A Modern Navy-and-Black Wedding on a Ranch in California

Updated on September 20, 2018

Jason and Nick

The proposal was all set. Nick Dierman had come up with both the ideal setting—a weekend in Palm Springs—and the just-right gift for his boyfriend of two-and-a-half years, Jason Coffey. "I thought a watch was a nice, masculine take on an engagement ring," Nick says. Then Jason told Nick that he might have to postpone the trip. Nick seemed miffed, so Jason IM'ed him, "Are you planning to propose?" Nick said he was. Jason, not wanting to have their engagement take place via IM, raced home to their Los Angeles pad to spell out Y-E-S on the floor in rose petals.

The pair wed a year later at Durham Ranch in Napa Valley, the site of one of their first vacations together. After their outdoor ceremony, they threw a handsome black-and-navy affair filled with personal elements and handmade decor details.

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Stamp of Approval

The wedding's black-and-navy color scheme recalled the night sky during their memorable wine-country trip together. Cute buttons were part of a cheeky invite suite that tied everything together.

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The Fashions

"Everyone looks good in black and navy," says Jason of the event's palette. Guests were asked to wear either hue (or both!), and Jason sported a black J. Crew tux while Nick wore navy Yves Saint Laurent.

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Boardwalk Empire

Jason and Nick spent the night—and got ready for the party—in this former rancher's cabin on the property, which dates back to when the Durham Ranch was a cattle farm.

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Child's Play

Nick's nephews and niece, ring bearers and flower girl, respectively, stuck to blue and black, too.

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Parental Guidance

Jason's mom and dad walked him down the aisle.

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Magic Carpet

The pair married while standing on a "wedding rug." A friend officiated the outdoor ceremony in front of 118 guests.

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The Recessional

"We walked back down the aisle to a song that kept playing on the radio when we drove up to Napa on that first trip to L.A.," Nick says, referring to "When Love Takes Over" by Kelly Rowland. "It was super-cheesy, but we both loved it."

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Stag Party

Motifs of deer and coffee, a play on the grooms' last names, marked nearly every printed surface. Here, one of the insignias topped the stirrers in the signature drink, a spicy Tomato's Kiss.

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Manly Mascot

A sketch of a mug-toting buck symbolized the Coffey-Dierman union.

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Vintage Vibes

To make the escort cards, Nick bought manila shipping tags from Staples and typed them up himself using a early -1950's Remington typewriter that Jason had given him for Christmas

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Double Duty

A swipe of blue paint transformed glass water bottles into multi-tasking table numbers.

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Dapper Dining

Glass-bottle vases, wooden chairs, and succulent centerpieces lent a cool vibe.

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Tasty Delights

Dinner offered a salad of local greens and a choice of sea bass or lamb. And dessert presented another dilemma: whether to sample the vanilla layer with vanilla celebration frosting, the chocolate with peanut butter frosting or the vanilla with cocoa frosting. Nick opted for all three.

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