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When we began planning our wedding in the spring, everyone assured us, "It doesn't rain in Sonoma in September and October." As everyone knows, rainy season starts in November. Then it rained in September. Meterologists predicted a stormy October. Ben assured Mikaela, "Everyone knows it doesn't rain in October."
Friday was quite simply the hardest, longest downpour Ben had seen in his 7 years in San Francisco.
Tim, the patron of the Relais du Soleil told Ben not to worry. "I spoke to some people and it will be alright." Now who exactly these "people" are we still don't know. It was definitely more than alright.
So, it rained on Friday and again on Monday but, in between, we were blessed with two days of glorious sunshine. To prevent heartburn in future brides and grooms, we are doing our part to forestall this fluky fall weather pattern: we offset your travel by contributing to Terrapass. A little less carbon, a little less global warming, a little less stress.
You can find out more about them at Terrapass.
Cocktail Hour
The cocktail hour was hale and hearty for rain soaked folk still smelling of airplanes and car seats. At this point, the wedding was just a big party with a bunch of the people we love most in the world. Not a bad thing. We had no idea.
The Hike
Bravo to the brave souls who wandered the woods of Sonoma and enjoyed some of the region's pale and peaceful trails while others recovered from the night's adventures.
The BBQ
For those of you wondering what smart casual was, now you know: For men, a white wool suit with "action pleats" from the 1930's and for women, an off the shoulder body suit with 3 foot tassels. Thank you for looking fabulous and thank you to Renee and Larry for some serious Barbecue. While all of it was delicious, hands down the winner of the night was the hand smoked salmon. Larry is available for parties and bar mitzvahs, but sadly cannot deliver to the East Coast.
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The Ceremony
The highlight of the ceremony for Ben was when the giant branch fell out of the tree after his mother Judy and Mikaela's father Sam were mentioned. Mom (Judy) was really looking forward to Ben's wedding. REALLY. It is hard to imagine that she wouldn't have done everything she could to be there. And she did.
For Mikaela, it was the moment when she took her parents' waiting arms and began her walk down the aisle. Everyone was with us and -at the same time- Ben and she were completely alone. Time moved in concert with each step and each breath.
Before the day, she wasn't settled about the whole wedding thing - how could you have an intimate conversation, yet stage it like a performance before a crowd? That day, she discovered there was no stage and no performance and, surely, no crowd. No 'us', no 'you': just 'us' and 'all of us'.
Many of you told us how much you appreciated the warmth and words of Jan Morrison, our friend and the rabbi/cantor. We agree. She stood beside us for many months before she joined us under the chuppah.
We both loved the participation of family and friends -for getting Mikaela's hair and make-up just so, wrangling the lights and chairs, reading blessings and performing an inspired rendition of "The Book of Love." Deepest thanks go to our generous and talented tribe.
A special thank you to Patrick Lemmon for making everything run so smoothly for us the whole weekend. You were indispensable.
Party
We would have loved to have seen more of you, sat down at your tables and shared a glass and some good words. Though we saw more of you on the dance floor than at your tables, we have heard in these past months how many of you shared stimulating conversation and even began to forge new friendships as the evening wore on. Nice. No wedding romances that we know of, but who knows...
And, damn if we didn't dance the hora!
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