Fall Day Fashion Shoot

Adorable little girls out today running around the farm for a children's clothing fashion shoot.

I don't think I've ever seen so much pink in one place! 

Karli & Nick Featured on Style Me Pretty!

Thank you Abby Larson and team Style Me Pretty for featuring another Bear Flag Farm celebration!  I'm sure they must receive tons of submissions each day!  I feel really honored that we've been selected twice in the past six months!  We love what we do and it's really exciting when we are recognized for an editorial!

This was a perfect Fall wedding day.  The colors, beautiful flowers (Lush Floral), fabulous tabletop (Classic Party Napa) and stunning tent (Zephyr) all came together to create an unforgettable celebration.  The delicious food stylings by Living Room Events completed the ultimate experience of field to table for our hungry guests.  And it was all captured beautifully by Lauri Levenfeld/Zoom Photography!

Karli & Nick share a moment during their ceremony held on the Cottage Lawn.

A gorgeous willow arch cascading in seasonal colors adorns the ceremony.

Karli & Nick take a quiet stroll past the lavender fields.

A spectacular dessert spread topped off with a small cake with handmade birds.

A cozy lounge area for guests to mingle.

Warm blankets to ward off the evening chill.

A fabulous view of the vineyards & lavender fields just outside of the dining tent.

Gorgeous arrangements in a mixture of containers grace the tables.

A fun combination of wood farm tables and round tables with hemp linens!

A lovely window with flower box creates the perfect escort card display!

As the sun was setting, it created a wonderful glow just inside the tent.

A Gorgeous Day of Love in the Lavender Fields!

The debut of Nicole & Mark's wedding video!  Super fun couple and a spectacular day of celebrating this past June.  I had such a great time designing this wedding with Nicole and her lovely mother, Jennifer.  We were a force to be reckoned with!  The video features some fabulous photography by Ann Hamilton and Gene Higa.  The gorgeous floral design was provided by the wonderfully creative, Lush Floral Design.  Check it out!

5 Star Rating on Project Wedding!

I am always so grateful to the people who take the time to publicly acknowledge their appreciation of our farm and what we do.  We really don't spend much on advertising and rely on recommendations and a more grass-roots effort to create awareness.  It does take a little time to go through the process of writing a review.  But the connection people feel through the words of those who have experienced a celebration here are priceless.

Apparently there have been many former clients and parents of clients that have written some really beautiful things about Bear Flag Farm.  As a direct result of their efforts, we have been awarded a perfect 5 star rating through Project Wedding.  Thank you for your support and for sharing your stories with the world.  Check out the reviews!  

NYC & Bear Flag Farm Connection

The past several weeks have been filled with activities and events on the farm.  We were very happy with our 2009 harvest and crush of the Syrah vineyards!  Last year, our 2008 vintage was hit by a Spring frost that impacted our fields as well as many in Napa Valley. We lost the majority of our foliage and as a result... had to drop most of the grapes.  When the lost their protection from the sun.... the became Syrah raisins.  Not exactly prime for a fabulous bottle of wine...

This year turned out great!  We are so pleased with amount of grapes we were able to harvest! They are still in the Macro-Bins and will most likely be transferred to barrels in the next week!

I'm in love with this photo. Lhasa is a classic beauty.

In the midst of all the farm activity, we managed to have a few stunning weddings.  And I can't wait to see the photos! In the interim - I have received a few images from the super talented, Sherman Chu.  This lovely NYC based couple found their way to our farm and once again, we have made an East Coast connection. I am always so excited when people choose our farm for one of the most important events of their lives.  And even more thrilled when they travel 3,000 to be here.  Lhasa & Adam were so lovely and so appreciative of what our farm is all about.  It was a perfect match all the way around.  

Such a cool invitation by Rifle 

I really think Lhasa looks like an auburn-headed Audrey Hepburn.

For such an intimate sized gathering, we were able to have the ceremony in one of our orchards!

We had a lot of fun designing this event for Lhasa & Adam! Fabulous linens, just made in time for this celebraiton!

Hhhmmm....That Takes the Cake out of San Francisco... Yum.

