When Sam was in high school, Disneyland invited his band (he played piano and clarinet) and choir (he sang baritone) to play in the Magic Kingdom. Being the curious kids they were, what interested them most were not the rides, but what this fantasy land looked like on the other side of the wall. It was peopled with extraordinary individuals: Sam was coached by singers featured in the Disney movies, and got to swap stories with a hard-working actor carrying Mickey's head under his arm.

We don't have any backstage pass to Disney to give away, but we can take you on a little behind the scenes tour of Amanda and Mike's recent wedding. They put on an incredible celebration in the foothills of the Santa Cruz mountains, and assembled a talented team of professionals that helped make the magic happen. We want to give a shout-out to the vendors, and applaud them for the work they did.

Libby Werba (Events by Libby) was the wedding planner, and we loved how organized and relaxed she was. She skillfully managed the timeline when plans changed, and made sure everybody at the wedding enjoyed themselves.

We were so excited to work with Audrey from Honey Pear Designs again. Audrey has an impeccable eye for style, and makes gorgeous flower arrangements - a real treat to photograph! We also appreciate that she always tries to source sustainably-grown flowers.

Thomas Fogarty Winery & Vineyards was a beautiful location for the wedding. It's a nice retreat in the mountains, without being too far a trek from San Francisco. The view is stellar: green vineyards fill the foreground, with a view of the Bay stretching out into the horizon and the mountain ridge line providing a scenic vignette. Unfortunately, we couldn't taste the wine because we were working, but heard from the guests that it was great.

The hair and makeup was provided by Elizabeth Chang, Elizabeth Chang, Skyla Arts. To attest to her skill, one only need to see photos of the bride and her bridesmaids: they looked absolutely stunning.

The music was provided by Raffi, Raffi Nalvarian, Sound in Motion. We've encountered many DJs and MCs, and he is clearly one of the best. A veteran radio personality and DJ in the Bay Area, he has turned his enthusiasm to weddings, and knows how to get a party started, and rocking all night long.

We've eaten our way through Paris, and through the countryside of Southern France. But who needs to make the trip across the Atlantic, when here, in the Bay Area, Le Papillon provides the type of 5 star French cuisine that would otherwise justify the expense of an intercontinental plane ticket. Yeah... it was good.

Sweet Tooth Confections created the sweet spread, heaping with a variety of decadent confections and desserts. The perfect portion sizes, from mini-cupcakes to flutes of mousse, justified repeated trips back for more.

More photos from the wedding featured in our earlier blog entry can be found here.