A four-day celebration in a chateau-style estate’s rolling vineyards, chapel, and lavender fields
Photography by JOSE VILLA
Words by CAROLINE CAGNEY
Jourdan Sloane fondly remembers a morning when she gazed over at the closet in her Los Angeles home and noticed a substantial accumulation of her boyfriend Wells Childress’s belongings. “Wells would come over every day,” the model and influencer says of the organic way they moved in together. “[He] wanted to be part of my life, and that kind of consistency made me feel very safe with him.” It was the same feeling she had on their first date several months earlier at the Santa Monica Proper Hotel in December 2023, after they connected on the dating app Raya. “It was one of those nights where you lose track of time,” Jourdan says of her instant connection with Wells, the founder of Banyan Motors, a company that restores vintage German cars. “It felt like we had already known each other for much longer than we had.”
Fast-forward to November 2024 in India, where the couple were attending a friend’s wedding and celebrating Wells’s birthday. After a long day of hiking, they returned to their hotel room, where the Houston-born entrepreneur had set the scene for a proposal with flowers and Champagne. “I was completely overwhelmed,” Jourdan says. “It was just the two of us — no cameras, no big production, which made it feel even more special.” The next day, the pair celebrated with a safari and then retreated to the Amanbagh hotel in Rajasthan (one of their bucket list destinations) for a few more days of reveling.
The couple wed in October 2025 at Cal-a-Vie Health Spa in Vista, just outside San Diego, in a four-day celebration that unfolded across the château-style estate’s rolling vineyards, 400-year-old chapel, and lavender fields. “The property has this French countryside quality, but with the ease and natural beauty of Southern California,” says the bride, explaining that she and Wells wanted their guests to feel as though they were in Provence.
Jourdan collaborated with interior designer Kara Childress (Wells’s mother), and the couple worked with event planner Dani Blasena of HauteFêtes, who helped execute their “old-world romance meets moody fall” vision. Blasena incorporated details like candlelight, gold, and rich hues amid the rustic woods and antiques to give each event a warm, lived-in mood. “We wanted everything to feel layered and personal, like the space already belonged to us,” Jourdan says. As a nod to the groom, vintage cars were woven into the weekend both aesthetically and practically, transporting guests to and from the events.
“The property has this French countryside quality, but with the ease and natural beauty of Southern California.”
JOURDAN SLOANE
For their breezy mountaintop ceremony, which was officiated by Jourdan’s childhood minister, Pete Bowell, the bride made her entrance wearing a custom Galia Lahav gown that she designed with the brand’s head designer. “Because I studied fashion, I always knew I wanted to be closely involved in creating my own dress,” she says. “It was really special to see something that had lived in my mind become real.” After they exchanged vows, the newlyweds made their exit in a 1969 Mercedes 280 SL Pagoda, while guests were led to cocktail hour in the rose garden. The sit-down dinner was held at the estate’s limestone reception hall, L’Orangerie. Breathtaking antique murals were lit aglow in candlelight, while compositions of green sunflowers, chocolate Queen Anne’s lace, and deep-purple fruit spilled out onto the tablescapes. “It’s a space that feels straight out of a movie,” Wells says. “It really set a timeless backdrop for the night.”
Inside the after-party at the Parish House and the wine-tasting room, which was transformed into a French speakeasy called Chez Childress, late-night revelers kicked off their shoes and danced for hours to a deep house set by DJ Santiago, followed by sliders and fries. At the end of the night (after Jourdan had changed into a vintage Alexander McQueen lace dress), the newlyweds were, to no one’s surprise, the last two on the dance floor. “It was the most fun, joyful, and high-energy celebration,” Jourdan says. “The night felt completely like us.”
VENUE Cal-a-Vie Health Spa · PLANNING & DESIGN HauteFêtes · PHOTOGRAPHY Jose Villa · FLOWERS Siren Floral Co. · DJ Santiago · CAKE Hey There, Cupcake! · ENTERTAINMENT Élan Artists · STATIONERY Alexa Pulitzer; Minted Weddings · HAIR Kathleen Riley · MAKEUP Melissa Hernandez · CATERING The Farmhouse Catering · TRANSPORTATION Banyan Motors
Feature image: A vintage Mercedes transports the bride and groom.
This story originally appeared in the Summer Weddings 2026 issue of C Magazine.
Discover more WEDDINGS news.
See the story in our digital edition
