The cutest little wedding in the heart of wine country

Sometimes the best events are those where you don’t know anyone at all – at least that was the case this weekend when I attended a wedding in the heart of wine country.

As the emergency back-up date for my friend, I got the chance to attend Gloria and Jack’s wedding. Did I know Gloria or Jack? Well, no…but after spending an evening with 40 of their closest friends I now feel like I do.

I swear everything about this wedding was cute. Really cute.

It started with the location. It was held in a farmer’s market in Occidental, CA. So now I know what you are thinking because I was thinking the same. A farmer’s market for a wedding? How’s that going to work?

Believe me, it worked. The ceremony really was in the middle of the farmer’s market. Their wedding helpers (the guests that had arrived early) transformed a parking lot/alleyway into this romantic spot filled with checkered table cloths, wild flowers and food.

“We had our first vacation together in Occidental and we loved the farmer’s market,” said Gloria. “We decided the perfect place for our wedding would be in a place where we had great memories.”

If you haven’t been to Occidental, let me fill in. This place is darling. It’s about 2 hours from Sacramento (on a day when there is no traffic, but it's much longer in reality as there is ALWAYS traffic) and located in Sonoma County on the Bohemian Highway which is rated as one of the most scenic highways in North America. I’m not just saying that because it’s curvy and is lined with vineyards, trees and little town. There are sites on Google that agree with me.

“The coastline is also nice,” said Jack. “You just turn at the corner and drive about 10 minutes to the water.”

I never got around to doing that as the fog rolls in around 9 p.m. and while those winding roads are fun to drive during the day, they are a little scary to drive at night. I don’t know about you, but fog, winding roads and darkness always bring back memories of “American Werewolf in London.” I’m sure at any moment some giant black wolf is going to leap onto my car, smash through my windshield and rip out my neck - which would totally not be a good thing.

So while I’ll be saving the beach trip for another weekend when the sun is out, the wedding was worth the 2-hour trip. Not only was it cute, but the food was to die for. This did not come as a surprise to any of the guests, but little did I know I know Gloria was an award winning cook and is known for her food.

So what did they have? Well, keeping in with the whole farmer’s market theme they started off with fresh loaves of mushroom bread at the table. This bread was so fresh, it was still warm when we broke it open – and remember, we were in the middle of a parking lot. There were no microwaves to warm it up No, this bread was fresh from an Occidental bakery - and again, just like the farmer's market, the bread had meaning for the couple.

"Jack loves this bread. When he says he's craving some fresh bread, I know he's not talking about going to the bakery down the street in San Francisco. He's talking about this bread," said Gloria.

Next on the menu was this Spanish cheese with quince jelly. It sounds so simple, but that was the beauty of it. Again, it was fabulous and I had to hold back from totally pigging out on it, because a) that’s a little rude and b) because there was more food to come and I needed to save some space in my tummy.

Then came the shrimp and garlic. A little messy to eat, but by now we were all family and what’s a little shrimp juice among friends?

After the shrimp, it was time for the good stuff. The stuff I had been watching simmer since I arrive. The stuff that was making my mouth water just from the smell.

The stuff known as paella.

I’m just going to say, this was the best paella I had ever had. They had a seafood and chicken one for people like me and then a chicken and sausage one for the meat eaters. My friend tried both versions.

“We loved the paella from the farmer’s market, so we had to share it with everyone,” said Gloria.

I'm glad they did. I may have to make a trip up there just to get some more.
 

So now that I told you about the food, let me tell you about the ceremony, which was just as amazing.

Gloria and Jack wrote everything themselves -- from the readings to the vows. They told the group how they met, how they made each other feel when they were together and their hopes and dreams for the future. Gloria even told everyone that Jack was the most amazing kisser --which I must say is a good trait in the man you will be kissing for the rest of your life.

Needless to say, there were many tears shed and the cloth handkerchiefs they handed out came in handy.

I may not have known Gloria and Jack when I drove into Occidental, but I'm now proud to be one of their friends.

To the newlyweds...wishing you all the happiness in the world - today and for always!

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