A Timeless California Wedding at Tehama Golf Club

Phillip Homza had his future wife, Shannon, to thank for getting him through French class at Texas Christian University in 2007. But after bonding as partners in class and occasionally seeing each other on campus, nothing ever came of their relationship...for awhile. Fast forward to 2013, when Phillip noticed via Linked In that Shannon had moved to Sydney and decided to reach out to see how she was doing. After a few weeks of constant talking, Phillip took a huge risk, booking a plane ticket from Fort Worth, Texas, to visit Shannon for a week. Thankfully, the leap of faith ultimately paid off—and his visit proved that his social media message had promise. Following the momentous trip, Shannon made plans to join Phillip in Texas; that is, until she received an offer for her dream job in San Fransisco. The bride accepted, which prompted a year-long long-distance relationship that ended when Phillip relocated to the same city.

Two years after moving to California, Phillip got down on one knee during a weekend trip to Napa in April 2017. The day of the engagement, the groom surprised Shannon with a winery visit and lunch at Auberge du Soleil, where they were told their table wasn't ready yet. Phillip stealthily used this decoy to lead Shannon on a walk to the vineyard's pagoda. Once there, he opened a sliding door to a circular room with stunning views of Napa Valley and pulled out the ring. After tears, hugs, and an enthusiastic yes from Shannon, Phillip had one final treat up his sleeve—both of their families were waiting to congratulate them at Domaine Chandon.

Speaking of family, the bride and groom strove to cater to their relatives' affinities for golf for their June 30, 2018, wedding at Tehama Golf Club in Carmel, California. "Given that everyone would be traveling a long way, we knew the appeal of golf would be a cherry on top for everyone," Shannon explains. But that was hardly the only selling point: The bride also recalls being struck by the venue's ocean and valley views, Spanish-style architecture, and expansive windows. The venue paired perfectly with the couple's classic and understated vision, which was made possible with the help of a natural color palette that mirrored the surrounding Carmel Valley.

Keep reading to see this timeless California wedding in action, planned by Kindred Events and captured by Carlie Statsky.

After hitting a dead end while dress shopping in San Fransisco, Shannon retreated to her hometown of Houston to continue the hunt. No specific dresses called her name, but she did hit it off with one boutique owner, who encouraged the bride to check out an Oscar de la Renta trunk show. Sure enough, Shannon was enamored with one of the designer's ethereal creations: a floral-embroidered V-neck gown. "I loved the dress because it was totally different than what I would ever wear in real life, but I loved the way it looked on me," she says. "It was flattering, elegant, and memorable."

On the big day, Shannon held onto a lush, hand-tied bouquet of white and muted blush blooms, paired with Italian-inspired greenery.

The bridesmaid dresses fed into the couple's curated color palette with Watters dresses that featured a cross-front halter neckline (the bride's favorite part of the dress).

Phillip personalized his black tux look with monogrammed cufflinks, as well as a monogram on his shirt—in TCU purple, of course!

The couple customized their ceremony spot with romantic florals that effortlessly matched the nearby valley. Arrangements flanked each side of the altar and featured white garden roses, peonies, white sweet peas, ranunculus, olive, eucalyptus, and rosemary. After Shannon and Phil exchanged vows, their officiant read an traditional Irish prayer to pay homage to the bride's heritage.

The classic and timeless atmosphere extended to the newlyweds' reception locale, which had been adorned with groupings of votive candles interspersed with greenery.

Each table scape was made up of garden-style floral arrangements similar to the bride's, gold chargers, blush table linens, and silver flatware. From there, the pair's 140 guests enjoyed a two-course meal with grilled Black Angus filet mignon, topped off with the buttercream wedding cake. A second groom's cake—shaped like a purple bucket, adorned with the TCU logo, and filled with crawfish and corn—was in honor of both Phillip's alma mater and hometown.

The bride and groom, who made their grand getaway in a white convertible, prioritized booking a wedding band that could bring friends and family of all ages to their feet at the end of the night. "Phillip is a huge dancer and it was important to both of us that the wedding was fun and not at all stuffy," says Shannon. Their music selection rose to the occasion, and the bride says she will never forget the moment they began playing their first song. She says, "Everyone got out of their seats and on to the dance floor—I’ve never seen anything like it!"