Jessica and Brody had the Italian wedding fantasy down to the last detail. Vineyard dinners, old-world architecture, and the effortless romance of a European summer were all firmly part of the vision.
There was just one problem: they wanted approximately 150 of their favorite people there to experience it with them.
Rather than giving up the aesthetic or asking their entire guest list to cross the Atlantic, the couple reconsidered what actually made them love the idea of an Italian destination wedding in the first place. They found their answer much closer to home at Sunstone Winery in Santa Ynez, California, where limestone architecture, vineyards, and an old-world atmosphere brought the feeling they wanted without requiring a passport.
Sunstone Winery brought the Italian countryside to California
Jessica and Brody had been drawn to the romance of quintessential Italian weddings, but their vision was about more than simply putting Italy on an invitation.
With help from Britt Warnick Designs and Wedy, they wanted to create an experience: long dinners among the vineyards, European architecture, beautiful food, and a setting with florals by Merci Floral Designs that transported guests somewhere unexpected.
At Sunstone Winery, the surrounding vineyards and villa-like atmosphere offered a California interpretation of that experience. The setting allowed Jessica and Brody to preserve the old-world aesthetic they loved while making the celebration more accessible for their roughly 150 guests.
Instead of recreating Italy detail by detail, they embraced a California venue, photographed by Roman Ivanov Photography, that already carried many of the qualities they had been searching for abroad.
A string quartet set the European-inspired mood
Music helped establish the atmosphere of the celebration from the beginning.
A string quartet – Put a String on It – brought a classical element to the wedding, complementing the old-world surroundings and adding another layer of romance to the vineyard setting.
Against Sunstone’s architecture and landscape, the live strings reinforced the European-inspired feeling without turning the wedding into a literal Italian theme.
Editorial food made dinner part of the aesthetic
The couple’s attention to experience extended to the food.
Rather than treating dinner as simply another item on the wedding-day timeline, the presentation was approached with an editorial eye. Food became another visual and experiential detail, fitting naturally into a celebration inspired in part by the long, leisurely meals associated with a European summer.
It helped create the kind of destination feeling Jessica and Brody had wanted from the beginning, even though their guests had never needed to leave California.
Branded mementos gave guests something to take home
Personalized details appeared throughout the celebration, including branded mementos created for guests.
The custom pieces added another layer of identity to the wedding while giving friends and family a tangible reminder of the weekend. For a celebration built around creating an experience, those smaller touches helped extend the feeling beyond the vineyard itself.
They also balanced the old-world surroundings with something distinctly contemporary and personal to Jessica and Brody.
One of Taylor Swift’s concert aerialists took the party overhead
The reception eventually delivered a surprise that had very little to do with recreating Tuscany.
One of Taylor Swift’s concert aerialists, Luminario Ballet, performed during the celebration, bringing an unexpected entertainment moment to the wedding and dramatically shifting the energy from romantic vineyard dinner to full-scale party.
It was exactly the kind of detail that kept Jessica and Brody’s wedding from becoming simply an imitation of a European celebration. The Italian influence may have established the aesthetic, but the couple filled the experience with entertainment and personal touches that belonged entirely to them.
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The dance floor kept the celebration going
After the old-world romance, live strings, dinner, and aerial performance, guests packed the dance floor.
The lively reception provided a fitting counterpoint to the more refined atmosphere that had defined the earlier portions of the wedding. What began with the romance of a European-inspired vineyard celebration eventually became exactly what Jessica and Brody wanted most: a night spent celebrating with the people they loved.
Their wedding also offers an interesting answer to a question more couples may find themselves asking. What if the destination aesthetic you love does not actually require the destination?
Jessica and Brody did not abandon their dream of vineyard dinners, old-world architecture, and European summer romance. They simply separated that vision from the plane ticket.
At Sunstone Winery, they found their own version of an Italian getaway in the California vineyards, then made it unmistakably theirs with live strings, thoughtful mementos, editorial food, an aerialist, and 150 people who could be there to experience it with them.
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