A Vibrant, Colorful Wedding at Brix in Yountville, California

Iris Casuga, 30, and Colin Lee, 32, met in college, attending a class that neither of them truly wanted to sign up for. After the first day of classes, Colin, now an operations program manager at Apple, went to the bookstore to pick up each required book before they were all sold out. On the bus back to his dorm, Iris saw the books and asked if she could borrow them during the course. "We hit it off immediately," says Colin of their first meeting. On the bus, they realized they lived in adjacent dorm buildings, and started walking to class together. "Eventually I worked up the courage to ask her out. We dated for about 11 years before we became engaged. Yes, that's an absurdly long time, but the timing felt right to us!"  On Iris's birthday, Colin picked her up for a surprise lunch -- a picnic on a quiet beach near San Francisco. "I packed her favorite snacks and some champagne. We tend to give each other books as gifts, so for the proposal, I hollowed out an old dictionary and hid the ring box inside, along with a few pages about our time together and what she meant to me and titled it 'Our Story,'" says Colin. But, just as he was about to hand Iris, now a scientist at a biotechnology company, the book and the ring, a little puppy walked over. Since Iris has always wanted a puppy, she thought it was her gift and proceeded to fawn over it! "Iris was a little sad when the puppy lost interest and sauntered away, but I took that time to whip out the gift I'd prepared for her, and it definitely cheered her up! But, now we're looking for a puppy!" says Colin.  Iris and Colin celebrated their wedding at Brix in Yountville, an outdoor venue surrounded by Napa Valley's rustic vineyard scenery. Needless to say, books were a large part of the decor concept, along with a heavy emphasis on flowers, since Iris's name is derived from two separate flowers: Iris and Rose. The couple landed on a color palette that was both romantic and vibrant: ivory, blush, green, gold and bold pops of aqua and hot pink.