Santa Barbara Mediterranean Wedding At Firestone Vineyard
Leila Drake and Chris Fossek tied the knot on a beautiful Saturday in May at Firestone Vineyard in Los Olivos, CA. Chris had spent most of his coming-of-age years living in and exploring Italy, so it was only fitting that he asked Leila to marry him while they were staying in a restored farmhouse in the countryside outside Siena in Tuscany. Their colors were Tuscan sunset themed - peaches, corals, pale yellows, creams, ivories, a dash of pale pink, a hint of dark orange, and some bright splashes of lavender and dark purples.
Keep reading to see more from their special day and get a closer look at the romantic Mediterranean wedding in the full gallery here, beautifully captured by Melissa Musgrove Photography.
From the Bride:The most special thing for me, was that my sweet, talented mother made my veil by hand. It was absolutely the veil of my dreams, accented with alencon lace to match the lace on my dress, and cascading beautifully all the way past the train of my dress. The comb of it was lovingly embellished with a piece from my grandmother's veil, that had also been on my mom's veil, and knowing that my grandmother was there in spirit, watching over me, was so meaningful.
We chose Firestone Vineyard for it's serene and peaceful location, for the steadfast and picturesque oak trees surrounding it, for it's rich involvement in the history of Santa Barbara County, for the comfort and convenience of the venue itself, the delicious wines, and the happy, positive feeling you get when visiting this lovely hilltop site, perched in the middle of a sunlit valley.
Life with Chris is always fun, always interesting, intriguing, hilarious, and comforting. I said it during our vows, but I do know that this is not our first lifetime together and it will not be our last. I truly believe that we exist within each other.
Chris and I wanted our wedding to have a Mediterranean, Italian vibe to it. My mother is from Lebanon and I am very proud of my Lebanese heritage, and Italy has been such a big part of the person Chris has become, so we wanted to express these things throughout the day. Along with the Mediterranean vibe, we wanted our wedding to be whimsical, dreamy, romantic. Nothing too perfect or structured, just organic and perfectly asymmetrical, which is why I LOVED our flowers from Kim Curtis of Toast so much!!! They were drapey, traily, perfectly unstructured, loose and flowing, and looked exactly like a beautiful Impressionist painting. I wanted tons of candles to add to the romance, and Firestone is already so beautiful that you don't need to add too much in the floral department. We wanted to enhance the natural beauty of where we were, not take away from it.
The rustic Firestone Vineyard is premier location for hosting your wedding in beautiful wedding. Their portfolio includes premiere vineyards in California and the Pacific Northwest. Founded by vintner Bill Foley, each property within the Foley Family Wines portfolio represents his commitment to ecological discovery and sustainable farming practices.
My favorite part was that our florist (Kim from Toast - AMAZING!!!!) hung candles from the tree branches, accented with the ribbons from my ballet pointe shoes. My bouquet, which was absolutely gorgeous, was also tied with the same ribbons. We chose to have an assortment of delicious mini cupcakes, with a token cake for us to cut, topped with custom bobbleheads of us! Chris's is a Spartan warrior which actually looks almost identical to him, and mine is a belly dancer, but doesn't look too much like me.... haha! The best part is that Chris is 6'7", and I am 5'3", but my bobblehead is taller than his! We still get a good chuckle about them.
The day was absolutely perfect, because of all the amazing vendors we chose, our fabulous wedding planner Tonya Szele of Soigne Productions, the beautiful scenery that surrounded us, and the love and happiness that was so explosively evident, both in our own hearts and from our loved ones around us. I absolutely loved every one of our vendors! I would recommend them to anyone and everyone getting married in the Santa Barbara area!
- Cakes & Catering: Rincon Events
- DJ: DJ Zeke
- Event Designer & Coordinator: Soigne Productions
- Flowers & Event Designer: Toast
- Groom & His Men: Bruno Magli
- Groom & His Men: Hugo Boss
- Paper Goods & Calligraphy: Beacon Lane
- Rings: Tiffany and Co.
- Shoe Designer: Ivanka Trump
- Venues: Firestone Vineyard
- Wedding Cake: Enjoy Cupcakes
- Wedding Dresses: Lazaro
- Wedding Dresses: Panache Bridal