A Napa Fairytale: Last Hurrah

After the Rehearsal Dinner it was time to unwind. It sounds crazy, but although the day was amazing and exciting, being on a constant life-high is exhausting. Making sure everyone is where they're supposed to be, making sure you're catering to everyone's needs, despite everyone telling you to not worry so much, is just part of being a bride.

Walking into Compadres to these lovely faces let me finally exhale.

Although I was tired (remember my breakfast in the dark?), I pushed on, drawing on the energy of my crazy friends. Mr. Barrettes was happy to take up a spot at the bar with his buddies and I gabbed with my peeps and took silly photos.

 We decided the caption for this photo should be "At midnight the pumpkin turned into a coach and she turned into a princess."

There was fun art outside on the walls.

The rest of the evening gets fuzzy. After one too many glasses of wine, my groom put me in the car and we headed back downtown to our hotel. He wondered why our suitcases were still in the car and I reminded him that there just weren't enough hours on October 9th to check in.

Yes, we spent the night before our wedding together. We didn't really have plans otherwise. I know it may be "unlucky", but it worked for us. There is nothing exciting to report there. We were exhausted. We were out before our heads hit the pillows, re-charging our batteries for the day we'd been waiting our whole lives for. Finally, ten-ten-ten was upon us!

A Napa Fairytale: Rehearsal Dinner

After washing away a slight setback with some V. Sattui Early Harvest White Riesling, we were back on track and headed to Pizzeria Tra Vigne with our wedding party and honored guests in tow.

A gourmet pizza buffet was laid out for us and the wine was flowing. Sadly, I don't have many photos because my camera spent the weekend in Mr. Barrettes' golf bag. Luckily I did have an aunt with a camera and she snapped a few good shots of the evening!

Lost in a pleasant thought.

Two of my pretty bridesmaids, who are sisters and also my cousins.

Mom Barrettes enjoying her muscat.

After dinner, Mr. Barrettes gave a quick speech and made sure to introduce everyone. Then it was time to pass out our gifts! I was so proud of my wrap jobs and I loved handing out my pretty boxes with purple (for the ladies) and black (for the men) satin bows. I'm really bummed I never took a photo of all the wrapped gifts, but you'll just have to trust me on this one. 

There was one gift I left out until the end. It was big and it never got wrapped. I managed to purchase paper and bows to wrap it but never managed to find the time. It would be okay...he would understand. My Man of Honor had done a lot for me. He'd gifted me 2 white dresses, he would make my hair pretty, helped pick out the venue, entertained me during Mr. Barrettes' bachelor weekend, and was my all-around go-to guy. He needed something special. I made a little speech and gave him this:

His house is full of gorgeous, unique, and sometimes fascinating wall hangings. I knew this needed to be his when I spotted it on One Kings Lane late one night. I mean, come on, the wine theme, the 2 male waiters, the word UNION... it was the perfect gift to thank him for being my MOH. One extra special bonus: Mr. Barrettes made the frame by hand back in Ukiah.

He cut the wood, mitered it together, recessed the frame to hold the glass and then backed it with 1/8' backing board. It was heavy, but it was awesome. MOH originally thought he would drive up to Napa from LA in a Winnebago so that he could bring his dogs and that plan fit well with my plan to give this to him. I was bummed when he told me he was flying in for the weekend, but I imagined we'd figure it out. We did!

Dinner wound down, night settled on Napa, and it was time to say goodbye to our guests. We weren't done yet, oh no, we still had one more event to attend-- we planned an after dinner meet-up with our friends from out of town. We mustered up a second wind and set off to Compadres Rio Grille...

A Napa Fairytale: Ceremony Rehearsal

With all of the major players present it was time to rehearse! We lined up in our ceremony places and backtracked our way to the front of the line.

Mr. Barrettes arrived directly from the golf course and didn't have time to change. Oops! But he still groom-ed it out with the black to my white. My dress was another gift from my MOH that we picked up when we were in NYC for my bridal shower. My dad was great and wore some sort of purple the whole weekend.. too cute.

