The busy Fall wedding season has taken me away from posts lately, but I am excited to share our next feature in N+K wedding weekend, the Welcome Dinner. N+K wanted a relaxed,  let your hair down, sip some wine, enjoy some BBQ and play lawn games kind of  night for their Welcome Dinner. We took the party to Topa Mountain Winery, just down the path from the Ojai Valley Inn. The winery hosts great furniture, so we used the honey colored picnic tables and benches, Adirondack chairs and patio lounges. They also have really fun lawn games that come with the venue such as Cornhole, Bocce Ball, Giant Jenga and Giant Connect Four. Guests go crazy over sipping wine and playing games. Knot Just Flowers created floral scenes in this upbeat picnic theme that made everyone smile. I mean... the happy color of yellow will get you every time! We knew we had the right linen drape from La Tavola Linen with the Lyme Check Taupe... it just screamed upscale BBQ vibe. I added in a great circular reclaimed bar from The Tent Merchant on the winery's round Flagstone dance floor. I couldn't resist hiring El Canito Cigars complete with Ladies and Gents flavored cigars. The stunning meat and cheese display by Paradise Pantry had all the guests gathering around for second and third helpings before dinner. We paired wines of Topa Mountain Winery, such as the beautiful Rose' of Grenache, with Ojai Valley Brewery's White Pixie Wheat Ale, and I can tell you... the bar was non-stop all night! I love it when couples embrace the idea of slowly easing into a big weekend. Let everyone dress up a couple times, a little lawn games, some epic food, yummy drinks and be marry themselves before the big day.