Our dream of a Tuscan wedding came true... and we didn't even have to leave Texas! Umbra Winery at La Buena Vida Vineyards made our wedding the most magical experience of our lives. A little piece of Tuscany in Texas, the entire venue was incre...dible! We were so blown away by all the services that they were able to provide, so much so that we decided to make a whole weekend of it and stay on property for the whole experience.
Our weekend began with our entire wedding party checking in to the vineyard cabins on Thursday morning. We actually got there a day early, on Wednesday, to set up some welcome baskets for our guests and were surprised and welcomed with a beautiful congratulatory note and wine from the owners, Debbie and John. We were super excited to see the cabins in person... they are each fantastic and have everything you could possibly think of needing. There's a kitchen in each one complete with cookware, dishes, glassware, a refrigerator, microwave, even an oven. We all made ourselves at home in each of our cabins and picked up groceries and snacks when we were out. If ever we did need anything, Rob was quick to help and he was wonderful and helpful the whole time we were there. The cabins were the perfect place to house our wedding party. We were all together, we could have meals together, cocktails together, it was also great to have a home base while we did last minute errands.
Friday was our day to decorate the event space and do our wedding rehearsal. We started with breakfast at the cabins, running a few errands, and then everyone had a decorating task to tackle. We were able to decorate everywhere, the space transformed becoming unique to us and felt so special because we could put our touch on it with decorations and pictures.
Because the venue is SO FABULOUS, we even had our rehearsal dinner on property! It was like a one-stop-shop in the absolute best place ever! Our dinner was held in the Estate Barrel Room underneath the event space. It's an absolutely gorgeous room, lined with wine barrels and beautiful lighting. It is so impressive when you walk in through the beautiful wooden doors and see everything set up. Oh! and the food! My gosh... Debbie is the Queen of the dining experience (and of everything, really) at Umbra. In preparing for this rehearsal dinner, she went over all the food options with us that they could provide and really maximized our budget so we could offer a bunch of different options for our guests. All the food was then set up and looked like edible art, it was spectacular. During the dinner, the wine maker, John, talked us through a wine tasting telling us all about the different wines they make right there on property. The whole night was amazing and we felt so spoiled.
The day of the wedding started with a champagne toast for the whole wedding party as we each had our hair and makeup done in the bridal suites. It was like a girls party all day long and it was so special to share it with my family and closest friends. Our photographer captured everything and it looked so beautiful because of the setting.
Our ceremony was held outside under the beautiful wooden gazebo at sunset, GORGEOUS! After we said our "I do's," we then rang an antique bell in the Umbra bell tower. They make the ringing of the bell into a ceremony of its own and it was the perfect way to end the ceremony part of the wedding and start the party... truly a day I wish would have never ended. It was just magical.