The children LOVED the tipi filled with treasures to occupy!

Spend a Day Sailing or...Making Preserves? Hhhmmmm...

So - I had this really random act of email strangeness last week.  An old email from a good friend somehow resurfaced like it was just sent.  That, in and of itself, isn't so bad.  But - this particular email was an invitation to go sailing!  I was super excited thinking we were going sailing again today.  Imagine the surprise of my friend when I sent an enthusiatstic reply that OF COURSE we would be thrilled to go again! Well... long story short ~ the friend is actually in Mexico on vacation.  And it's a mystery to both of us how the old emailed recirculated. So - instead of whining too much about it - I've come up with a great Plan B!  Making preserves!!

 

I'm heading to the East Bay to spend an afternoon with Grace! We're going to be testing recipes and playing around with some great fruit!

I went out this morning and harvested two varieties of plums that are ripe and beautiful right now! The first is, Elephant Heart.  It's a lovely garnet mottled skin with this amazingly vibrant red flesh!  And it's soooo yummy & sweet. I can't wait to see the jewel-toned red preserve once jarred!  Here's a look at the just harvested Elephant Heart Plum:

The second variety is the Green Gage Plum.  This wonderfully sweet variety has a green/yellow/blush red skin with a vivid yellow flesh.  I've been told by another preserve making guru in the neighborhood, that the Green Gage Plum makes a stunning preserve. Can't wait to see how this evolves!

A Small but Mighty Wedding Feast

 Who says your wedding day has to include a cast of hundreds?  When Kevin & I got married... 8 years ago (yikes ~ time flies...)  we only had 60 guests at our wedding.  We decided that (since we were 30 somethings), we could get away with only inviting our immediate family & close friends.  It's not an easy process when you have a lot of great people you'd love to celebrate with - but intimacy was the priority for us.  We wanted the opportunity to speak with each and every person that night. And not just small talk.  This was a major life changing event and we wanted to connect with our loved ones in a very authentic way.  HA!  As much as we tried ~ we were reeling from the surreal events of the day.  And, as much as I wanted to have lengthy talks with my people... it was still a whirlwind!  I guess that's what wedding days are like.

  I had the wonderful occasion last Sunday to witness the nuptials of a very sweet couple, Caroline & Sean.  They, like Kevin & I, opted for a very small gathering of 50 guests.  Well, 52, to be exact.

  I was so excited about creating an unforgettable setting for this lovely couple.  And since the guest count was small.... it allowed us to utilize spaces at the farm in a unique way.  I can't WAIT to see the images from this wedding.  It was really a dream.  Very Mid-Summer Night's Dream to be precise.  Caroline's gorgeous dress looked like she had stepped out of a beautiful fairytale. Seriously fantastic.  And Sean ~ he was just as handsome & dashing as a prince. In a very urban/cool way... even sporting the 5:00 shadow worked!

Caroline's ethereal dress... (until I get one with Caroline wearing.)

  The food was a delicious. I know - when do you ever hear me say it's not?  But - really.  It was a wonderful, seasonal menu with a bounty of Bear Flag Farm grown produce throughout! And... being smack dab in the middle of summer, the heirloom tomatoes and cherry tomatoes were a highlight!  Grace Lee... owner of a wonderful little cafe/market in Oakland provided the incredible catering.  I heard nothing but raves reviews from my client - and their guests.  And these were people who believed the food was a VERY important element to their wedding.  I couldn't agree more.

Grace Lee (the new Queen of Catering) & the Uber talented Armando Koghan

Here's a little preview of Grace Lee's culinary magic at the hands of super Chef Amy!

Bear Flag Farm heirloom & cherry tomatoes with fresh mozzarella & drizzled with basil olive oil

Rosemary skewered Sea Scallops grilled to perfection

One of the 4 entree options....grilled local lamb with summer squash

Bear Flag Farm plum & peach shortcake with creme fraiche!

 

  We had a great staff out here on Sunday.  Everyone worked really hard to give Caroline & Sean the best day of their lives.  Thanks, Grace!  Thrilled for your success & looking forward to many more food filled chats!

And thanks Armando, for the great photos! now... back to the kitchen!