Sonoma wedding of Marina & Victor

Marina and Victor said I do two weeks ago in a Sonoma wedding ceremony at St Francis Solano Church.

Marina got ready at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn

Victor and his family got ready at a nearby AirBnB rental.

Finding the time to tie not only his groomsmen’s standard ties, but also his own bow tie. Impressive!

Opting for the wedding day tradition of seeing each other for the first time as she walked down the aisle with her father, Victor and Marina’s first look was full of anticipation.

The two share a tender moment during the traditional Catholic ceremony. It’s these unprompted acts of care and mutual adoration that are my favorite to capture. While editing this wedding, it tickled me to notice that both Mischa and I managed to catch this interaction between the glowing bride and groom.

Taking their time and pausing to connect with their guests on the recessional following their ceremony, Marina and Victor’s happiness is contagious.

Following the traditional Catholic church ceremony, the reception was held at the breathtaking Gloria Ferrer winery & vineyards.

We spent a few minutes with the bride and groom in the vineyard before their guests began to arrive. The wind was relentless and we ended up cutting this section of portraits short in favor of some sunset portraits. We still managed to get some portraits with the lush, early Summer vines.

EchoDawn Wright with A Dream Wedding helped perfect the details, the execution, and definitely selected the perfect vendors to reflect the bride’s desired feeling and style.

Elegant golden and metallic details along with pink and white florals and edgy natural greenery were tastefully added to the regular decor of the public tasting room where guests were greeted upon arrival with refreshments and a gorgeous view of the Sonoma valley.

Meanwhile, the wine cave was being transformed with more elegant golden details for the guests’ arrival to the reception.

The result was literally breathtaking to behold. I spent a few minutes just watching the guests walk into the cave… conversations stopping short, mouths left agape as they compulsively pulled cell phones out to freeze that moment of awe.

Lighting provided by The Lux Productions

At the far end of the cave, the 4 tiered cake sat on a lighted table of its own.

Cake credit goes to Krumbs Cakes

The golden hexagons tied in to the wedding favors, beautifully packaged hand-rolled beeswax candles, personalized matches, and a jar of honey. Golden wax seals with adorable little bees were the perfect touch.

We stole the couple away when the light softened and found a bit of landscaping that sheltered us from the wind. I love this time of night for portraits, not only because of the quality of light, but the Bride and Groom tend to be in a better headspace for romance. The anxiety of the day has subsided, the stresses are past, they’ve been inundated with congratulations and love from friends and family for hours and likely have had a glass or two of champagne. Conditions are perfect for a 10 minute escape, some fresh air and a little smooching.

Back in the wine cave, Mischa set up a special flash to get this shot. It’s one of my very favorites as the image tells the story of the mariachi trio at the sweetheart table while keeping the integrity of the lighting design.

One last romantic photo op of the night, back upstairs in Gloria Ferrer’s tasting room. The first dance.

We hope you enjoyed the Sonoma wedding of Victor and Marina, especially the golden glow of Marina & Echo’s vision for the reception design and the lighting techniques Mischa used to capture and preserve them.