We loved Claire and Bernard’s romantic winery wedding at Acacia Ridge Winery. Their team of incredible vendors, including photographer Love & Other, came together to make this best day ever unforgettable!
How would you describe your wedding in one or two words?
Fun and stormy.
We’ll add a few words to the mix for good measure. Colorful, trendy, romantic and one of a kind. The black roses, blueberries and king proteas in the Valley Blooms bouquets, Anna Campbell Zara chapel length veil, flirty Forever New bridesmaids dresses and ivory Pierre Cardin suit jacket were just a few of our favorite details.
Tell us about your wedding gown and how you chose it.
I wanted something fun and elegant, the dress I chose was from Anna Campbell’s new line, and I was lucky enough to be the one to make its debut.
Can you describe what type of ceremony you had and how you were able to personalize it?
Paul is a bit of a comedian, he gave everyone a humorous account of how we met and our journey prior to the day. He made it fun yet heartfelt and our guests loved him. We had personalized vows and we signed our wedding certificate with a trout pen (yes, a pen that looked like a giant fish) – Bernie won it on one of our first dates. We also signed our house documents with it so decided we would keep it for our wedding.
Any sentimental personal touches?
We had flamingo toppers in our welcome cocktails “the flamingo spritz” made with Gordons pink gin to remember our engagement with the flamingos in Aruba. We also had a “dark and stormy” cocktail which wasn’t an intended pun even though that’s exactly the weather we had.
What was the biggest splurge of the day?
Espresso martinis and the Crepes for Change van for dessert!
What were your favorite moments from the day?
Taking a moment with my new husband to watch our wedding from a distance. I also loved our first dance as we had choreographed a dance to reflect our personalities to the Ramones remake of ‘Baby I Love You’.
Any tips that you can give to future brides?
Don’t worry about the little things, some of my favorite parts are the things that didn’t exactly go to plan. Don’t worry about the weather. We wanted a bright sunny day but the thunderstorms kept everyone together on the dance floor and the cloud cover gave us the most amazing photos, we couldn’t be happier.
















































Vendors.
Venue. Acacia Ridge Winery
Photographer. Love & Other
Flowers. Valley Blooms
Bride’s Dress, Veil and Accessories. Anna Campbell
Bride’s Shoes. Nine West
Bridesmaids. Forever New
Groom’s Suit Jacket. Pierre Cardin
Groom’s Shit. Daniel Hechter,
Groom’s Bowtie. Henry Bucks
Groom’s Pants. Blaq
Groom’s Shoes from Floresheim
Groom’s Cufflinks from OTAA
Groom’s Belt. Aquilla
Groomsmen’s Pants. Blaq
Groomsmen’s Shoes. Floresheim
Groomsmen’s Shirts. Zanetti
Groomsmen’s Suspenders. Wood and Beau
Crepes. Crepes for Change
Invitations. Giant Invitations
Makeup. Melonie Santos
Hair. Diane Robertson
Cake. Bill’s Farm
Catering. Locavore
Entertainment. Gary Eastwood and Nick Kay Magic
Celebrant. Paul Bonadio
Transport. Fisch Kombi