Somewhere in the disaster of suitcases in our car was my ribbon bouquet that I forgot in the rush to get to the winery. I didn't even realize I wasn't holding it until I looked at photos. I swear, those things that you think are important just have a way of falling into the background of your mind. Don't stress.

Guess what else I forgot? My orange weddingbee barrettes! I have one in my hair, but I intended to wear the pair like they are in my icon*.

Surprise, surprise--I got teary! When the reverend walked us through what he would be saying, the words sort of hit me like a ton of bricks. We'd been reading our vows in the Presbyterian handbook for some time, so the words were familiar to me, but hearing them out loud just took me by surprise. Everyone kept telling me to get it out, so I'd be safe for the ceremony. It was a good release of emotion.

We wrapped it up pretty quickly and still had an hour to kill before our rehearsal dinner. While some of the party headed into the tasting room, I gathered our reception details together to leave for the coordinator and finished folding our programs.

I headed into the V. Sattui tasting room to join our friends, already in the first leg of an evening of celebration. I joined them with a glass of Early Harvest White Riesling and we all toasted to a fun and stress-free wedding day!

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* How cute are my barrettes?! I was saving them for our rehearsal and wouldn't you know I was using one all day and left the other sad in my makeup bag. John used a random one he had when I quick- changed into my dress at the Westin so it never really matched. I don't have a photo with these in my hair but maybe I'll remember to wear them on our 1st anniversary!

A Napa Fairytale: Rehearsal Morning

We woke up before the sun. I'm positive I wouldn't have even been able to sleep without the previous night's Cabernet nightcap. Once again the weather was shaping up to be amazing and the news stations began their segments on the 10-10-10 wedding rush-- it was so fun to be in on it!

Mr. Barrettes prepared for his gentlemen's golf day and I scurried around packing our overstuffed suitcases in order to check out of that hotel and into our room at Avia. We had an early breakfast date at Marie Callenders.* I love going out for breakfast when its still dark outside-- you just know the day ahead of you is going to be long and fun. At 7:30 we headed to the golf course and pulled onto the road to this familiar Napa sighting:

Being in the heightened, emotional omigod-this-is-our-wedding-weekend state I was in, I cried! Over balloons! I cried because the morning was so beautiful and I felt so lucky to be in love, in Napa, just... in everything. I felt like I needed someone to pinch me-- it was too good to be true. Right then and there, in the car, Mr. Barrettes proclaimed that we would come to Napa every year to celebrate our anniversary and next year we would do a hot air balloon. No arguments here! Then I cried a little harder because the thought of us being old people and celebrating our 75th wedding anniversary in Napa was just too much. I was just plain overwhelmed with wedding joy-- it was indescribable and I hope each of you feel/felt that way the day before your wedding too.

I said goodbye to my groom at the golf course, knowing the next time I'd see him would be at our 3pm rehearsal. I high-tailed it back to our hotel so I could get moving. Those menus and wine lists weren't going to print themselves. I pulled out my Mac and threw together the simplest looking design ever. As long as the food and wine were good I didn't think anyone would care. Trust me, if your guests are thinking, "Oh my, this paper menu looks like it was slapped together the day before the wedding", you're doing something else wrong.

I bought 32 frames from the dollar store (16 tables, one framed menu and one framed wine list each) and zipped over to Kinkos. I left 20 minutes later with printed, cut, and ready-to-be-framed menus and wine lists. Easy peasy. Next!

I had to check out of our hotel and into Avia, but our room wasn't ready yet. On my way out I heard a familiar booming voice. Our reverend, Dr. Houtz was in the lobby checking-in! Omigod this is real! It was a pleasure to see him and his wife before the craziness of the afternoon and I started to get the feeling that I would have alot more run-ins with guests as everyone descended on Napa. I could feel the energy getting closer and closer.

