Discovering Another Mad Dash (Oct 14): Heading Home and Finally finishing this TR #1523 (05/03)

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


Family Celebration Time


Discovery #14. Life should be all about making memories with family!




As weddings go, this was a tastefully understated elegant affair.


The location was in the garden of Marston House, located at one end of San Diego's Balboa Park.






The house is now a house museum and is one of those examples of California's Arts and Crafts movement.






I wished we had time to explore the house; but we were there for a family celebration rather than to go-see.

The garden?







Well....it was a wonderful setting for the wedding.







My aunt had prepared all the flower decorations for this wedding. She had spent all of Friday working on them; which was the reason why we couldn't catch up with her on arrival day.






I thought they were lovely!






I was so glad that I decided to get the blue outfit instead of wearing black. The 'best girls' were all in black! I would have totally looked like I was part of the wedding party. Even my shoes would have matched. In fact, the colour theme for the wedding was black and white.






The Unity Candle is something that has been a modern addition to wedding ceremonies.






I gather the lighting of the candle by the bride and groom is very popular in the US but cannot provide any insight to whether they are popular in Australia or not. Certainly, they were not in vogue when my friends were getting married!






It was a truly joyeous time for us all. The ceremony was peppered with funny moments as well....from the ring bearer taking the long way round (the ring bearer was the bride's dog and she decided to walk round the outside rather than head straight down the middle to the groom) to the best men pulling out their smart phones and iPads to do the solemn readings and the groom quoting the Impressive Clergyman (Peter Cook) speech, complete with lisp, from A Princess Bride. ("Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday. Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dweam".)


I was truly happy to have made the effort to come to this wedding. In that garden, with the family, it had been a period of making happy memories with loved ones. Life is meant to be about moments like these.






(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


Celebratory Dinner


Discovery #15. Food Porn truly makes me happy; especially when the food is good.




The celebration dinner was held at Bertrands Restaurant at Mr A's.






Located up on the 12th floor, the view from the decking was great!












Rated within the top 50 of restaurants in San Diego, I had looked forward to the meal in the anticipation of it being decent. The menu for the night was not a surprise. About 2 weeks beforehand, we had been provided with the meal options and asked to select what our preferences were for each course.






The wedding guests were spread out on tables in 3 separate sections at Bertrands. Whether it was luck or misfortune, we were placed at a table that was obviously one of the 'private' dining areas in the restaurant.






With about 10 tables, it was here that I truly appreciated the enormity of the floral arrangement task my aunt had undertaken. The flowers were really lovely.







Our meal was absolutely wonderful. We started off with warm crusty, soft bread.







DS and I had chosen the Lobster Bisque for our starter. The lobster fritters added a wonderful punch to the dish.







The other starter was the polenta and mushrooms.






DH got the vegetarian option....without the parmesan. All elements in this dish were perfectly cooked and wonderfully balanced.






The mains were all equally as good. I was in total foodie heaven. What more could I ask for? Good company, good food and reasonable light to shoot the food porn!



DH went with the vegetarian trio.






I nearly had order envy when I saw the lamb.






Nearly......only that my tenderloin was fantastic.






For the meat-lovers, it was unanimous. There was nothing to split the lamb and the tenderloin. Everyone that had a taste of both could not choose between the two.



I had been a little disappointed that there hadn't been a choice of dessert when we had been asked to put in our food preferences a couple of weeks back.
In fact, when I saw the menu with the "Presentation of Wedding Cake" in the place of dessert, I was downright sad.






Not that I dislike cake, but I had hoped for something more than humble cake for dessert. That was until the plates of cake started to hit our table.

One of the layers was a Passionfruit cake. Absolutely fruity delight!






Another layer was a Black Forest cake. To. Die. For!







We had been treated to a truly wonderful dinner. I'll definitely remember this meal and will be enjoying the food porn from this night for quite a while!

 

[dolphingirl47]

I love the dress. Both the wedding venue and the meal look stunning.

Corinna

 

[ACDSNY]

I used to have a window desk that looked into hotel rooms. I've certainly had my share of flashers......in a towel.....and without a towel!!!!

The best 'experience' was a hunky guy that obviously had no issues with keeping his curtains opened in the morning and walking around without any clothes. He stayed for 2 nights.

At least there was a good experience to balance out the scary ones.

DH tries to tell me the windows are all tinted and no one can see in. I don't believe him for a second.

Beautiful wedding. Your Aunt did an amazing job on the flower arrangements and the food porn has me drooling.

 

[jedijill]

You look gorgeous in your wedding outfit! I love heels but they kill my feet so you were smart to go with the sandals!

The flowers are so beautiful and elegant! Your aunt did a lovely job!

Oooh, love the bride's gown! (I just spent the afternoon watching Say Yes to the Dress!)

