Ben Fletcher and Hilary Goldschlager's Wedding in Napa, California
Rustic Summer Orange
8/12/2017 72 0
B&H
12 Aug, 2017
The story of our wedding
Every August, the Perseid Meteor shower peaks, filling the night sky with hundreds of shooting stars...
perfectly fitting that we chose this date for our wedding weekend on the shore of Lake Berryessa in Napa county, where we first met. We were graced with the love of 180 of our friends & family for a weekend of sun, fun, & festivities galore!
Fresh plumerias were flown in by the dozens from Hawaii (where Ben grew up & much of his O’Hara still live); the sweet scent filled the air and streams of flowers hung from the traditional Jewish chuppah right at the lake line, constructed by our friends & family with driftwood picked from the beach where we live in a special intimate evening the week before the wedding.
Ben’s father Tony was his best man; Hilary’s Matron of Honor was her sister Nina, along with a dozen of their closest as groomsmen & bridesmaids. Shades of coral worn by the girls colorfully accompanied the beige linen suits worn by the guys with their coral & white striped ties.
Continue reading »Whike guests gathered in the late afternoon, they enjoyed a full bar & hors d’ouvers of sweets, snacks, fresh sushi bar (chef on site), while kids were busy with a host of activities, arts & crafts, & personal gifts for the newlyweds. At the same time, the traditional Jewish ceremony of signing the Ketubah was taking place with just bride & groom’s immediate family & the Rabbi.
Once completed, guests took to their seats (Kota wood chairs & benches) as the processional began. The wedding party came down the flower-lined aisle to the fitting island tune “Somewhere over the Rainbow” by Hawaiian Israel Kamakawiweole. The sweet flower girl dropped plumeria row by row before the bride came down the aisle with her father (who couldn’t wait to give her away!)
following the sunset ceremony, guests made their way to the large open tent for a dinner of the freshest most colorful food. Tables were draped in deep navy tablecloths, white square place settings with a plumeria flower tying each napkin. Hurricane vases with pillar candles sat in a bowl of plumerias at the center of each table. Pink & red ginger plants filled the tent as the party went on into the late night/early morning hours...
The next day, guests were woken to breakfast of pastries, empanadas, & all the freshest fruit you could imagine! The day was spent swimming, boating, wakeboarding, relaxing lakeside, along with a catered lunch of Cuban fusion food of apples & tacos. All guests stayed at Spanish Flat Resort & the cabins across the lake.
A wedding at the lake?? Were we nuts? No electricity, running water, no venue, everyone said it couldn’t be done, that we would never pull it off...well, we did & it was spectacular!
the only thing that would’ve prevented this wedding from happening would’ve been a wildfire, known to happen every now & again in Napa County...the day before the wedding, a fire broke out nearby & forced the main road to the lake to be shut down from Friday afternoon to noon on Saturday, the day of the wedding! As the universe aligned us with what was meant to be, the roads opened around 1pm. The fires were hardly a deterrent for the guests—nothing could stop them from coming to this extra-special event—and what an event it was!
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