Becca and Oren's Sonoma Wine Country wedding took place at one of our favorite venues, Cline Cellars. Situated in the bucolic Carneros region of southern Sonoma Valley, Cline is a short 1 hour drive north from the couple's San Francisco home. Oren and Becca personalized every aspect of their fall Sonoma wedding, from the wedding invites, to their epic Ketubah, to the local Sonoma County beers served at the reception, Becca's sparkly Tom's footwear, and the ubiquity of music throughout the day. In addition to being passionate about music, Oren also works as a electrical design engineer for Beats Music. A brief back-story, their wedding took place just one month after wildfires tore through Sonoma county so in lieu of wedding gifts, they asked for donations to help the recovery effort. Oren's company offered to match the total amount raised and the gesture meant so much to those of us who live and work in wine country. Incredible, right? Now let's delve into the details of their fun-focused wedding, in their words...
About the couple
What inspires us
We are both very, very, very into music. Our second bedroom is a music room for all of Oren's instruments, our living room looks like the Fillmore, and we see as much live music as possible. Much of our time has been attending live shows (traveling to New Orleans for Jazz Fest, to NYC for Phish). Other ways we have spent time together: going to wine country, cooking at home (Oren is the chef), and spending time with friends and family.
Describe the proposal
Oren down on one knee in our bedroom before going to sleep on a random Wednesday night.
How did you choose Cline as your venue?
We choose Cline Cellars because we love wine and both love the property and decided we wanted a prettier venue for the ceremony than the Great American Music Hall (which was another option). Also, we wanted a blank canvas to pick and choose what we wanted for the wedding.
Describe some of your favorite design elements, events, food/drink and overall feel of your wedding day.
We were after a rustic, laid back feel. We have a ton of the day based around our love for music. The invitation packet looks like a mini Vinyl Album of Abbey Road, but it's a drawing of Oren, myself, and our cat Jazzy. The rsvps are records. After we say we do, we are surprising everyone with a second line brass band (Brass Monkey Brass Band). I (Becca) am huge foodie! Our menu is based around delicious, seasonal, food that warms your heart and your belly! (Cocktail Hour: Lamb Lollipops, Butternut Squash Tarts, etc. - Dinner: Cabernet Braised Short Ribs, Butternut Squash Ravioli in a Brown Butter Sage Sauce).
What were some unique or personal aspects of your day
2nd Line Brass Band (Brass Monkey Brass Band) - will play for Ceremony and Hora ... then DJ will fully take over.
We are doing a first dance that will be part serious - part fun & funny.
Each table will be a different artist and album. We have vinyl albums instead of table numbers.
Oren is wearing shorts for our reception that match his wedding suit pants
Our beer selection is ridiculous...Pliny the Elder, Wild Turkey Bourbon Barrel Stout, Schrimshaw Pilsner.
A pyramid of donuts (along with Harvey's donuts) for our cake versus a real wedding cake.
A gelato station (which just so happened to be owned/operated by super-handsome-Italian brothers)
Ketabuh - Oren's mom and future brother in law re-created the Woodstock Poster (appropriate as it was the 50th anniversary of the summer of love) with the bird on the guitar - but it's Oren and me!
Do you have any advice for future couples who are in the planning stage still?
Advice ... Elope ... just kidding 😉
The hardest part is trying to please everyone (family-wise). The best part is being able to show our creativity and personalize this wedding.
