A Savvy Couple: Sarah and James

Tell us a little bit about your wedding, when and where are you getting married?

We’re getting married at Kunde Estate in September – with the ceremony in the Dunfillan Ruins and the reception at Boot Hill. It was the first venue we toured, and we fell in love right away, comparing everything else we saw to it. We’re going for a romantic, rustic feel – and fall in the wine country couldn’t be a better backdrop.

Are you incorporating any special traditions or unique details into your wedding?

First and foremost, we want our wedding to be intimate. With over 150 people, we realize that might be a challenge, but we’re constantly reminding ourselves that our wedding is the first day of our marriage – and that at the end of the day, it’s about the two of us and our relationship. With that said, we’re ready to celebrate with our friends and family – those who have supported us through our crazy, long journey – and will be sure to incorporate pieces of our past and things that brought us to where we are today.

When did you know that he/she was “the one”?

James would say he knew in seventh grade, but it took Sarah a little longer  We were each other’s first kiss in the summer of 2003, and completely heartbroken when James’ family moved two and half hours away. But we stayed friends, regularly chatting until late hours of the night. We lived our own lives – James settled down in El Dorado Hills, and Sarah moved to San Luis Obispo. But we always stayed close. The summer after our freshman year of college, we knew we had something special. After months of James pursuing Sarah, in January 2009, she agreed to try a long distance relationship with him. The rest is history.

Images: Zack and Becky

A Savvy Couple: Erin & Manny

Tell us a little bit about your wedding, when and where are you getting married?

Erin was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, spending many weekends growing up in the Napa and Sonoma Valley with her family. So when it came time to pick a location for our wedding, the wine country was the natural choice. Over our 14 year journey to our nuptials, we have spent many long weekends and day trips visiting the area, drinking wines, indulging in the incredible local cuisine and relaxing. Since we currently reside in Miami, FL it was crucial to find a talented, fun and awesome wedding planner to help put our “destination wedding weekend” together. So, naturally we found Kelly at ASE and couldn’t be more relieved and excited! She has made the planning process of over a year enjoyable and FUN! Our wedding weekend kicks off on Friday, June 28th and includes the rehearsal dinner and welcome reception at Kunde Family Estates in Sonoma. Then, on Saturday, June 29th our wedding ceremony and reception will be held at the Sonoma Golf Club. The following morning, before we head off to Africa for our honeymoon, we are hosting a Thank You Brunch on Sunday, June 30th at our host hotel, the Sonoma Mission Inn for all guests.

Are you incorporating any special traditions or unique details into your wedding?

We have mixed parties in our wedding; Erin has 4 girls, 2 guys and Manny has 3 girls, 3 guys. While this isn’t groundbreaking, it is something that many of our guests haven’t experienced before. Since Manny is bi-lingual, Spanish and English will be blended throughout the wedding ceremony. We will also take time during the ceremony to honor our mothers and grandparents, all of whom have been incredible role models in our lives.

When did you know that he/she was “the one”?

For the both of us, there was a part that knew the we were “the one” for each other from the beginning. Our 14 year journey has certainly showed us that time and time again; no matter where we were in our lives, we always found our way back to one another. Even during the times that our relationship wasn’t romantic in nature, we were the best of friends; we have been there every step of the way. We met in college at the University of Miami and have been by each others side through some of our most formative years; becoming a responsible adult, through career challenges and successes, through heart aches and triumphs. We have been by each others side, physically and figuratively, for almost half of our lives! He is the love of my life. She is the love of my life. And we couldn’t be more excited to be married and start the next chapter if our lives.

Images: Allyson Wiley

A Savvy Couple – Kirsten and Kulwant

Tell us a little bit about your wedding, when and where are you getting married?

We are getting married at the Harvest Inn on July 13, 2013.  We chose California because it was where we went on one of our first trips together and we said back then, IF we were to get married, it would be in Napa Valley wine country!  That was three years ago.

Are you incorporating any special traditions or unique details into your wedding?

Ours is a destination wedding with nearly all of the guests flying in from Canada (Ontario).  We have arranged a few days of wine tours and other activities leading up to the wedding because we wish to create a memorable and enjoyable experience for our guests and to thank them for making the trek across the country.

For the actual wedding, we have created a fusion menu with both Indian and Californian cuisine and there will be lots and lots of color in the decor!  We also plan to write our own vows and my grandfather has offered my Nan’s wedding ring which will be attached to my bouquet so a part of her will be there with me on my special day.

