Erin + Vaughan

I’m not usually one to pick “favorites” because I’m obsessed with all of my couples and allll of my weddings BUT… of the fifty-seven weddings I did throughout the 2021 wedding season, Erin and Vaughan’s wedding day is definitely in my top favorites. I wish everyone would do what Erin and Vaughan did – make it their own. It was just such a fun, non-traditional day spent with all of their friends and family, celebrating their love.

Erin and Vaughan came all the way from Atlanta, Georgia to the beautiful Sonoma, California to get married. I actually got to meet them a month before their wedding and did an engagement session with them in Napa and it was SO much fun (if you missed out on that blog post, you can check it out here)! They weren’t originally going to do an engagement session but they added it on last minute. It’s never too late to add on an engagement session! Doing an engagement session with your wedding photographer helps them get to know you guys and allows them to better capture your personalities on your wedding day. And it’s just so much fun 🙂

Anyways… Erin and Vaughan’s friends and family all flew out to Sonoma, California from all over to party and celebrate with them. They made a whole week out of it and went wine tasting in Sonoma and Napa, making the most of every moment of their time in wine country. 

They had their wedding at the stunning MacArthur Place Hotel in Sonoma, California – I always love shooting there, it never disappoints! I got there on their wedding day early to capture them getting ready before their morning ceremony. We had so much fun getting ready and popping champagne – I knew this group was going to be a blast to capture. Plus, all of their outfits were stunning, which is always a fun bonus 😉 I DIED when I saw Erin’s Rue de Seine wedding dress. She looked absolutely stunning.

Their ceremony was so beautiful and there were so many laughs, emotions and happy tears (mine included haha). After the ceremony, we had a blast doing group photos with everyone before heading to their brunch cocktail hour. 

After cocktail hour, everyone went back to their rooms and changed into more casual clothes before slowly making their way a few blocks down to the Sonoma Plaza for wine and charcuterie in the park. I loved this part of their day because Erin and Vaughan were able to mingle and have fun with all of their guests without feeling rushed. Wedding days always fly by and I feel like the bride and groom hardly ever get a chance to really see everyone. You guests are all of your favorite people and you want to spend quality time with them!

Before the sun could set on us, I stole Erin and Vaughan and snuck away to a vineyard for some fun sunset photos. We had a blast doing champagne photos in the vineyards. 

By dusk, everyone had made their way back to MacArthur Place Hotel for dinner. The dinner set up was at Layla at the hotel and everything looked so gorgeous – Tesoro Flowers and Courtney with Drake Social Events did an incredible job setting everything up and making it look perfect. 

This whole day couldn’t have been done without the planning of Courtney and her team at Drake Social Events – I highly recommend them for an event you’re planning. Erin, Vaughan and their friends and family danced the night away and they really did have the best freaking day ever. Their wedding day ended with a rose petal send off and they woke up early the next day and headed to Canada for their honeymoon. Tell me about a better wedding week – I’ll wait.

---

Shoutout to all of the amazing vendors who helped make their day so amazing!

Photographer: @rebeccaskidgelphoto

Venue/Catering: @macarthurplace

Planner: @drakesocialevents

Florals: @tesoroflowers

HMUA: @stjamessalon

Dress: @ruedeseinebridal

Jacket: @allyyjacq

DJ/Band: @vybesociety

Cake: @sweetiepiesweddings

Rentals: @brighteventrentals

Engagement ring: @shopacadianestates