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

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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

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

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

"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."

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

Gift jars of coffee beans topped tables

Photography: Tinywater Photography

Location: Durham Ranch

Event Planning, Flowers, and Stationery: Bash, Please

Catering: Paula LeDuc Fine Catering

Cake: SusieCakes

Music: The Flashdance

Rentals: Classic Party Rentals

Linens: La Tavola Fine Linen

Fashion Styling and Grooming: Art Conn

Mens­wear: On Nick: Yves Saint Laurent suit; Ravi Ratan cuff links; Harris shoes (barneys.com). On Jason: J.Crew suit; Brooks Brothers shirt; Tommy Hilfiger bow tie; The Generic Man shoes

Wedding Rug: West Elm