Big Wedding Weekend in Napa

This past weekend we were fortunate enough to attend the wedding of our friends Michael and Holly. After a long 5-year courtship, this wedding was certainly worth the wait and they pulled out all the stops for this 3-day extravaganza in the Napa Valley.

Prior to the wedding our friends Tracy and Carl gave birth to beautiful baby Lily on July 4th. Sadly, Lily arrived a bit too close to the wedding date, but I'm sure spending time with her was just as fun and exciting as our weekend in Napa. On our way to the wedding we stopped off to visit Eric's aunt Nancy in her new home in St. Helena and looked in on Eric's mom's dog who she's watching while Eric's parents are gallivanting through Europe. Bailey looks happy and healthy and Nancy and Ken seem well settled in their new home now that they have AC. Here are pics of Lily and Bailey (Note: click on the slide show if you want to order photos or take a closer look).

After visiting Bailey we checked into our hotel at the Silverado Resort. We were greeted with an amazing gift bag (including a SmartsCo product, of course) and then we headed to the first reception at Rubicon Estates (Francis Ford Coppola's place). The setting was gorgeous, the Italian spread delicious, and the wine was top notch. It was great seeing lots of friends we hadn't seen in a while.

On Saturday morning Eric went golfing, while I enjoyed the spa and worked off some of the calories I consumed the night before. After that it was time to get dolled up for the big festivities and meet the shuttle buses which were taking us to an undisclosed location. We ambled through the windy hills of Napa and ended up at the most picturesque chapel at the top of the hill surrounded by a small lake and vineyards. The ceremony was beautiful and included a boys choir. Bride and groom looked amazing. After the ceremony they shuttles took us down to Oakville to Villa Mille Rose (1000 roses) which was true to it's name. The estate was an amazing homage to a Tuscan Villa. During cocktail hour we caught up with old friends, enjoyed amazing wines and cocktails, delighted in the raw bar with four types of oysters, and noshed on finger foods including caviar, beets, figs and more.

After a while we were ushered into the large tent which was decked to the nines. The tables were amazing with crystal stemware, sterling silver place settings and letter press menus on each table. We enjoyed three amazing courses with perfectly paired wines and listed to the big band play their music. After dinner, when we weren't dancing, we adjourned to the cocktail lounge tent that included an amazing spread of desserts including cheese cake lolly pops, petite fours, and a strawberry tree. The night zoomed by and before we knew it, it was time to go home. But our hosts were kind and generous enough to see that the weekend didn't end too early and hosted a final brunch for us at Brix restaurant in Yountville. So much fun!!! It was like one of these fancy weddings you see in People Magazine, except all the people were super nice and down to earth.

Here's a link to Dane's awesome photos.

Our heartiest congrats to the bride and groom - we're looking forward to the house warming!!!

(Note: click on the slide show if you want to order photos or take a closer look)