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The impromptu proposal
On a beautiful Saturday in January, Alex and Justine came to V. Sattui Winery with their dog, Trixie. Alex had told Justine that he wanted to enjoy a “family day,” just the three of them.
But Alex had something up his sleeve.
With nothing planned beforehand, Alex and Justine came to the winery, did a tasting, signed up for our Wine Club and talked with everyone that walked by (because their dog is just that adorable). As Alex checked out, he asked the cashier if there was a quiet spot he could propose to his girlfriend. Well, Alex asked the right person, because it just so happened that Tom Davies, President and Co-Owner of V. Sattui, (and – shall we divulge – hopeless romantic?) was behind the cashier desk that day.
Tom had just the spot – our private Gold Room, an intimate room where stone cubbies are filled with dusty bottles of our older vintage wines and old wooden crates holding the biggest of bottles -the Nebuchadnezzar – lay. Always one to go above and beyond for our customers, Tom went on a quick mission – grabbing a bottle of our Prestige Cuvée sparkling wine, two flutes and a chiller and candles.
By the time they entered the private Gold Room, Justine may have had an idea of what was going on…
The happy(ily engaged) couple
A little bit of history
Alex and Justine met in college in 2007 at a birthday party for a mutual friend.
The first meeting
Alex was a Cal student athlete (Go Bears!) and played for the baseball team. Justine being a huge fan of baseball, Alex certainly did not escape her notice when he walked into the room. After spending the greater part of the night in the other’s company, they kept in contact over the next few months.
That Valentine’s Day, they went out to dinner (Olive Garden – life is hard with a student’s budget!) and to make the relationship official, Justine presented Alex with personalized M&Ms that read “Will you be my BF?”
After Alex’s initial shock wore off (your first experience with personalized M&Ms is pretty incredible) he said of course- and they’ve been inseparable ever since.
Officially boyfriend and girlfriend (2008) – my, how time flies!
Seven years (and several visits to V. Sattui) later, Alex and Justine have settled in Napa. Alex works for NorCal CrossFit and is very involved in all of the CrossFit games. Justine is a 6th grade teacher at St. John the Baptist Catholic School in Napa. Some of her family lives in town as well, and she and he enjoy being closer to them.
Next steps
One day after the proposal in our Gold Room, Justine called the Winery and asked that we host their wedding, too. Of course, we couldn’t be more thrilled! In the next two parts of the series, join them on their wedding journey as they pick out the menu, nail down the details and finally – tie the knot!
In the meantime, check out these beautiful photographs (and meet the adorable Trixie!) from their engagement shoot in San Francisco, shot by the truly talented husband and wife team at jcpagephotography.com
Engagement shoot photos courtesy of the talented duo at jcpagephotography.com
Don’t you just love love?