With nowhere to be and no hotel to check into I did what any girl would do-- head straight to her gay boyfriend's hotel to see what merriment awaited there! The Will to my Grace always keeps me amused!

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*Ever bite the inside of your lip by accident? Then because you did it once, it's so much easier to do it again and again and before you know it you have a super sore. That's me. The week before our wedding. By the wedding weekend I had a canker sore. Worst timing ever. Any time I tried to eat or drink I winced in pain. By the time I found the numbing gel my mom had bought, the weekend was over. Fail. I drank hot coffee through a plastic straw that morning. (How's that for weirdness, Mrs. Octopus?)

By the time we landed in Guam, my mouth was as good as new. The pain kept me in the moment during the weekend and I'm going to chalk it up to the universe keeping me grounded during a weekend I could have been a reckless and drunk mess :)

A Napa Fairytale: Arriving in Napa

  

  Mr. Barrettes and I arrived in Napa on October 8th to the most gorgeous weather (which everyone commented on throughout the weekend, as if I specially planned it). We quickly checked into our first hotel and scurried up Rt. 29 to meet my parents, godparents, and MOH and partner at V. Sattui to whet our appetite for the weekend and jump into some tastings.

We took a seat around the corner and received a complimentary tasting because when people find out you're getting married over the weekend, they just throw free wine at you! We were in full-on wedding mode and just tasted our favorite wines, which we would be presenting at the wedding. Getting the thumbs up from our other party members on our wine selection, we were feeling pretty satisfied with our palettes and couldn't wait to share our tastes with our guests.

mmm...Gamay Rouge...

While most of the wineries end their tastings at 5pm, we have a favorite spot that keeps pouring until 6pm, Peju. Four of us headed over there for some good ol' fashion fun, courtesy of our favorite wine pourer, Richie. He pours generously in the back room and always keeps the joint hoppin'. You may have to wait a tick, but if you are there, ask for him specifically!

At Peju is my favorite sign, which I make nearly everyone pose with. It is a plank of french oak from a barrel painted with the words "In Vino Veritas - In Wine Is Truth". This quickly became my mantra for the weekend. There was almost a tattoo, but much to my mom's relief we just didn't have time for that-- there will be one in the future.

Towards the end of the tasting, things got a little saucy. A handful of British couples were in our group and once they found out we were to be married, all hell broke loose. There was storytelling, unsolicited advice, and I'm pretty sure Mr. Barrettes got his butt pinched by some old ladies.

For dinner we headed to Villa Romano, a cozy italian restaurant with just. perfect. food. We were joined by my parents and godparents for a lovely before-the-storm feast.

With full bellies, we all headed to our hotels to rest up for the big rehearsal day. Mr. Barrettes had a 8:30am tee time and while I thought I was in for a relaxing morning, I quickly realized that I had NO menus or wine lists for our wedding. What?! How does that even happen with a 2 year engagement? That needed to be taken care of pronto in the a.m.

As I drifted off into a cabernet slumber, I had no idea what whirlwind I was in for when I awoke.

A Napa Fairytale: Introduction

Greetings, Hive! I'm back and I'm armed with winery wedding goodness for you, straight from the heart of Napa Valley. Our 10/10/10 wedding went off beautifully and I'm so excited to tell you our story!

Mr. Barrettes and I tied the knot at V. Sattui Winery, surrounded by 120 of our nearest and dearest. Crush season in Napa is easily one of the most beautiful times of the year to visit wine country and the energy of the region was simply buzzing. Plump grapes still hung on some vines and others were freshly harvested. The smell of crush tickled your nose-- it was simply magical.

photos by Luke Snyder Studio

Our rehearsal and dinner were on October 9th, with most of our guests arriving that morning. We drove down from Mr. Barrettes' mom's house in Ukiah (where we had spent a week preparing) on the 8th to ease ourselves into the weekend with a few close friends.  I look forward to sharing our wedding adventure with you-- grab a glass of your favorite vino as I do the same. The story is always better with wine!