By Liese Gardner & Mandy Scott

Many couples choose spring or summer for vineyard wedding celebrations. Those are gorgeous times of the year, to be sure, but they are missing what I think is one of the more luminous times in the Bay Area.

In November, the grapes have been harvested, the old vines pruned and new ones planted. What is left is a perfectly manicured crop; rows and rows of what is the beginning of the next season. The sun glows with a different warmth and sets the foliage alight with warm amber tones. What a magical time to plant the seeds of a new marriage!

Faith and John did just that for their November ceremony at the Los Altos Methodist Church followed by a reception at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga in the Silicon Valley.

The ceremony was especially important to them as a time to reflect and honor their faith. Decor here was all about setting the right tone. An aisle strewn with rose petals and sunlight that streamed through the A-frame windows at just the right moment was perfect! 

At the winery, we set the tables with La Tavola’s Nuovo champagne linens and then adorned them with centerpieces with fall fruit such as berries, pomegranates and pears. The burnt red and orange, along with deep blues and greens went beautifully with the rustic look architecture of the winery.

After dinner, the couple performed a song as a surprise and a thank you to their guests. Faith played the violin and sang while John accompanied her on the piano. The band added orchestration at just the right moments.

After the cake cutting, and during the dancing, we arranged for the popular Cal favorite food truck, Top Dog, to arrive. It gave everyone the needed energy to carry on into the wee hours. And for this international couple, energy well past the evening was important – following this celebration, they were off to hold celebrations in both Taipei and Sydney, Australia, for their friends and family who were unable to travel to California!

The Creative Team