When did you know that he/she was “the one”?

The very first night I met Kulwant, I knew he was special.  We were introduced at a party and were in our own little bubble for much of the night.  I loved his sense of humor and the way his eyes lit up when he smiled.  A week later, he surprised me by showing up at a function unexpectedly and we have been inseparable ever since.

This may sound cheesy but we still get excited to see each other at the end of a work day… he is my person and I look forward to spending the rest of my life with him.

A Savvy Couple: Angeline & Pierre

Tell us a little bit about your wedding, when and where are you getting married?

We are getting married on September 7th at The Carneros Inn. We wanted to have our wedding somewhere that was quiet and away from the city and The Carneros Inn was perfect!

Are you incorporating any special traditions or unique details into your wedding?

Pierre is French and I am Chinese so we’ll have a few traditions from each culture. From the Chinese side we’ll be having a small gate crashing ceremony and tea ceremony. From the French side, we’ll be giving out drageés as wedding favors and our wedding cake will be a croquembouche (It works out for us because we aren’t a huge fan of icing and fondant but we love cream puffs!). We are also going to have pears and tangerines as decorations because our nicknames are Pear and Tangerine.

When did you know that he/she was “the one”?

We met through a friend at art school. We get along really well, have the same interests and laugh at silly things all the time. We dated for 5 years and were inseparable and we knew were going to stay that way forever.

Images: Scott Clark Photography

A Savvy Couple: Eden & Phil

Tell us a little bit about your wedding, when and where are you getting married?

We are getting married in September at Saint Francis Solano Church, followed by a reception at Ramekins Culinary School in Sonoma. It’s going to be the best day ever. Our ASE planner Meren had her wedding at Ramekins last year, so we feel in very good hands. We can’t wait to be dinning outside under the string lights, looking out at the tables filled with our closest friends and family, watching them laugh and enjoy amazing food and wine.

We are both originally from Canada, and since moving to San Francisco over two years ago, wine country has become a favorite weekend destination for us. It has always been our dream wedding location, and we couldn’t have picked a better destination for our guests, most of whom will be flying out from Canada, to celebrate with us.

Are you incorporating any special traditions or unique details into your wedding?

We got engaged last June in Paris on the Eiffel Tower, which was followed by a trip through France. We will be incorporating small French details into the reception that tie into our love story, such as a macaroon dessert table, vintage postcards from France and dried lavender.

When did you know that he/she was “the one”?

Pretty much right away. When we first started dating, Phil had already agreed to a work move that would take him from Toronto to San Francisco. In the three months we had before the move, we squeezed in as much time and as many experiences as we could together, as if we had been dating for years. Saying goodbye at the airport was hard, but I think we both knew that I would soon (six months later and four trips to California) follow to San Francisco and we would live happily ever after.

A Savvy Couple: Allison & Andrew

We love getting to know our ASE couples and we’re kicking off this beautiful week with some fun Q&A with some of our couples! Up first, Allison and Andrew!

Tell us a little bit about your wedding, when and where are you getting married?

We will be getting married on August 30, 2013 at Auberge du Soleil. We are from Chicago but we decided that Napa Valley would be the perfect place for our wedding because of the beautiful scenery and of course our love of wine! We toured quite a few venues in the area but fell in love with the elegant yet rustic feel of Auberge and the breathtaking view.

Are you incorporating any special traditions or unique details into your wedding?

We are incorporating our love of food and wine into the wedding because eating and drinking are some of our favorite activities in the valley! Our rehearsal dinner will be taking place at The Bounty Hunter, which is one of the first restaurants we went to in the valley and make it a point to go on all of our trips out. We love the great BBQ and red wine and relaxed atmosphere. For the ceremony we are incorporating my love all things light pink through lush bouquets of peonies and roses.

As a couple we love to travel (our save the dates were faux boarding passes!) and hope to incorporate that into our reception with little details. One of our favorite trips we took was to Italy so at the end of the night we will have gelato delivered! We are having an intimate wedding with close friends and family attending. One of our mutual friends will be performing the wedding ceremony to give it a very personal feel.

When did you know that he/she was “the one”?

We both knew early on in the relationship that we loved each other very much. However, dating long distance took its toll on both of us and we separated for almost a year although we still kept in contact with each other. It was during that year apart that we both truly realized there was no way we could live without each other and we wanted to be together forever no matter what. It was after that realization I decided to move to Chicago to be with Andrew!