Avensole Winery

Wedding Day

Ceremony

Reception

Cocktail Hour

Reception (Or as Nick says "After Party")

Summer

Our Wedding

Courtney was out celebrating her brother’s birthday in Huntington Beach and she spotted Nick sitting at the end of their communal table at HQ Gastropub. She hit on him and the rest is history. 

How we met

Nick had an important question to ask Courtney's parents at the USC Spring Game while Courtney was in San Diego getting her hair done. Gary said yes immediately, Sue had some follow up questions first and ultimately, was thrilled to give Nick her blessing. Nick and the MOB went ring shopping and after some frustrating/comical experiences, they ended up at the perfect place to create Courtney's dream ring. 4 generations of gold in Courtney's family was melted into her band and Nick found the most gorgeous diamond to complete the perfect ring. Then began the proposal planning.

The Blessing/Ring

On May 28, 2022, their relationship changed forever. Let's take a step back and see they got there. Nick and Courtney had planned to visit Europe in August 2022 and when COVID had yet another waive hit in Europe, they changed course on their vacation plans. Mexico became the new destination! Sun, pool, and Nick's favorite - Mexican food! They planned to go over Memorial Day weekend for a week total (Friday - Friday). We arrive in Mexico (Puerta Vallarta to be exact) and go through customs and that was an experience in itself. After waiting on the jet bridge for 30 minutes not knowing why (they were looking for more customs forms) we get in line and end up filling them out incorrectly and had to step out of line to redo them and eventually made it through. We get to the next checkpoint where the luggage is searched and realize we are missing that form as well and as we approach the front, the attendant says "no form, no button" (Nick really wanted to press the button so we could get a green light and our luggage wouldn't be searched since the man in front of us had a red button). Little did I know, he was hiding my ring. All of my luggage is dumped out and searched in front of everyone and after going through the scanner, Nick grabs his backpack before it can get searched and walks away. Like how is he getting away with this? We make it to the resort and can finally relax (keep in mind it is Friday). Nick and I do a lap around the resort to get the lay of the land (little do I know that Nick is scoping out where he can propose). Nick tells me we have a dinner reservation at the fancy steak restaurant on Saturday night so of course, I get dressed up (I even curled my hair). We go to happy hour at the only bar we have discovered so far and I have a few glasses of wine, Nick has one beer. Just one. It was his request to get a picture on the beach at sunset before dinner and knowing how he feels about taking pictures, I am thrilled. We walk down to the beach looking for a person to take our photo and low and behold, we come across a gentleman holding two professional cameras not doing anything. He agrees to take our photo (I later find out he's taking a video of the proposal) and Nick goes to set his backpack down so I follow and Nick goes "GO OVER THERE PLEASE" - that was a bit harsh but I listen and go back over to the photographer. We start taking photos (he's taking a video) and we do the standard prom photo and Nick is breathing quite hard in my ear and I think to myself, "This is just a photo, what is his deal? Is he ok?" and the photographer tells us to turn towards each other and after fixing my hair, I see Nick on one knee. After he asked me to marry him, I responded with "are you kidding?!" and followed up with "of course!" We had an immediate engagement photo session (hence the two professional cameras as he was hired by Nick) and the photos turned out better than I could have ever imagined. What a dream proposal and ring and future husband.

Proposal

Neither of us had heard of Avensole Winery in Temecula before. Those that know Courtney, know she loves wine and is a wine club member at several wineries in Temecula and Avensole happens to be located very close to South Coast Winery, Ponte Winery, Bottaia, and most of the well known wineries in the area. It is relatively small/private and very beautiful in scenery. On our venue shopping experience, I booked three venues to visit that Saturday in Temecula (we had only seen one previously in Costa Mesa and it was very purple - great location but purple). The first stop of the day was Avensole. Accompanying myself and Nick were my parents, Gary and Sue. The tour was amazing, Brianna the tour guide was amazing, the venue was stunning, and we finished out the tour with wine tasting for all four of us! (I add this detail in as it is important for the rest of the story). We leave for the next appointment but in the back of our minds, we knew we just found our venue. Next stop is Callaway Vineyards which is absolutely stunning but felt like the Disneyland of wineries. The tour felt like we were one of many and there was a set time frame and at the end, Nick and I got to enjoy a glass of wine but my parents did not (seems interesting that the people funding the wedding don't get a glass of wine but ok). We didn't get the same feeling from this stop as we did from Avensole. Next stop is South Coast Winery. Again, this felt like such a big venue and most of the tour was completed on a golf cart. We were told that our guests were going to be shuttled from the ceremony to the reception and that just didn't sound great. No free wine at this stop. We drove home and we all knew that Avensole was it. We booked the venue exactly one year from our wedding date, 6/24/22.

The Venue

Our Story

Photos

Andree Keith

Anita Russell

Amanda Keith

Devin Keith

Britt Mortimer

Bryce Baker

Scott Vander Ploeg

Ryan Locke

Marty Kerns

Matt Cutkomp

Cameron Keith

Friend of the grooms from when Nick lived in Memphis 

Alex Mobley

Maxine Keith

Kieran Keith

Wedding Party

Carter Estate Winery (0.2 miles) 34450 Rancho California Road, Temecula, California Domaine Chardonnay (1.4 miles) 33810 Madera De Playa Dr, Temecula, CA The New Inn (2.7 miles) 32615 Vista Del Monte Road, Temecula, CA Home2 Suites by Hilton Temecula (6 miles) 28400 Rancho California Road Temecula, CA Embassy Suites Hotel Temecula Wine Country (6 miles) 29345 Rancho California Rd. Temecula, CA SpringHill Suites by Marriott (6 miles) 28220 Jefferson Ave. Temecula, CA Hampton Inn &amp; Suites (6 miles) 28190 Jefferson Ave. Temecula, CA Holiday Inn Express (7 miles) 27660 Jefferson Avenue. Temecula, CA Best Western Wine Country Hotel (7 miles) 41841 Moreno Road. Temecula, California Fairfield Inn &amp; Suites by Marriott (7 miles) 27416 Jefferson Ave. Temecula, CA Stay Bridge Suites Temecula Wine Country (8 miles) 27500 Jefferson Ave. Temecula, CA La Quinta Inn &amp; Suites (8 miles) 27330 Jefferson Ave. Temecula, CA Quality Inn Temecula Wine Country (8 miles) 27338 Jefferson Ave Temecula, CA Temecula Creek Inn (8 miles) 44501 Rainbow Canyon Rd. Temecula, CA Pechanga Resort &amp; Casino (9 miles) 45000 Pechanga Pkwy. Temecula, CA Rentals by Owners www.vrbo.com www.airbnb.com&nbsp;

Airports

Airports Nearby:Ontario Airport - 57 miles from AvensoleSanta Ana (Orange County) Airport - 74 miles from AvensoleSan Diego Airport - 66 miles from Avensole

Places to Stay/Airports

Travel

Wine Tasting! Some of our favorites places are:Avensole (obviously)Robert RenzoniPonteBottaiaAkash Golf Hot Air Ballooning Glen Ivy Spa Old Town Temecula

Things to Do

Registry

Due to limited seating arrangements, invitations are limited to specified guests only. We appreciate your support and appreciation of our union. We are only able to accomodate guests named on the invitations. Our wedding is also adults only. Thank you for celebrating with us.

Courtney & Nicholas

Courtney & Nicholas

Things to Do