Winery and wedding buzz, February 2010

• Wine Tasting Bridal Shower Ideas - Angie Rayfield tells us that 'couple showers' are becoming increasingly popular and suggests two different approaches to organizing a wine tasting shower.
• Featured Wedding: Allison and Ian - at Talon Winery and Vineyard in Lexington, Kentucky.
• The Breezy Bride - a blog about Brianne Marikit's plans for a winery wedding in Napa. I wonder if she has selected her wedding favours yet?
• Petite Weddings & Elopements - have you dreamed of having a small intimate winery wedding?
• Napa Has Cold Feet Ahead of Wedding Decision -  a 20-year-old law effectively bans weddings at many Napa County wineries. Lifting it would open up many more locations. 
• How long before a good bottle of wine, once opened, becomes a stale disappointment? 
• Gemma and Josh are looking forward to their wedding in September at Maryland's Running Hare Vineyard.
• The Girl can't decide whether to choose Darlington Estate Winery or the Boatshed Restaurant, so she lays out the pros and cons of each.
• Rustic Vineyard Wedding Invitations by Sarah at Parrott Design Studio.
• Vineyard chic - a review of  six wedding gowns suitable for a vineyard wedding.
• Orfila Vineyards & Winery is holding a bridal show on April 11, 2010.
• Erin explains her inspiration for a  Rustic Chic wedding at Saltwater Farm Vineyard in Connecticut.
• A picturesque backyard vineyard wedding venue.
• Ideas wanted for an autumn vineyard theme.
• Small, intimate wedding in Napa/Sonoma - Suggestions Please!

Wine Country Weddings On the California Central Coast

By Laura Eggers

A wine country wedding conjures up images of colorful vineyards, earthy scents and romantically lit wine cellars. You need little in the way of decoration, as the setting is so naturally scenic. While most vineyards look similar, depending on the season and age of the vines, the winery buildings themselves can vary widely. Decide if you prefer the style of a country farmhouse, a French chateau or a simple stone building.
Another consideration is the winery's proximity to an airport and/or accommodations for out of area guests. Many wineries offer outdoor receptions overlooking the vineyard, perhaps with hors d'hoevres passed in an elegant tasting room. Some have wine cellars and barrel rooms that can be set up with candles in medieval style for the wedding dinner. A combination or variation of these can be incorporated, making the most use of the winery's natural attributes.

Another great thing about having a wine country wedding is that you really don't need much in the way of extra decorating costs. Plus, the gorgeous setting will enhance your wedding photos.
Popular wine tasting areas on the California Central Coast include Paso Robles, the Edna Valley near San Luis Obispo and the Santa Maria and Arroyo Grande areas. Not every winery offers wedding services, but the following places do. Call and inquire about their offerings, and then take a tour with your fiancé of the ones you are interested in. Be sure to taste their wines as well!

In the Paso Robles area, Jan Kris Winery is located in Templeton. They have a rose garden and gazebo as well as a banquet room with views of the vineyard. They can accommodate up to 200 people and will allow you to bring in an outside caterer. Call 805-434-039 or see jankriswinery.com.

Meridian Winery in Paso Robles can accommodate up to 150 guests in their Barrel Chai Room. Their outdoor herb garden can hold up to 200, while larger weddings can be held out on the lawn overlooking the vineyard. Call 805-226-7135 for more information.

Robert Hall Winery in Paso Robles has a wedding coordinator included. Their setting is on a hilltop overlooking the vineyards. Call 805-239-1616 or see roberthallwinery.com.

Other wineries in the Paso Robles area, which offer wedding facilities, include EOS Estate Winery, 805-239-2563, Justin Vineyards, 805-781-7303, and Zenaida Cellars, 805-227-0382.
In the San Luis Obispo and Edna Valley areas, Edna Valley Vineyard has indoor and outdoor facilities and includes a wedding coordinator. They have a patio, garden, lawn, a banquet room and cask room and can accommodate up to 250 people. You can bring any caterer you wish. Call 805-544-5855 or see ednavalleyvineyard.com.

Further south in the Arroyo Grande area, Laetitia Winery offers wedding services. Call them at 805-481-1772.

Laura Eggers Underhill is the author and publisher of the online travel guides www.experience-wine-country.com

Article Source:
EzineArticles.com/?Wine-Country-Weddings-On-the-California-Central-Coast&id=1021227

Using vintage wine bottle labels in your decor and stationery

A good source of inspiration for graphics to use in your vineyard wedding are old wine bottle labels. You can find lots of examples with Google's image search, and winegirl.ch has many labels organized by subject, such as these examples of Feminine Beauty Art Nouveau.

Obviously one must take care not to infringe any copyrights when using materials like this, but if you use really old labels where the copyright has expired you should be ok.

A label like the one shown here, could be photo-shopped to remove the text,  new background air brushed in its place, then your own text added using similar fonts, color and texture. It would make a great invitation and set the scene for a truly special day.

