Janice Lee and Toan Ton have known each other for over twenty years.They met as children in the fourth grade of elementary school. Fast forward through a friendship that lasted throughout middle school, high school and college, they went their separate ways as life led him to Palo Alto and Janice to San Diego, five hundred miles apart. They reconnected years later and things never felt more right.
After six years of dating, three of which were long distance before Janice relocated to Palo Alto. Toan proposed to her while overlooking the ocean on a weekend getaway to beautiful Carmel.
“A FRIENDSHIP THAT LASTED THROUGHOUT MIDDLE SCHOOL, HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE”
They chose The Carneros Inn as their wedding venue. “We were smitten with its intimate feel and perfect balance of modern luxury and California chic,” says Janice. As evidenced by the fruit trees and vegetable gardens on the grounds, The Carneros Inn’s restaurant farm, focuses on seasonal foods from the Napa Valley. Being lovers of their local markets and farms, this was important to the couple and they were so excited to craft a memorable and delicious menu of their favorite foods and wines.
They both dreamed of a personal, meaningful and classic wedding that wouldn’t be overly formal; romantic yet masculine with a touch of elegance and a hint of the outdoors. They wanted to be mindful of the things that would make their guests feel at ease and a part of a warm celebration of their love. Oh, and of course, they wanted it to be a fabulously great time.
They dove right into the details and decided on a palette of soft blushes, champagne, ivory and gold to be carried throughout the day. And there was no shortage of inspiration as they pulled from sources such as the venue’s apple orchard, an extremely unique chair in the style of Louis XV that would become a part of the outdoor vignette, beautiful organically shaped gold charger plates, and even the details of the wedding gown.
Keeping in mind how they wished for the day to be personal and meaningful, they asked Toan’s brother to officiate and decided to write the ceremony together with stories of their childhood meeting and hopes for the future. They also chose to write their vows and read them to each other amid both laughter and tears. A wine box ceremony wrapped things up where their vows were stowed away with a bottle of wine to be read and enjoyed on their fifth anniversary.
After sealing their commitment with a kiss, they walked back up the aisle to a joyous rendition of “It Had To Be You” and led their guests on a parade through the resort among the fruit trees and cottages and began the celebration.
“I loved every single moment of the day,” says Janice “but if I had to choose some highlights I would include: reading my vows to my oldest, dearest friend; feeling overjoyed to be surrounded by our loved ones when we were all seated for dinner; the phenomenal same-day-edit video that was shown, and our first dance.”
Janice would be the first to admit to having two left feet, and that’s why they decided to take dance lessons. They had a simple choreographed routine to “Dream a Little Dream of Me” that was sweet and a little playful.
Toan would be sure to add that some of his highlights were the awesome band that played covers of his favorite Journey songs, the Vespa that not only served up scoops of gelato but was the perfect photo op, and the very popular late night bites of sliders and grilled cheeses after all that dancing!
“Our wedding day was full of happiness and the moments were sincerely us,” says Janice. We are thankful for our nearest and dearest who attended."
WEDDING TALENT
Location and Caterer: The Carneros Inn, Napa, CA; Cake: Inticing Creations, San Francisco, CA
Event Design and Planner: Amazae Events Inc., San Jose, CA; Floral Design: Cherries Flowers, San Francisco, CA; Rentals: Hartmann Studios, Richmond, CA; Lighting: Enhanced Lighting + AV, San Francisco, CA
Entertainment: LiveWire; Cinematography: Burkhart Studios; Stationery: Marizette Paperie
