Trending in the bay area is the peacock feather themed weddings, everything from the actual feathers to using the colors inspired by the bird. As a wedding planner I am quite excited to see the interest in this feather because it is one of my favorite birds and it reminds me of a dearly loved painting we had in our house as a child. The usage of this feather and colors gives a fun, playful, yet very elegant feeling to a wedding.

The Peacock Feather

A few ideas to bring this theme into your wedding is through cake, attire, invitations, décor, even within your flowers. The feather has blues, greens, brown, silver, and gold shimmer, giving you a fantastic palette to work with within your event.

Bringing this theme to your cake can be as intricate as having fondant hand painted feathers added to the cake or as simple as adding the actual feather to your cake stand or cake.

Handpainted feathers

Actual feather cake topper

Many printing companies have peacock themed invitations or you can order a simple brown invite and add a individual peacock feather to each invite for a pop of color.

Peacock feather inserted into invites

You can use table linens and décor to match the feathers, which will bring rich brilliant colors to your wedding day.

Bringing peacock feathers to the table

We also love the idea of a DIY project where you can use feathers, ribbon, felt and a few gems to make a one of a kind Boutonniere.

DIY project must!

We think the peacock feather theme is a perfect idea for the spring, summer and fall wedding.

In my search to find a sustainable Livermore Valley wedding location, I came across Captain Vineyards. It may not be in Livermore Valley and it isn’t the huge vineyard weddings you typically think of. But, I immediately fell in love with this place and the family who runs it.

Let me preface this post before you read any further. It takes a certain person to love this type of venue, and I just happen to be one of them. Captain Vineyards has an understated beauty about it with a gorgeous view that overlooks the LaMorinda hills. If you are looking for an intimate wedding venue, with spectacular ambience, sustainable practices, and a family run business, you have found your wedding venue!

I found the vineyard online when researching sustainable vineyards. I did a quick review of their site – www.captainvineyards.com, and assumed it was just a typical vineyard. When driving to the location, I found myself a bit confused because I was in the middle of a residential neighborhood. As I approached the property, I was not sure what to expect.

After a tour of the vineyard, the Captain’s welcomed me into their home, literally. When talking with Susan about the family vineyards and sustainable practices, you could see the passion in her eyes, and feel the love that she felt for working the land. The family does all the work on their own except for volunteers who help to harvest the vineyards. It looks like back breaking work, and yet the couple does not seem to mind.

This wedding venue is not just a property, it is the Captain’s home. And yet, they will open it up. The Captains share what they have including: their kitchen, their living room that opens up to the patio and the whole backyard that includes the deck overlooking the vineyard and hills, and the two tasting rooms. This is why I say that this wedding venue is not for everyone. It is for a special couple – a couple that wants that picturesque backyard wedding, and appreciates the property that the Captain’s call home.

For more information, visit http://www.captainvineyards.com
Call: 925.631.0714

When it comes to wedding favors, there is an abundance of choices. The decision becomes much more difficult when trying to find something practical, memorable and eco-friendly! I was thrilled when someone introduced me to WeePlant. Not only is WeePlant a local business, but it is also a very unique gift that serves as a memory of your wedding that can grow with your guests over time.

Weeplant sells miniature plants called Pinky Trees that grow in a 2″ capsule and was founded on the ideal to improve green consciousness through a positive symbol, a real tiny plant that you can take care of.

Valerie Auberger, the founder of Weeplant was kind enough to answer some of my questions regarding her business and green practices.

1)      What was the inspiration for starting WeePlant?

When I was editor-in-chief at MSN France, I launched a green channel with several editorial partners like National Geographic, WWF and others. At that time I thought people (and advertisers) needed something more tangible and entertaining than very “guilt-driven” advice on how to save the environment. I thought that by providing them a living symbol, I would create a more emotional reaction and would possibly give them a living and growing reminder of how fragile mother nature is and how much they would need to take care of it (like they would need to take care of their babyplant).

2) What makes the favor green? How does it contribute to re-forestation?

All the plants are grown in California in full respect of ecological guidelines (no use of chemical pesticides, choice of species that don’t require too much water or heating). Regarding the reforestation, as soon as the company was born, we started a partnership with American Forests to help them planting trees in areas that have been devastated by the human activities. Basically, for each 4 Pinky Trees sold, we donate the necessary fund to plant a tree. American Forests is very happy about this virtual circle and will start sending our Pinky Trees to their donors this springtime as a thank you gift.

3) What is the process for keeping and nurturing the tree once you receive it?

Because all the plants are succulents and cacti selected among the most resistant and little water need species, the Pinky Trees need very little care: cacti will need to be watered once every 3 months and succulents once every month and a half (or every month in summer time). The key requirement for all the plants is being exposed to light. Once the plant has grown too big for its capsule (time really depends on the species and goes from 2 or 3 months for some succulents to 2 years for most of the cacti), the person will just need to open the capsule top and split the base apart (already cut on 2 half for this purpose) and then take the plant with its soil and repot it.

4) Where would someone go to purchase these favors?

Besides selling the Pinky Trees online, we currently sell them in a few eco-boutiques and retailers in SF and across the USA (NY, Boston, LA etc…). Our main distribution is in museum stores like California Academy of Science, Chicago Contemporary Art Museum, Fort Worth Museum of Science and Industry, Walker art center in Minneapolis, Phoenix Zoo Store, and many others.

To learn more about Pinky Tree – visit www.weeplant.com

What do you think? Would you give Pinky Tree as a wedding favor?

We often immediately think of the Sonoma and Napa area when grapes and more importantly wine comes to mind. In reality, we have so many local wineries in our backyard spanning from the Peninsula, to the North Bay, and even in the East Bay. These wineries range from small family vineyards to large generations old estates. So often overlooked, these local wineries make a great option for your “staycation” wedding spot, and an easy way to cut down on travel emissions.

I would like to introduce you to a cluster of wineries located in the Livermore Valley. In this post, I will give you a brief glimpse of the area and some starting points allowing you to explore and delve into the details at your own leisure. The Livermore Wine Country hosts over 40 wineries throughout Castro Valley, Sunol, Pleasanton, and Livermore region with many that have on-site wedding spaces or event spaces affiliated with the winery. For example, the Palm Event Center in Pleasanton (see photo above) sits next to Mitchell Katz Winery while Garre Vinyard and Winery hosts multiple weddings options on their grounds.

Sourced from LVWA

To start you off on this journey, a great resource to check out is the Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association which details wineries that provide wedding services along with all the contact information to reach out to them. This is just a quick overview to help you get going in your search for the perfect winery location. Look out for follow-up posts with dedicated blog entries highlighting a few wineries that are not only wedding friendly, but also promote sustainable practices!