A French Country Wedding at Stryker Sonoma Winery in Geyserville, California
Inspired by their country upbringings and their Paris engagement, Juliana Kroeze (31 and a third-grade teacher) and Karl Meyer (41 and a director of strategy) decided on a "French country" theme for their winery wedding. They incorporated this into their day by adding lavender wherever they could, from the bridesmaid bouquets to the cake. "This ended up being a blessing the day of the wedding," Juliana says. "Whenever I started to get nervous, I would grab one of my bridesmaids bouquets and take a big whiff of the calming lavender. It worked like a charm." Both Juliana and Karl (who met on Match.com) consider northern Sonoma County their "home away from home," and Stryker Sonoma Winery in Geyserville, California, has an extra-special place in Juliana's heart. "I had spent several Christmas nights playing in the barrel room with my nieces and nephews, along with the son of the winemaker during our family gatherings," she says. "My parents live 25 minutes away, and my sister lives in the same town as the wedding venue, so we spend every holiday and spare weekend there." They chose to seat guests at one long king's table down the center of the barrel room to accentuate the grandness of the room. —Meghan Overdeep