Kelly & Stu’s Second Chance at Love

Kelly & Stu’s second chance at love is a Sonoma wedding day filled with beautiful moments and such a sweet story alongside it. They celebrated their love with a smaller, more intimate gathering of their closest loved ones. Their color palette of lavender, blues, mauve and neutrals came together so beautifully under the magical California light!

A destination for them and their Texas based guests, Kelly and Stu tied the knot under Sonoma’s Silverado Country Club’s grove’s arbor in front of their closest family, friends, and most importantly, their teenage kids. As they became husband and wife, and joined their families together, Kelly and Stu were taking a second chance at love. With their favorite people in mind, they curated a weekend for their guests full of love, good wine, nods to both Texas and Sonoma, and more, planned and designed by Parker Nichols Events
Inspired by the beauty of California’s outdoors, guests were invited to Kelly and Stu’s nuptials with a beautiful invitation suite by Postal Press. Carefully hand drawn imagery and crest signified a custom soiree for these two with nude and lavender accents and highlighting Silverado Resort’s iconic features. Upon arrival guests were greeted with custom swag bags filled with favorites from Texas, their home, and more. Live guitar serenaded as they approached Silverado’s beautiful Grove Arbor draped with florals by The Posh Posey, a crystal chandelier, and delicate garden chairs. With their oldest friends by their side, Kelly was walked down the aisle by her son and joined into marriage with Stu. Guests were swept onto the patio for more live music, custom cocktails, and an evening under Cafe Lights at the beautiful Silverado Resort. An intimate dinner alongside Kelly and Stu’s sweetheart table draped in lavender tone florals, was perfect for these two love birds before sharing their first dance, getting down on the dance floor, and cutting the beautiful cake by Flour and Bloom. A night to remember, surrounded by good food, sweet wine, their children, and more. -Ash Baumgartner

What is your favorite thing about each other? Kelly completes me… from the beginning we have built a bond based on love but equally as important, a friendship! We laugh and enjoy each and every day together and we’re mindful of making sure to do the little things!
Stu is my best friend and makes me laugh everyday. He is the most caring and selfless person I have known in my life. He would literally give anyone the shirt off his back. He treats my kids as his own and they have learned to trust him and appreciate what he does for them.

What part of your wedding day was/is most important to you? The single most important part of our wedding day was our vows. Again, having 5 of our 6 kids agreeing to come and to have them with us on this momentous day was amazing.
Getting family pictures with (almost) everyone was huge to us! With all of our siblings joining us, it was incredible day. One that still gives us chills when we think of it.

What was your favorite part about planning your wedding? Christina Nichols was absolutely amazing. She was our rock! We both have been married before but both of our previous weddings were very small. Having Christina there to guide us through all of the intricacies of a larger more formal wedding was instrumental. We literally could not have done it with her.
The tasting for the menu at Silverado Resort was also a highlight of our wedding planning. Silverado exceeded all of our expectations with food and beverage.

Describe a hurdle you had to overcome in your relationship or during your wedding planning. We are a blended family. Our kids (2-23’s, 2-21’s a 20 and a 16) were not friends and weren’t that interested in becoming friends for several years leading up to the wedding. After a lot of work on our part, we were able to get 5 of the six kids to attend. It was a great bonding experience for them. We are taking 4 of them on a trip to Europe this in June and we hope it will cement a solid bond between them!

Photographer: Ash Baumgartner
Venue: Silverado Resort
Stylist / Planner / Designer: Parker Nichols Events & Design
Floral Designer: The Posh Posey
Cake Designer: Flour & Bloom Cakes
Makeup Artist: Rachel Lusk
Hair Stylist: Rachel Lusk
Rentals: Theoni Collection
Stationery: Postl Press
Film Lab: Photovision
Lighting: Got Lighting
Live Entertainment: Ryan Hernandez