Allie and Brooks always knew they wanted their wedding to feel like a trip to Italy. At Sunstone Villa, a French-Provençal estate tucked into Santa Ynez wine country, they found exactly that: stone walls the color of warm bread, olive groves rolling toward the mountains, vineyards stretching in every direction. Every detail of the decor leaned into that feeling, from the citrus piled high at the welcome dinner to the candlelit white tablescapes that carried into the wedding night. By the time the cake came out under a shower of sparklers, the whole property felt like it had been lifted straight out of Provence.
Location: Santa Ynez, California, USA
Style: Elegant, Classic, Organic
Number of guests: 130
Setting: Winery
Season: Fall
Their love story started with a setup that took its time. Brooks had a friend, Cole, working as a travel nurse on Allie’s unit, who was certain the two would hit it off and told Allie to follow Brooks on Instagram. A year went by before they actually messaged each other. ‘After a year we ended up chatting on Instagram to plan our first date, and the rest is history,’ Allie says.
The proposal happened on a getaway to Vail, one of the couple’s favorite places. Brooks surprised Allie with a cocktail hour at a golf club, knowing she’d never say no to a happy hour, then walked her to a small island in the middle of the course, decorated with flowers and framed by the mountains. He’d been carrying a little blue Tiffany box with the ring Allie had dreamed about since she was a girl.
Concept & Inspiration
Allie wanted her wedding to feel timeless first, everything else second. “White flowers with black and white decor, with extravagant touches throughout. I wanted it to feel luxurious but give an understated aesthetic,” she said. Her one firm rule: every guest in black, so she and Brooks would be the only color in the room.
She brought that vision to planner Lauryn Prattes, whose team built it into a working design: one long table for the wedding party, a black-and-white dance floor, florals drawn almost entirely from white blooms.
Studio Anonimi, who handled florals for the whole weekend, carried that softness through both days — lush and citrus-bright for the welcome dinner, then cascading white tulips, pearls, and orchard fruit for the wedding itself.
"The vendor team was outstanding. Mackenzie and Lauryn Prattes' team blew us away with their professionalism and the highly personalized and beautifully executed design they created for Allie and Brooks. I loved the feminine touches throughout the tabletop design: the bows, ribbons, and pearls"
Welcome Dinner
The weekend opened with a citrus-soaked welcome dinner, lemons piled high down every table. The florals by Studio Anonimi matched that same easy mood: cream gerbera daisies and small yellow mums, loose in low white vases.
Every guest found a hand-painted tambourine with their name lettered across it waiting at their seat. Menus from Kelsey Malie Design carried the same citrus motif in soft pinks and oranges, while Duo Catering & Events kept the food just as bright, matching the lemon-and-olive landscape right outside the dining tables.
Bridal Fashion
For her dress, Allie wanted something that didn’t look like anyone else’s. She found it with Kyha in New York: a corset bodice with visible boning under a soft princess skirt, finished with a neck scarf that nodded to the Italian mood she couldn’t shake.
“The dress was straight out of my dreams, and the thoughtful touches that were added really made the whole look unique,” she says.
Both Allie and Brooks wore Christian Louboutin shoes, a small shared detail neither one wanted to skip. Allie added pearl Tiffany earrings, a gift from her mother, and wore her hair in a sleek bun by the Triplow Beauty team. Her bouquet was simple white tulips, her mom’s favorite flower.
“My something borrowed was a piece of lace from my mom’s wedding dress wrapped around my bouquet,” Allie says. “My something old was my grandmother’s ring she gave me. My something blue was my mom.”
Brooks kept his look just as intentional: a custom three-piece black shawl-lapel tuxedo from Suitsupply, black Christian Louboutin oxfords, gold-and-black shirt studs, and a Rolex GMT Master II on his wrist. A single white tulip stood in for a boutonniere, a quiet echo of Allie’s bouquet.
“I wanted to wear a custom three-piece black tuxedo on the special day,” he says. “I felt prepared, confident, and ready to shine with my bride.”
First Look
Before any guests arrived, Allie and Brooks took a few minutes alone, away from family and cameras. “The first look privately was so special,” Allie says. “It really gave us a second to take it all in and enjoy each other. There are a lot of nerves before the wedding, so seeing your best friend really calms you down and reminds you why you are there.” Stetten Wilson Photography was behind the lens when Brooks couldn’t hold back a tear.
