Napa Bliss

Weddings are the truest celebration of life and love. They are hopeful, beautiful and full of promise. The sheer act of choosing to spend the rest of your life with just one person is wildly romantic; certainly well deserving of a party that goes out of its way to be both extraordinary and delicious. Memorable and seductive. Detailed yet humble in its focus on family and friends.

Congratulations Deborah and Tomas!

I had the pleasure of attending both the wedding and reception of Deborah and Tomas! The ceremony was intimate with tearful, hand-written vows followed by dinner under the stars in the Pasadena garden of the bride’s mother.

Sweet Butter had the honor of making the cake! The topper is vintage from an antique store in Minnesota.

A week later the celebration continued in Napa Valley, known for its world-renowned wine, food and unparalleled setting. Home to the French Laundry, Oakville Grocery and some of the most beautiful trees I have ever seen.

My husband and I arrived in Napa two days before the party. Plenty of time to wine taste, play bocce ball and picnic.

My husband Rick and our friend Angelo on the Bocce Ball courts in Yountville.

We picnicked in the 100 degree weather sipping wine from plastic cups and feasting on Tomas Keller’s famous fried chicken–saving room for chocolate cake from the Oakville Grocery.

As good as our picnic was, I think Tomas’ dad might have trumped us with his home-grown tomato and sea-salt lunch.

The Napa landscape reminds me of Minnesota farmland, minus the abundance of vineyards, of course. Miles and miles of land where the soil is so rich and fertile anything seems possible.

Picking green beans in The French Laundry garden.

It’s been nearly two months since Deb and Tomas’ tied the knot. They are settling into married life, back at work, and sorting through the myriad of photos that will serve as reminders that life can be beautiful, romantic and delicious all at once.