Rayna + Alex

Rayna and Alex’s wedding day was SO perfect. It was 85 degrees, slightly windy, not a cloud in sight. You’d have no idea that it was literally 105 degrees two days earlier! I’ve been dying to shoot at Viansa Sonoma since I discovered it, so obviously I was so stoked when they reached out to me to shoot their wedding! I’ve been counting down the days for over a year now and it was everything I could have imagined and more. HUGE shoutout to Traci with Napa Valley Celebrations for creating and bringing to life an absolutely gorgeous wine country wedding.

Rayna and Alex live in Pennsylvania but Rayna is originally from wine country so she and her bridesmaids got ready at her parents house. The boys got to hang out and get ready at Viansa and hang out in the Loga Room down in the courtyard. Everything ran so smoothly, everyone was on time, no one felt rushed and it was so wonderful. I highly recommend overestimating on getting ready time! Nothing is worse than feeling rushed and stressed – you want to enjoy this time! After the girls were ready, we headed to Viansa to get Rayna into her dress.

Before the ceremony, Rayna and Alex wanted to do a first look to give each other a breather before the wedding and we did that in the barrel room beneath the tasting room. I hadn’t done an engagement session with them since they live out of state so this was my first time getting to see them interact with each other and my heart just about melted. Rayna was about to tear up before the first look but Alex was just so excited and ready to celebrate. You can just really tell how well they compliment each other.

The ceremony took place on the upper lawn overlooking the vineyards and wetlands and it was absolutely gorgeous. They had a few people do some readings and it was both meaningful and hilarious – we love a good balance, am I right?? At the end of the ceremony, the guests all had handfuls of olive tree leaves that they threw at Rayna and Alex as they ran back down the aisle. They ran and danced their way back down the aisle and it was so adorable, I’m seriously so obsessed with them.

After all of their group photos, I went down to take photos of the reception space and IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL. Traci did an amazing job and I cannot recommend her enough. Every detail was so beautiful. It was a beautiful reception with an equally beautiful sunset. We went out and took pictures in the vineyards and under the olive trees and I’m so excited to share all of these photos with you guys!

Alex told me he wanted to get to the dance floor as fast as possible because they wanted to party it up and celebrate and he was not messing around! DJ Joe played fire songs and had everyone getting down on the dance floor. It was just all around an amazing wedding and I’m so happy and honored to have been able to capture it for them.

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

Photographer: @rebeccaskidgelphoto

Venue: @viansasonoma

Planning: @napavalley_celebrations

Floral: @meredithlawdesign

HMUA: @bellabridalnv

Dress: @dareanddazzle

Cake: @batterandblissnapavalley

DJ: @djjoedeborba

Rentals: @brighteventrentals

Stationary: @mintedweddings & @meredithlawdesign