Alex and Rich's Wedding, 8/18/07, the Pavilion at the Villagio, Yountville, Napa Valley, California

I knew that Alex and Rich's wedding was going to be unlike any other, and I'm SO excited to finally post the photos and show you how it was so unique! This is a long one - lots to share!



First of all, the couple was amazing. Alex and I had been talking and emailing very often, so I got to be privy to a lot of the fun details as they evolved. It was great to finally meet Rich when we did their engagement portraits - they are perfect for each other!



Alex used to be in a roller derby league in LA, so her ushers were these lovely, sassy ladies on roller skates! What a great photo op!











May I just say that this was the BEST shoot we had ever done with it?! That's all thanks to goofy Devon - he may make silly faces but he checked the setup while I was taking the formal stuff, and these shots came out looking SO awesome! I mean, look at these guys - they're like a wine country commercial! I love it!



And then we have some more derby ladies... ooh la la! How hot is this?!





The ceremony and reception was all at the Pavilion at the Villagio in Yountville - a gorgeous, classy, and really fun space. I loved talking with Katherine, the event planner there! She was totally open to all the quirky things Alex and Rich brought in, and they were really accommodating with things like dogs, stinky cheese, setting up a bounce house, etc etc etc. I highly recommend the Villagio! Gorgeous hotel and spa, and the Pavilion area itself is just perfect for a wedding. This is like an epically beautiful place to get married, right in the heart of Napa, and (as one guest put it, close to midnight) stumbling distance to other hotels, restaurants, etc, in lovely downtown Yountville.



Very wine country, see?





The Villagio caters and the food was also amazing. I saw that the child's meals had beautiful heirloom tomatoes on their cheeseburgers!

Rich and his brother/ best man had really cool vintage ties from Rich's vintage collection:





You know who else was in suit and tie?



Yup, they had the whole getup!



They got quite a reaction coming down the aisle:



Alex's dress had some beautiful blue custom beading, done by her "maven of honor":



During the ceremony the sun was pouring down which made for some fun sun flare:



But I didn't want to get too carried away. Thank goodness for lens shades (and for parasols - so cute!)





The ceremony was very sweet, with lots of tender moments, funny speeches, poems, and songs. I could tell that they have a wonderfully supportive family and friend group!





Then! After the formal stuff, a cocktail hour, dinner and a few toasts (all of which are on the slideshow, but I want to feature more of the unique details), everyone moved over to the Barrel Room, which was set up with things like:



An old fashioned candy bar with model cars (A&R are big vintage car people. Their seating arrangement was laid out on vintage hubcaps, and each table had a vintage car's hood ornament demarcating it.)

Which resulted in many cute and happy kids:



A cupcake tower:





An "Alex and Rich" piñata (which they didn't end up breaking, and I'm glad!):



A swanky lounge band called Project Pimento, which played all kinds of groovy stuff like lots of Bond movie themes, the Pink Pather theme, "the Girl from Ipanema", etc etc.



A "cheese cake" made out of rounds of delicious, potent cheeses!



Aaaaand of course... the aforementioned bounce house!









I must confess... I've never seen a bouncy house almost tip over before! This one was definitely rocking with adults and kids alike! Everyone danced, bounced, and partied until almost midnight. The weather was perfect and the party was definitely swinging!



Edited: Slideshow has been removed, 10/16/2008.



Edited: Slideshow has been removed, 10/16/2008.

And the link to their engagement shoot photos.

What a wonderful wedding!