Rehearsal Day & Dinner
The Friday before our wedding was a magical day. After a long Thursday of wine tasting and a family dinner, Bryan, I and our friends spent a lazy (read: hungover) day hanging out by the Villagio's pool. We left the pool for one reason and one reason only: to spend an hour running through our actual wedding rehearsal at the venue. We all walked over to the ceremony site in our bathing suits and cover-ups because, in my opinion, there was no need to dress up as the heat was coming on strong. I believe, when all was said and done, Friday's temperature hit about 99 degrees, and we anticipated Saturday's going into the low 100's. So we went through all the wedding's who, what, when, and where details (hopefully we were all clear on the "why") and then retreated back to the pool for some more relaxation. It was a tough day, I tell you.
The second activity we had scheduled for Friday was our rehearsal dinner. Bryan's mom, Nancy, had planned a wine education event and dinner at Duckhorn, one of our favorite Napa wineries. Bryan and I had been involved in the planning of the dinner up until mid-April, when his health issues took precedence. That said, one of Nancy's close family friends works as a San Francisco-based event planner and offered to plan and execute the entire rehearsal dinner event alongside Nancy, taking a ton of stress off of her shoulders as well as Bryan's and mine. We still can't thank her enough. With the exception of the menu, the entire evening was going to be one big surprise to Bryan, myself and our friends and family. Simply put: we couldn't wait to see it!
Bryan's parents arranged a bus to transport us to the vineyard so we told our bridal party, their dates and our families to meet in our hotel lobby at 5:45pm. The evening was extra exciting as several of our friends had just arrived from out of town, flying in from places like Columbus, San Diego, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and even Rhode Island. We met a big group of friends for drinks and catching up before we were whisked off to the vineyard.
We drove and drove and drove, with the anticipation building in the bus. Duckhorn is a longtime favorite vineyard of both Bryan's and my parents, and we couldn't wait to share its gorgeous landscape and setting with our friends, especially given that many of our friends had never been to Napa, let alone Duckhorn. We drove through Duckhorn's gates and all of a sudden it was impossible to ignore the winery's striking beauty. From the expansive, classic plantation-style exterior to the lush surrounding vineyards, we knew we were in for a truly special evening. The night could not have been more gorgeous, and it was fantastic seeing every single one of us dressed up (turns out we all clean up pretty well!) and ready to celebrate. After departing the bus, our group was immediately met by one of Duckhorn's ambassadors who ushered us into their front courtyard – practically in the front vineyard, mind you – for a glass of Schramsberg Rose and passed ham and cheese croquette appetizers. I could see everyone looking around in awe, taking pictures in front of the vineyards and some even excitedly exclaiming, "this picture is going to be on our Christmas card next year!"
Once we settled in, our official tour began. Duckhorn has an incredible wine making facility, through which we were taken on a comprehensive tour and explained the details of their winemaking process. On each stop of the tour, we were presented with a different tasting of wine along with an accompanying appetizer. The energy in the air was so fun and so festive that I pulled Bryan aside inside Duckhorn's barrel room and together, we surveyed the scene: each of our best friends and family members, all gussied up and clearly in a celebratory mood, were completely relaxed and laughing, chatting, tasting wine and overall just having a fabulous time. It was a moment we'll never forget.
Now this may or may not be obvious, but one of the reasons Bryan and I planned a Napa Valley wedding was to be able to actually show, not just tell, our family and friends about our favorite wines and wineries. There's something incredibly special about visiting a winery, learning its history, winemaking process and meeting the winemakers themselves that makes enjoying your favorite wines even more meaningful. So it was great to have Duckhorn provide us with an educational tour and tasting, followed by dinner. It was a bonus for Bryan and I to know that after wedding weekend events like our time at Duckhorn, our friends would go back home and, upon seeing bottles of Duckhorn at a local restaurant, remember when they walked through the actual vineyards, barrel rooms and processing facilities at the winery itself.
But back to our evening. After our tour concluded, our group was led up to Duckhorn's outdoor veranda. From the pictures, you can tell it's a very large wraparound porch. When we reached the top of the stairs and saw exactly what Bryan's mom and family friend had put together, we were absolutely awestruck. The porch, which by day typically has little tables for smaller groups of wine tasters, was completely transformed. In place of the small tables sat one long table with place settings and personalized menus for all our guests, wine bottles with custom-printed "Christie & Bryan" labels, candles galore and even polished stones engraved with our names, wedding date and the word "forever." To the side of the dinner table was another, smaller, table with a selection of smooth pebbles and wish flowers for each of our guests to either write us a personal message or make a wish by blowing the flower petals into the wind. It was so lovely, I feel like my words aren't doing it justice.
After Bryan's parents welcomed everyone with a heartfelt toast, the catering staff took over and served us an unbelievable three-course dinner paired with various Duckhorn wines. Throughout dinner, each of our friends and family stood and told stories about their relationships and history with Bryan and me. The entire evening was one big celebration of life, love and friendship. It was truly a night we'll never forget, and the only way I can describe it (even after eight paragraphs of – to some – excrutiating detail) it is to quote one of my best friends. Even after the night was long over, she said, "It was the perfect dinner party at the perfect venue with perfect guests and perfect food." It really doesn't get much better than that, does it?
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