Actor Sarah Hyland initially met TV and radio host Wells Adams on social media. Their first date was at a pre-Emmys benefit in September 2017. “My agent couldn’t make it to the event so I invited Wells to meet me there,” Sarah remembers. “I took him by the hand and rushed him to the back corner of the party for us to talk since I had been bragging about having a date to my Modern Family cast members. We eventually danced the night away—so much so that we ended up being one of the last people there. I gave Wells a ride back to his hotel and ended up asking our driver Derek to ‘take a hot lap,’ so we could share a few more moments for our first kiss.”
The two got engaged while on vacation together in Fiji in July 2019. “I was 99% sure Wells was going to propose, so I tried to pack as many white ensembles as I possibly could at the last minute,” Sarah admits. “Wells asked me to marry him on a private island, ironically called Honeymoon Island, off the coast of the resort we were staying at.” Wells told Sarah he was going to take a picture with his drone, and he insisted on keeping its carrying case near his feet “for the battery.” He then handed Sarah his glass of wine and knelt down to retrieve said battery. “When he turned back to me, a Lorraine Schwartz ring box was in his hand, and I blacked out,” Sarah says. “The next thing I knew, a man jumped out from the bushes and started taking pictures of us. I froze and then quickly realized Wells had hired someone to wait in the bushes until he proposed.”
The two started planning their wedding in September of 2019. “Since it was the last season of Modern Family, we wanted to set the foundations for the wedding so I could focus on the closing of such a major chapter in my life,” Sarah says.
“So we decided on a date—the first of many—hired Mindy Weiss as our wedding planner, and booked our venue, after-party venue, band, and photographer.” They were set to dive back into wedding planning a couple of weeks after Sarah finished filming the finale season, but that timing lined up with the world’s first lockdown. “After that declaration of home isolation, I knew that we weren’t going to be having the big wedding we were planning on for at least two more years or so,” Sarah says. “Wells didn’t believe me, but unfortunately I was right.”
They resumed planning again at the beginning of 2022. “Shortly after, I found out that I was moving to Germany for three months to shoot a television show,” Sarah remembers. “So we really have been planning this wedding since 2019, all over the world…California, Germany, Canada, Mexico…it’s been a wild crazy ride but Mindy made it very easy for us.”
The weekend kicked off with a rehearsal dinner in the wine caves at Sunstone Vineyards in Santa Ynez, California.
It was an intimate group of just the bride and groom, their respective families, their bridal party, and the couple’s officiant Jesse Tyler Ferguson and his husband Justin Mikita. They decorated the space with tall tapered candles, dark roses, and bowls filled to the brim with plums. A Spanish guitar player performed in between speeches. Sarah suffers from kidney dysplasia and her younger brother Ian donated a kidney to her in September of 2017. His toast to his sister brought everyone to tears. “There wasn’t a dry eye in the house,” Wells says. After dinner, the couple walked out to the courtyard at Sunstone for a welcome party with all of their guests.
Sarah knew when she initially started wedding planning back in 2019 that she wanted to wear Vera Wang on her wedding day. “We had already decided on our venue before I started the process of styling with Brad [Goreski] and Daniela [Viviana-Romero], so it really was about creating a piece that fit the aesthetic of the property,” she explains. “Our venue has the color palette of a chateau in the countryside of France with the architectural design of an Italian castle.”
Sarah has always loved corsets and a feeling of Old World romance, so she was looking for a modern rendition of a piece that might otherwise belong in a Shakespearean play.
“I tried on a dress at Vera’s that fit the bill perfectly, and it all clicked,” she says. They made a few minor adjustments—lengthening the train, adding pockets and a French bustle—to a light ivory silk faille sweetheart ball gown with a hand-pleated bodice and French tulle sleeves. It was accented with a cathedral-length Italian tulle veil with a hand-appliqué macramé lace border and Jimmy Choo heels.
When the couple resumed wedding planning post lockdown, Sarah went back to try on the dress again to make sure it was still the one. It was, but another dress caught her eye—a form-fitting embroidered lace gown with draping Juliet sleeves. “There was no way I could decide between the two,” she says, “so I ended up adding another look to my array of dress moments.”
For makeup, “we wanted to keep it classic and timeless,” makeup artist Denika Bedrossian says. “We did a lot of skin prep with layers of moisture, combined with a facial massage to take down any inflammation and bring the bounce up to the top layer of the skin.” She then used Charlotte Tilbury products in rose and blush tones, with warm browns to enhance the eyes.
Sarah wanted her hair in a low elegant bun. “We created plenty of texture and tendrils around the hairline and nape of the neck,” hairstylist Ryan Richman explains. “The goal was a look that was appropriate for a princess on her wedding day, but ‘make it as if the princess had just finished riding her horse through the countryside—not too perfect.”
Sarah walked with her father down an aisle that had been laid in the midst of the vineyard. “I kept reminding myself to look at people and Wells,” she says of her approach to staying present in the moment. “I talked to Mindy about so much and was very hands on, but I didn’t even see any of the decorations as I walked down the aisle.”
“Meanwhile, I’m there weeping like a child,” Wells laughs. “Uncontrollably.”
It was Jesse’s first wedding as an officiant, and he presided over a ceremony that provoked both laughter and tears of joy. He even incorporated a handfasting ritual to honor Sarah’s Irish and Scottish heritage. “I’ve known Jesse since I was 18 years old. I remember his first date with his husband Justin,” Sarah says. “So we’ve been through so much. Jesse and Justin and Wells and I have traveled together, just the four of us. So it was really special to have him up there.” The couple said their vows—“I had Vera Wang put pockets into my dress, so I was able to have my handkerchief and q-tips at the ready,” Sarah says—and as the service ended, they walked out to Bright Eyes’s “First Day of My Life.”
