• Real Weddings

After getting engaged in a hot air balloon, Carlyn and Davey created their wedding based on their love of craft beer and great Sonoma County wine. This bright and colorful wedding combined the couples theme of "Eat, Drink and Be Married," their unique engagement, and the bride's love of flowers into a memorable event.
Be sure to view all of the noteworthy details from this navy blue summer wedding at Green Music Center in the full gallery here, all beautifully captured by Volatile Photography. Who also happens to be part of our hand-picked wedding collection. Learn more about Volatile Photography here.

From the Bride:Our theme was also displayed on our favorite decor items, playful chalkboards that were illustrated by our good friend and groomsmen, John Kelley. The Green Music Center is so naturally beautiful and we didn't want to overpower that with outside decor. We tried to keep our ceremony decor simple yet tied to the rest of our decor found during the reception. We chose a birch arch because it was simple, natural and blended well with the surroundings.

Our families played a huge role in helping to create our DIY projects. My mother designed and sewed the navy and grey ring bearer pillow and fixed up the flower girl basket she used as a young girl for my niece to use at our wedding. Our wedding was especially unique because of our officiant — my father. Having my dad marry us has always been a dream of mine. I will never forget the joy of not only being walked down the isle by him but also being married by him. Although you can't see it in pictures, he had tears running down his face the entire ceremony.

The "Newlywed Bench" was a style of guest book where our guests signed an outdoor bench with their names and well wishes. The newlywed bench was an idea from the father of the bride. He envisioned this bench to be something we could have in our home forever and that would always be a wonderful reminder of that day.

We wanted to incorporate that into our wedding somehow without it becoming too whimsical. We loved the other thumbprint designs we have seen from other weddings and thought it would be so easy to apply to a hot air balloon! My Maid of Honor printed our names, our wedding date and a hot air balloon basket on a canvas and our guests added their thumbprints to create a large hot air balloon. We chose to do only fingerprints and not have anyone sign it because we had the newlywed bench. This was simply a fun piece of art that we could hang in our home to remind us of our engagement and wedding!

Along with wines from Everett Ridge Winery and an IPA from Lagunitas Brewing Company on the drink menu was the crowd favorite — a pale ale beer brewed by the groom and his friend cleverly named "Hoppily Ever After." This wedding incorporated this couples love of craft beer and great Sonoma County wine not only in drink menu, but also in the decor. Corks from the couples favorite wineries were used as holders for the escort cards and table name signs, with each table being named after a different wine.

Davey's mom and sister experimented for months with dessert recipes before spending hours the day before the wedding baking all of our wonderful bite-sized desserts, including lemon bars, raspberry cheesecakes and coconut macaroons. We incorporated some family history into our wedding through our raw almond favors, which were a tribute to my grandparents, who were almond farmers.

Photographer: Volatile Photography

Venue: Green Music Center Hair & Makeup: April Demello from The Parlor Cake: Bianchi's Bake Shop DJ: DJ Shabazz Dress Designer: Galina Couture Flowers: Stems Floral Groom's Attire: Vera Wang Shoe Designer: B.A.I.T. Footwear Stationery: Fine and Dandy Paperie Caterer & Prop or Furniture Rentals: Prelude at the Green Music Center Linen Rentals: Encore EventsBeverages: Everett Ridge Winery & Lagunitas Brewing Company Officiant: Father of the Bride | Desserts: Sister of the Groom