and half vanilla bean cheesecake. I think the cheesecake was the hit of the dessert options!
We want to know about all the wedding details. Was it small and intimate or big and traditonal? It was an intimate ceremony. We really didn’t want anything super traditional. I wanted music played that reflected who we are together. We spent a lot of time and thought into making our celebration into an event that reflected what we love and who we are as a couple. We had approximately 100 people there, most of whom were out of state. Everyone seemed to love the quaint town of Dahlonega and the vineyard.
What kind of energy did your entertainment give the event? Our entertainment gave a lot of energy to the wedding. The ceremony and reception was handled by Spectrum Entertainment. Matt Osborne really focused on playing the music that was special to Todd and I. The ceremony was beautifully done and as we exited the ceremony Todd requested, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” by Stevie Wonder! It was hilarious and really reflected our fun personalities.
If there was one thing you could change, what would it be? I would have changed our flowers. The florist that we used really had poor communication with us and would return phone calls with emails. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the bouquet sizes that I wanted. The flowers were beautiful but I was just wanted something a little bigger for myself and the bridesmaids. Thankfully the colors and flowers that were used were perfect and beautiful. I would just recommend using a florist that had better communication.
Tell us about your wedding gown and what your wedding party wore. My wedding gown came from Priscilla of Boston. (Carter) I had the neckline altered to be a slight scoop and also added a sash. The bridesmaids wore dresses from Ann Taylor.
What was the best wedding advice you received? To take a moment during the celebrations and take it all in. I took a moment by myself during the reception after the cake had been cut and just took a mental picture for myself. The day goes by so fast and you really need a moment to take it all in.
What were the honeymoon plans? Wine tasting and relaxing in Paso Robles and Napa. We are wine club members at Justin and we spent four nights at one of their villas in the vineyard. We then traveled to Napa for another two nights.
Photographer – Melissa Prosser Photography | Programs – Kasey Hamel Custom Designs | Wedding Dress/Flower Girl Dress – Priscilla of Boston | Bridesmaids Dresses – Ann Taylor | Wedding Labels – Water bottles and gift bags | Cakes (both) – Classic Cheesecakes & Cake – Mark Lotti | Wedding Dress Hanger |Favor: Wedding Cookbooks |Entertainment: Spectrum Entertainment & Events
Callie | October 13th, 2011 | See all posts by Callie