Four wines to consider for your wedding

Joe Hendricks shares with you some white wines that every bride would love to have at her wedding. You can find more of Joe's wine reviews at his blog, winesmash.com.

Leap Photography and Woodriver Cellars

Woodriver Cellars are located in the Snake River Valley appellation in Idaho. Winemaker Neil Glancey, produces award winning wines, using sustainable vineyard practices, tending the grapes himself and fermenting the wine in French oak barrels.

For weddings, the Wisteria trellis and rose garden offers many photo opportunities, and  a 6,000 square foot marquee tent is available for receptions, while the barrel room is ideal for smaller events and can accommodate upto sixty people.

One of their preferred vendors is Leap Photography of Boise, Idaho, and Brenda Leap has put together this slide show of weddings that she has covered at Woodriver Cellars.

Green decor

Your winery wedding ceremony may be against a backdrop of vines, so green might be a color to consider for your decor theme.

The Wedding Clique - Going Green from Henry Chen Photography on Vimeo.

Thomas Fogarty Winery preferred vendor showcase

Thomas Fogarty Winery, located in California between San Francisco and Silicon Valley, is hosting a Mix & Mingle on Sunday February 21st from 1-5pm. This will be an afternoon of mixing and mingling with some of the winery's preferred wedding professionals. They are showcasing photography, table designs, flowers, stationary, wedding gowns, catering, cake tasting, harp music, DJ's and dancing lessons.

Read more at Janae Shields Photography.

Planning your wedding with Google Docs

Google gets everywhere these days, and now they are making planning your wedding a whole lot easier with Google Docs templates designed specially for the task. These documents are online, so you can share them with others, access them from anywhere, even from your smartphone.

Google has teamed up with Style Me Pretty, who have added tips, ideas and inspirations to each of the spreadsheets.

A Photographer's Look at the Temecula Wedding Location Wilson Creek Winery

By Vanessa Honda and Stephen Honda

Although it is the photographer who has the greatest influence in the creation of an excellent photographic wedding collection, the location also has a dramatic impact. A wedding at Wilson Creek Winery in Temecula is a beautiful location for shooting a wedding and if shot correctly will contribute to a memorable wedding album.

The Vineyards are of course the attribute that sets this wedding location apart from other wedding location. When shooting in this location a photographer should use the natural, earthy, fresh backgrounds that this location permits. When shooting the actual ceremony, a photographer can get a variety of stunning shots by standing at the back of the ceremony location. Those in attendance sit in rows of chairs at the same level as where the ceremony takes place. The photographer, from behind those in attendance can climb to a higher point.  From this point of view, a photographer can get a shot of the entire ceremony with miles of rolling vine covered hills in the background. Of course a photographer needs to get close-up shots as well. Both objectives can be accomplished if one photographer shoots from the back with both a wide angle and a telephoto lens and another assistant is placed under the white gazebo where there the ceremony takes place.

One great place to take pictures of the bride is at the top of a couple flights of stairs of the lobby. There is a 19th century style black railing that goes around the hallway of the top floor of the lobby. A black and white or sepia shot of the bride against this railing creates an attractive retro look that will work well in a number of styles of albums.

Another location which is fun to shoot in is within the vineyards themselves. A picture the bride and groom framed with branches and grapes in the foreground with the couple centered between the branches in the background so that it looks as though the camera is peeking in on them as they gaze into each others eyes is another favorite shot available at this location.

Temecula has a number of beautiful locations for shooting a wedding. The Wilson Creek Winery if shot correctly will contribute much to any wedding album.

Vanessa is a Temecula Wedding Photographer who shoots in a number of Orange County, Riverside and San Diego Wedding Locations.

Article Source: A Photographer's Look at the Temecula Wedding Location Wilson Creek Winery

Wedding stationery

From the moment you get engaged, to thanking guests for their gifts, there are many times that you will need to send out notes to all your guests. These might include engagement announcements and parties, save the date magnets, wedding invitations, guest information cards, bridal showers and thank you notes.

There are many places where you can get these printed using off-the-shelf designs, but if you are at all creative and can use photo editing software, why not make your own personal designs and get those printed? This gives you the ability to maintain the vineyard theme in all your communications.

You can buy stock photographs quite cheaply at websites like istockphoto.com.You can search for photos on related subjects, and add your text before sending the file to printers such as vistaprint.com.  Here is an example I knocked up in just a few minutes.

Wine making at South River Vineyard

Just to get you in the mood for wine, here is a nice little video of wine making at South River Vineyard in Geneva, Ohio. The winery is housed in a century-old Chapel that was first built in 1892, and moved to its present location in 2000. The first couple exchanged vows at the restored altar in May 2002.

Ponte Winery, California

Imagine an outdoor wedding with a backdrop of vines and a reception surrounded by wines barrels. Take a look at this video shot by Inland Empire Video and Photo at Ponte Winery in Temecula, California.

Niagara vineyard wedding

This is a slide show of an outdoor wedding ceremony in the Cave Springs vineyard in the Niagara Region of Ontario. Even the bride's dogs were invited.

Photography by Dave and Charlotte.