on sunday, september 5th, we had the great honor of attending the wedding of an amazing couple, our friends flo and brian. i can honestly say it was one of the classiest, most beautiful weddings i’ve ever attended.

both the ceremony and reception took place at the flora springs winery estate in st. helena, california — the heart of napa valley. when ryan and i were young and naive and didn’t know how much weddings cost, i always pictured us getting married at a winery, so i think just a tad bit of envy made it seem all the more beautiful :)

it was appropriate that flo and brian get married in napa because it is most certainly their favorite place to take a sunday drive, to spend the day sipping wine before a relaxing dinner at rutherford grill. it is because of this fact that most times i think of the napa valley, i think of them <3

the ceremony took place in a lush courtyard between two of the estate’s brick and stone buildings. guests sat on the patio below while the bridal party entered on a stone staircase from above – flo’s bridesmaids all wore different jewel tones – venetian gold, sapphire, ruby, emerald and amethyst – and they complemented each other beautifully. the groomsmen, of course, wore matching vests and ties to bring it all together. brian looked dashing in his military whites and flo was stunning in her perfect dress and veil. ryan thought she’d have her hair up, but i knew she’d wear it down!

a traditional cocktail hour followed the ceremony before guests were led through the wine caves to the pavilion where the reception was to take place. one of the coolest touches was the entrance of the bridal party through the sword arch, which was manned by six of brian’s coast guard friends. i don’t claim to know much about military wedding traditions, but i learned the sword arch is one that i like!

another special touch was the table set up especially for flo’s dad, a man very near and dear to her heart, who died when she was a little girl. they lit a candle on the table and left it burning through the night to honor him. it was beautiful, and i’m emotional just thinking about it.

shortly after the bridal party joined us and the bride and groom shared their first dance, dinner was served. i have to mention dinner because OMG it was delicious. they had these little stuffed potatoes and i could have eaten a dozen of them. unfortunately, i only had two. *tear*

then it was time for the rest of us to dance, which is always so much fun. the dj did this cool thing called a snowball dance where she’d freeze the music and everyone had to run out and grab someone else, so at one point almost every single guest was gettin’ down on the dance floor. total awesomeness.

while taking a break from dancing, we went back in the wine caves to take a few pictures. i love it in there. it’s nice and cool and there are barrels of wine for miles. helloooooo, of course i like it :)

flo and brian’s wedding was one of our favorite weddings ever. belated congratulations and wonderful wishes for a lifetime of wedded bliss, mr. & mrs. trapp!

well, another birthday has come and gone and the biggest difference is that i am no longer a twentysomething. it’s ok, though. i’m not freaking out. everyone says their 30s were some of the best years of their lives, so i’m actually kind of excited to have entered this period. i’m anticipating things to come, and it feels really good <3

being celebrated also feels really good! which is why i’m still basking in the glow of the weekend on monday morning. so much time and effort was put forth by so many people to ensure i had a wonderful, memorable weekend. i would be remiss if i didn’t mention shirley and the two days she took off work to prep for the big party on saturday. hours and hours of cooking and cleaning and errand-running, all for me. do i have a wonderful mother-in-law or what?

not to mention the other amazing women in my family (my mom, rodi, tai, auntie margie and auntie loretta) who brought all kinds of homemade deliciousness for my guests to enjoy. and antonella, a wonderful friend with a talent for baking, who made 70 of the most adorable cupcakes i’ve ever seen.

and, of course, my parents. not only did they CREATE me (haha), but they also treated us to a very enjoyable birthday dinner on friday night at quinn’s lighthouse, a restaurant of my choice. in addition to all that, my mom took ellie for a walk during my party when i needed a break, and my dad manned the video camera all night. i cannot wait to see the ridiculousness he caught on tape :)

thank you, also, to brianne for wiping my tears and calming my nerves during a moment of extreme stress (and for taking pictures when i realized i hadn’t been taking any – oops!), and to alyssa’s dear husband matt for lighting my candles when ryan was off dealing with ellie <3

and to all the other friends and family who joined in the celebration on saturday, especially josh who made the eight-hour drive from san diego just to be there; flo & brian, who are surely the busiest couple of all with their wedding coming up in less than a WEEK; and all the rest of you amazing people. each one of you made it an event i will always remember, one of the best nights of my life.

and finally, to ryan, the love of my life, the single most selfless person i know, the one who makes everything possible. thank you for my party, thank you for my daughter, thank you for giving me all that i could ever want. i love you so much.

“happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”
.aristotle.

on sunday i took my mom to one of the greatest places in the world, color me mine, for a few hours of ceramics painting and mother/daughter bonding.

i was really looking forward to it because my mom had no idea where i was taking her, but i knew she was going to love it. at first she seemed a little skeptical when we pulled into the parking lot and i said, “we’re painting pottery, ta-da!” … but once we got inside and she picked the piece she was going to transform into a work of art, she was all about it.

i decided on an oval platter and she picked a small plate she will instead use as a candle holder. we sat together by the window for three hours, painting, talking and listening to the low hum of people talking around us. we had nowhere to be and nothing to think about other than which shade of blue we were going to use next. truly, it was as relaxing as a day at the spa.

my mom and i don’t get to spend much of time together one-on-one, so our therapeutic day of painting was extra special. i’ll edit this post with a picture of the finished products when i pick them up next weekend :) happy, happy belated birthday, mom!

[matt + alyssa = love]

this week is a whirlwind of appointments and errands and preparations for the events of this coming friday and saturday … and i’m not even the bride, ha! turns out it’s a lot more work being a bridesmaid AND the mother of a flower girl.

i spent sunday and monday at the mall in search of something to wear to the rehearsal dinner. today i went looking for a new pair of dress shoes for ellie (no luck, so i’ll have to go again on wednesday), and tomorrow i need to get a mani/pedi and my eyebrows done before i swing by matt’s mom’s house to pick up ellie’s dress. add all that to the usual mix of gymboree, naps and mealtimes, and you’ve got one busy momma.

the festivities commence friday afternoon at 4:15 when we meet at st. mary’s chapel in moraga for the rehearsal. then matt’s parents are hosting what is sure to be a lovely dinner at an italian restaurant in danville called piatti. ellie will be joining us at the chapel, but grandma shirley will be picking her up from the restaurant because her bedtime is promptly at 7 p.m. (thank you, grandma)!

saturday will be an early morning for me, as i need to be at victoria’s salon at 8:00 for my hair appointment. alyssa wants the bridesmaids to meet at her house and leave for the chapel by 10:15, but i might opt to finish getting ready at home and meet them there with ellie and ryan at 11.

i’m a little anxious (ok, VERY anxious) about how ellie might behave during the ceremony because it’s scheduled to begin at 12:30, the exact time she typically goes down for her nap. but i have faith in ryan that once she makes it down the aisle, he can appease her with snacks (and possibly a new toy) until matt and alyssa’s big kiss seals the deal :) and then, assuming she sleeps in the car on the way to the reception, she should be good to go until the end … or … almost the end … i hope. please?

and there will be photographs aplenty!

happy wedding week, matt & alyssa <3 we’re so excited for what’s to come!

the central reason for the timing of our big texas trip, our wonderful friends eric and tessa got married on march 6, 2010. when they first chose a date last year, it felt like it was soooo far away. but 100 days quickly turned into two weeks and all of a sudden there we were, just hours before the ceremony, watching tessa come down the stairs wearing her beautiful ivory dress, carrying a lavender bouquet.

the ceremony was held at a small park in houston and the reception at an old firehouse nearby. leave it to eric and tessa to have a wedding full of character and charm <3 it was beautiful! the weather was perfect and the ceremony went off without a hitch. even the KIDS did what they were supposed to do! ok, ellie wouldn't hold her pretty basket and jaden walked at a much faster pace, but if it weren't for such a gorgeous bride, they would have stolen the show :)

the reception was fun, too. lots of dancing and good times continued. we all decided we’d stay as long as the kids’ behavior allowed us, since it was an evening reception scheduled to go past their bedtimes. i think we managed to keep them pretty happy until around 8:30 or 9, and they fell asleep in the car on the way home.

congratulations, eric and tessa, and thank you for letting us all be a part of your special day. we love you!