Anniversary Weekend Away

This past weekend Dave took me on a secret anniversary getaway. Since we were dropping Luke off in Lodi I had a pretty good idea we were going to our wedding reception site, the beautiful winery/hotel/spa Wine and Roses, I was right! Our room was beautiful with a huge fireplace and large spa-like bathtub

The first night we ate a romantic dinner at the hotel. My mom sent us wine and chocolates to pair with it, so we enjoyed yummy dessert and wine every night.

On Saturday Dave had a couples massage set up for us in the Hotel's Spa ...oh it was so glorious!! We spent 5 hours just hanging out in our robes at the spa enjoying a glass of wine in the jacuzzi and by the open air fire pit, I think I could have stayed there all day. That evening we joined in on the local Taste-and-Sip tour of many of the local wineries. We even received a free, signed bottle of Old Vine Zin from Pasos Vineyards thanks to their super friendly sales girl.

On Sunday we enjoyed a leisurely morning of breakfast and a game of Nerts then it was off to pick up our little buddy at Great Grandma's house nearby. It was a much needed weekend of just being "US", rest and relaxation. Now back to reality!

Clinton and Sarah's Wedding in Monterey

Luke loves hanging out by the beach in his tux.
Natalie was the Matron of Honor and gave a great speech!
It was a beautiful outdoor wedding at the Pacific House in Monterey, right next to Fisherman's Wharf. We enjoyed catching up with a bunch of Sacramento friends and it was the first time I was able to play bocce ball and eat clam chowder in a bread bowl at a wedding.

Andy and Sorrenta Roberson Wedding

Natalie and I attended our first San Francisco wedding this weekend. The ceremony was held at St. Ignatius church, a huge church on top of a hill by the University of San Francisco.
The reception was at the Flood Mansion. complete with live accordion cocktail music. Andy and I grew up 2 doors down from each other so there were a lot of old friends there to catch up with. Here's Keith, Amanda, and my brother Andrew...
And the parents...
The bridal party arrived via trolley car.
Nice views of Alcatraz from the mansion.
Bride and Groom ...

Another Preschool Friend Gets Married Off

We went to Heather Willey's wedding in Sacramento this weekend and got to catch up with a bunch of preschool, elementary school, high school, and San Diego friends.
Here they are: Jeremy, Aaron, Jeff, Gilda, Sarah, Nessa... ..and Marlo, who I haven't seen much since she moved to Turkey and got married to the guy in the blue tie...
Beautiful wedding, fun reception, good times..I recognized one of the groomsmen, but it took us a while to figure out where we knew each other from. We were on the same floor in the dorms freshmen year at Cal Poly. He grew up with the groom in Humboldt. Small world.

Blake and Kara's Wedding

Luke loves putting on his tux...
Here comes the bride!
Kendall and Carly watching the procession...Natalie with my Aunt and cousins just before we all showed off our moves on the dance floor...
Luke had a tough time falling asleep at the reception so here's my awesome family watching him outside...

Dave and Charisse's Wedding

While Natalie was up in Seattle this weekend I got to go to Dave and Charisse's Wedding (fellow Younglife volunteers).It was a beautiful outdoor wedding and reception in Los Altos Hills and I enjoyed catching up with the old Younglife crew and the kids.

Nathan and Jen's Wedding

Luke was lookin' dapper in his tux...
The girls...Brother and cousins -in-law.
The bride and groom running to the limo...

Blomgren - Van Elderen Wedding

Good times at Audrey and Jason's wedding. Natalie's first pregnant bridesmaid experience. She was able to stand up through the whole thing -- and even dance!

Younglife kids (who are now in college) helping out.
Bridesmaids (guess which one is Natalie)...
Beautiful setting at Nestldown.Audrey and Jason arriving at the appetizer hour by train.This cool band, the Brass Monkey's, led us from the ceremony to the appetizers to the dinner gardens.Dance party!

Audrey's Rehearsal Dinner

Natalie's going to be a bridesmaid tomorrow so we got to go to this great rehearsal dinner at the Van Elderen home. Here's a picture of some cool people on stairs. They even got to wear this awesome balloon love hat that we walked through on the way to dinner...

Lucky Weddings: 7/7/07

The most popular wedding day ever just happened. Whose wedding did you go to?

From Eva Longoria in Paris to Wolfgang Puck in Carpi to Elivs Impersonators in Vegas, this was the day to do it. I wonder who took The Ritz-Carlton New York up on their offer: “Lucky No. 7 Wedding Package” for $77,777. Chapel of the Flowers in Las Vegas hosted 113 ceremonies on July 7, compared to the normal 30.

Notice that all the Ames' siblings, Natalie, Nick, and Steph, all chose blonde dates. Good choice. I'm not sure who the kid is upstaging me in the picture.
Well, we went to the Wall - Kjack wedding in Seattle. It was beautiful and they couldn't have had better weather for their backyard reception. At 450 guests, this was the biggest wedding I've ever attended.

Craig's wedding

Craig, our good friend's little bro, and Elise, our other good friend's little sis, just had an beautiful wedding at a winery in Livermore, CA.

Matt, Keith, and I grew up on the same street in Sacramento, and we're still hot...
The moms of the neighborhood gettin' down on the dance floor (guess which one was my preschool teacher)...