kunde

Okay, let me take a big wedding step back and tell you the story of how this whole shin-dig came to be.  Because since I've been keeping things hidden left and right to make this past weekend full of surprises for all you gorgeous guests, by this point, I'm totally bursting at the seams.

A week or two after proposal, when we had decided upon wine country, but before we had nailed down a spot, we spent a few weekends gallivanting from winery to Napa hotel to winery to Sonoma resort to winery to Healdsburg restaurant to try and select our locale.  It didn't take us too long to figure out that the second you tell a venue you're debating dropping approximately $10k on their site fee alone, the free perks (and extra, extra long red carpet) immediately start to roll.

We milked it for all it was worth, getting free site tours and complimentary reserve tastings and extra samples of that delicious, only-for-special-guests dark chocolate.  For any of you couples out there (or anyone who looks like you could be getting hitched) looking for a cheap and easy way to have a weekend of luxury, simply tell places you're engaged: you'll be on track for perks left and right.

While we enjoyed all the indulgence, we found the majority of spots lackluster.  They showed us (along with the four other couples on the tour) where we'd all sit and how we'd walk in and which champagne we'd toast.  As we questioned the logistics of tailoring the program to our uniqueness, they would proudly boast about the 100s upon 100s of weddings that they did exactly like this every. single. year.

When we got to Kunde, however, there was no talk of such type.  With just us on the tour, they just drove us around - showing us the expansive property and all of its sites. 
"Where do we do the ceremony?" we asked.
"Wherever you want," they replied.
"Which beer do we drink?" we asked.
"Whichever you want," they replied.
"How do we have our guests sit?" we asked.
"However you would like," they replied.

In addition, the place was European-family-owned and the views were unreal. 

Some shots from Boot Hill (our reception site) the big night of

Me and my fabulous maid of honor (sis)

taking in the views

To top it off, the 1850-acre property was the largest all in one place in all of wine country, AND there was even a set of ruins that looked exactly like a church (only with the roof blown off so completed and totally outdoors), but which was actually the original winery where they crafted and bottled one of Sonoma's very first Cabs.  Our kind of church.  Perfect for the nuptials.

Us being showered in lavender as we head to our "getaway" car

(more on that another post) 

to lead the troops up to Boot Hill post-ceremony

Once we found Kunde, we knew it was The One,
and thus began our scamming to plan a party around it.

Stay tuned,
xoxo
KK