A Stappa Vineyard wedding

February left the vines bare at Stappa Vineyard, and the whole property looked weathered in the best way. There's a tall shingled tower out on the lawn, a rusted windmill leaning behind the outbuildings, and rows of dormant trellises running toward the tree line. Inside, the tasting room was the opposite: white walls, black-framed windows, a wooden hexagon arch dressed in white roses and eucalyptus, and round tables set with gold flatware. The bride waited by a tall window in long lace sleeves while the groom paced the grass outside with a white bulldog in a floral collar.

The dog stayed close for the first look, sniffing around their feet while they held each other under a flat grey sky. From there they wandered the property, past the tower and down the bare rows, and she took a few minutes alone in front of that windmill with her bouquet on her hip. When the ceremony started, the flower girl came down the aisle pulling a wooden wagon with a toddler riding in it, candles and petals lining the floor between the steel fermentation tanks.

The officiant stood under the arch with a pink folder, the groom beside her, and the bulldog planted right at his feet for the entire service. Guests sat close on crossback chairs, only a few rows deep, so the whole room could see their faces. After dark they stepped outside, where lit reindeer and spiral trees from the holidays still glowed across the lawn. Back inside, they slow danced under string lights and finished the night at a sweetheart table in front of the tanks, showing off their rings.