Ceremony
The ceremony took place beneath a pair of centuries-old oak trees, vineyard rows running out behind them. Long white benches lined the aisle, each one anchored by loose clusters of white lilies, curved calla lilies, and small white lace-like blooms, with trailing green amaranthus spilling onto the gravel below.
Allie and Brooks chose a traditional, pastor-led service, working with someone who already knew them well from premarital counseling. He gave them an idea that became the day’s most meaningful detail: each of them wrote a letter to their parents, read aloud during the ceremony as a thank-you for raising them.
"We were both on cloud nine after the ceremony, Having a beautiful wedding was the dream, but the ultimate goal was to marry each other. The feeling of finally committing to each other, surrounded by our favorite people, was so special."
Cocktail Hour
Cocktail hour leaned all the way into theater. Guests wandered between a mime, a tequila fortune teller, and a tall white wall lined with polished bells: ring one, and a hidden bartender pours a drink through a small window.
“That was inspired by the wall in Italy where you ring the bell and get a glass of wine through the window,” Allie says. The couple’s monogram stretched across the wall in script, a quiet reminder of where all the fuss was headed.
Private Moment
After the ceremony, Allie and Brooks slipped away for a portrait session in the vineyard, just the two of them and their photography team.
“The hot midday sun wrapped and reflected off the warm, golden walls of Sunstone Villa, creating a luminous setting for their portraits. The wind kicked up at the same time and made for some magic with her flowy Kyha dress. One of my favorite moments was cueing Allie to run through the winery vines. Spontaneous movement always brings a sense of levity and unpredictability to portraits that we love,” says Skylar Stetten of Stetten Wilson Photography.
Reception & Decor
The reception unfolded on the lawn behind the villa, the Santa Ynez mountains and rows of vines as a built-in backdrop. Allie and Brooks set one long table down the center for their wedding party and parents instead of splitting everyone into smaller groups. “It was really special to look across the table and see our parents celebrating with us,” Allie says.
Studio Anonimi carried the white-and-green palette straight through to the tablescape: tulips and trailing greenery cascading off the head table alongside strands of pearls, green grapes, and pears, a detail Allie chose for her mother, since white tulips were always her favorite. Tabletop and furniture came from the ARK, Nuage Designs, and Bright Event Rentals, while Ambient Event Design‘s candlelight carried the look into the night.
When it was time to dance, the couple walked into their first dance to ‘Joy of My Life,’ sung live by family friend Chancey Williams, booked through Elan Artists. Allie’s father had quietly written an original song with Williams called ‘Allie Girl,’ which the room heard for the first time during the father-daughter dance. “I guess she’s our Allie girl now,” he told the crowd afterward, and there wasn’t a dry eye left at the table.
From there, Golden Bell Music‘s saxophone, guitar, trumpet, and DJ set kept the floor full, with a stop at MirMir‘s photo booth along the way and the BTS Bride team capturing it all in real time. Allie changed into a fitted ivory corset gown for the dancing, and the night closed the way it started: together, this time over a berry-topped cake and a shower of sparklers.
Looking back, Allie says the day boiled down to one moment. “The most memorable moment of the day for us was the moment the pastor announced us married,” she says.
“When you are planning a wedding, it’s easy to forget why. Brooks and I really had one goal throughout that process, and that was to be married. Marrying your best friend, surrounded by all the people you love, truly is the best day of your life.”
Advice from the couple:
• Brooks and I really wanted to stay present throughout the day and we tried to be with each other as much as we could. The day goes by so fast and it’s easy to get caught up in all the little things. Remembering this day is for you two and experiencing it together makes it so much more meaningful.
FLORALS Studio Anonimi | PLANNING & DESIGN Lauryn Prattes Events | VENUE Sunstone Villa | PHOTOGRAPHER Stetten Wilson Photography | CINEMATOGRAPHY Wild & Roam | CONTENT CREATOR BTS Bride | BEAUTY Triplow Beauty | DRESS Kyha | SUIT Suitsupply | SHOES Christian Louboutin | JEWELRY Tiffany & Co. | WATCH Rolex | CATERING Duo Catering & Events | LINENS Lola Valentina | RENTALS Nuage Designs | TABLETOP the ARK | RENTALS Bright Event Rentals| LIGHTING Ambient Event Design | STATIONERY Kelsey Malie Design | ENTERTAINMENT Golden Bell Music, Elan Artists | PERFORMANCE Chancey Williams | PHOTO BOOTH MirMir