At cocktail hour, guests snacked on hors d’oeuvres and sipped on the signature drink—an aperol spritz dubbed the “Happy Adams.” Meanwhile, Sarah and Wells took photos. An hour later, everyone walked through the estate to the back of the property for the reception.
“I wanted it to feel open and airy, like we were in nature,” Sarah says. To that end, there were trellises with lots of greenery, florals, and vines by Mark’s Garden as well as draperies incorporated into the decor. At this point, Sarah changed into her second Vera Wang dress of the night. The newlyweds gave a welcome speech, then the party truly started. “Everyone was ready to rage,” Wells says. “There was dancing and partying and then it kind of stopped, and people would eat a little bit. And then dance a little bit more. It was a fun back and forth, and it was cool because it felt like it kept the energy up the entire night.”
After the cake cutting, Sarah changed into a Galia Lahav bias cut silk gown. Then, due to noise ordinances in the area, the group made a venue switch for the after-party, traveling on school buses to a different winery. There, they were greeted by a DJ, a massive dance floor, and a taco truck. Sarah switched into a short beaded dress by Georges Hobeika Couture.
At around 2:30 a.m., the newlyweds returned to the Sunstone with Sarah’s maid of honor and her boyfriend and Wells’s brother and his wife, who was also a bridesmaid. “It was just the six of us,” Sarah says. “My maid of honor was put in charge of the music. We came back, and Wells went to sleep and my maid of honor and I were just singing ‘Jagged Little Pill,’ Rent, and Into The Woods. We had a music theater / Alanis Morrisette night.”
Now that it’s all over, they just wish they’d had more time to spend with everyone. “There isn’t enough time to visit with everyone like you want to,” Wells says. “Maybe we’ll rent this place out every year and invite everyone back.”
“I didn’t even get one picture in our photo booth!” Sarah adds. “I just think it was really beautiful, and I just can’t wait to, in the government’s eyes, start our marriage. It’s strange but cool to look down and see a ring on Wells’s finger. It doesn’t feel different on my hand because I’ve been wearing an engagement ring. But it’s crazy seeing it on his.”
The next morning everyone gathered for a recovery bunch with a Bloody Mary and mimosa bar. “It was a nice way to mark the end of the weekend—to relax and spend time with friends,” Sarah says. “And eat our weight in pancakes!”
“Our rehearsal dinner was in the caves at Sunstone Winery. We really wanted it to feel like we were in Italy which you really get from this space. We decorated with deep reds in the flowers and candles and bowls of plums.
We were so excited to celebrate with our immediate family and wedding party to kick off our wedding weekend. After a three year long engagement, it was time!”
The speeches at the rehearsal dinner were so special. Wells’ sister and brother in law dressed up in the onesies Sarah had gotten the whole family on our first Christmas together. Sarah’s brother gave a speech that had everyone in tears (for those who aren’t aware, Sarah’s brother donated one of his kidneys to Sarah in 2015 and saved her life.)
“We had an incredible Spanish guitarist who played throughout the evening. He was incredible and definitely set the mood. We had drinks, charcuterie, appetizers and an ice cream bar for our guests to enjoy.”
“Dennika Bedrossian did the most beautiful romantic and elegant yet timeless makeup. For the lips, we kept them more satin to assure kissing would not be an issue!
Ryan Richman created exactly I envisioned my hair to be that day – a low elegant bun with plenty of texture and tendrils around the hairline and nape of the neck. The goal was to create a style that was appropriate for a princess on her wedding day but like a princess just got done riding a horse through the country side, so not too perfect.”
“Vera Wang made me the dress of my dreams and even included pockets for me to keep some Q-tips and a handkerchief. Wells was perfect in Gucci everything.”
“I had spent so much time talking to Mindy about the way I wanted the space to look for our ceremony but in the moment I didn’t even grasp all the details. Seeing this image made me so happy because it was exactly what I had dreamed.”
“Walking down the aisle with my dad was so special but I think this is the moment I first saw Wells. We didn’t do a first look before the ceremony so th reaction was truly authentic.”
“Jesse officiated our wedding and was so perfect. This was the first wedding he had done but you would’ve never known. It meant so much to have someone who really knew us and our journey being the one to marry us.”
Husband and wife!!!!
“Marks Garden with these flowers!!!! It was truly so stunning.”
“Entering reception for the first time as Mr and Mrs Adams was so surreal. We had waited so long for this moment and we were finally here!”
“Our first dance.”
“I changed into my second dress just as the sun was starting to set. I also had to peak over the ledge to see everyone enjoying our incredible band! We had to take advantage of the beautiful lighting and this amazing second dress by Vera Wang.”
“We had the most delicious cake from JNL cakes.”
“It was so incredible to have my Modern Family family at the wedding to celebrate with us – (L to R) Christopher Lloyd, Sofia Vergara, Steve Levitan, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Sarah Hyland, Ariel Winter, Julie Bown and Nolan Gould.”
“At our after party, we had these incredible marquee lights that said The Adams infront of the DJ booth. Guests danced until 2 AM and enjoyed tacos from the most amazing taco truck (wells one big ask for the night!).”
VENUE Sunstone Winery | PLANNER Mindy Weiss | PHOTO John and Joseph | BRIDAL GOWN DESIGNER Vera Wang | FLORAL Mark’s Garden | GROOM’S SUIT Gucci | MAKEUP Denika Bedrossian | HAIR Ryan Richman | VIDEO Aaron Novak Films | RENTALS Reverly Event Design, Bright Event Rentals, Theoni Collection | LIGHTING Bella Vista Designs Inc. | BAND West Coast Music