Any ceremony including readings from The Princess Bride scores a thumbs up with me! Love, twue love! (Making a mental note if I should ever get married)

The food looks amazing! I love the cakes...glad they tasted good too!

Jill in CO

 

[skier_pete]

Looks like some tasty food! Still a long way to come for a wedding! I hope they appreciated your travel.

 

[Leshaface]

Wow what a gorgeous wedding! The ceremony setting looks so serene and pretty. And the view from the restaurant is fabulous!

The food looks delicious too! Glad you ended up enjoying the cake after all

 

[kaoden39]

I absolutely love your bird pictures! They are just amazing.

 

[mvf-m11c]

The location for the wedding looks very nice and all of your pictures are very nice.

The restaurant looks very nice and the atmosphere must be amazing.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

What a stunning day! I think the blue outfit was a great choice - you look beautiful.

I'm not sure I would want my guests sitting in different areas of a restaurant during my wedding, but other than that, everything about that wedding looked absolutely perfect. Love the look of the ceremony venue, the dress, the flowers, and the food.

I love weddings, but it feels like so long since I've been to one. I keep waiting for my BFF to announce her engagement so I can start planning for a wedding trip to London.

 

[tiggrbaby]

Loved your dress! The sandals looked fine and I'm sure felt much better than the heels! It looked like a lovely ceremony and reception.

 

[LegoMom3]

You looked great!! So did all that food. AND THE FLOWERS!!......wow.

.

 

[zanzibar138]

Loving the report so far! I won't comment on everything because I'm so far behind. Just quickly though, I love the hummingbird photos. We saw a couple on our trip, but there was no way I could have taken a photo of them! Good on you for slowing down a bit and enjoying the garden Love your wedding outfit, even with flats. If it makes you feel any better, I wore flats to both my own wedding, and my SIL's wedding in which I was a bridesmaid I think every wedding that I have been to in Australia in the last few years has had either a unity candle or the thing with the different coloured sands. We bucked the trend and did neither

 

[IowaTater]

O. M. G. do I love food porn.....I think I may have a slight addiction.

The wedding looked absolutely beautiful! The venue, the flowers, the bride's dress, the little funny moments...it all was gorgeous and very romantic.

I really liked your dress and thought your shoes looked fine with it. Whenever I have a wedding to go to, I always sneak a pair of comfy shoes in the car for the reception. My best friend is getting married in December and much to my delight has said that all of the bridesmaids can wear sneakers under our dress.

That view from the reception! Wowzer! I'm with you on the whole cake thing. I like cake but sometimes just plain wedding cake is too sweet for my taste buds. I would have been pleasantly surprised by that black forest cake. Yummy!

It sounds like you had a splendid time with your family at the wedding.

 

[franandaj]

You look great in that dress and the sandals are just fine!

The event looked like it was quite the affair and that dinner sounds and looked spectacular!

I think that the unity candle was coming into vogue around 20 years or so ago. I seem to remember a humorous event at someone's wedding *cough* *cough*. Said bride and groom were having trouble lighting he candle and asked "Does anyone have a lighter?" Every single one of the groomsmen produced one. The audience (or whatever you call them) got a good chuckle.

Glad you were able to catch up with family at such a wonderful gathering.

 

[eandesmom]

Perhaps it's my expectation of good service. There is that consistent service of the wait staff coming by to take your order and then when the plates come out, they stop by again to make sure everything is okay. But that's not necessarily good service in my book.

The hummingbirds made me happy too.

I would agree, that's adequate service, not necessarily good.

I'm happy you took an hour in the garden though a bit concerned that taking one hour was such a major accomplishment. I too am very go go go, but definitely like "off" as well. It's a good habit to get into, I hope you get a little more of it!

I have to admit, I can't imagine wearing hose. I haven't done so in years. In fact I was at an event where someone was discussing having to wear it, their feeling being that it was an east coast thing and they didn't want to offend and I did a bit of a double take. I can't honestly remember the last time I saw anyone wearing hose at anything. Tights yes, but pantyhose? No. I imagine though it's just as well. While hose might protect the feet for a short while, the wedging is still there and catches up. You looked lovely! Shoes and all.

Lovely wedding, sounds like they had a buy out of the restaurant? What a lovely dinner and ceremony and the flowers were stunning! Unity candle seems very standard, I actually recall my dad and stepmom having one so that would have been what 36 years ago?

The curtain thing is funny!

 

[PrincessInOz]

I love the dress. Both the wedding venue and the meal look stunning.

Corinna

Thanks Corinna. Hope you're enjoying your trip!

At least there was a good experience to balance out the scary ones.

DH tries to tell me the windows are all tinted and no one can see in. I don't believe him for a second.

Beautiful wedding. Your Aunt did an amazing job on the flower arrangements and the food porn has me drooling.

I really enjoyed dinner that night.

You look gorgeous in your wedding outfit! I love heels but they kill my feet so you were smart to go with the sandals!

The flowers are so beautiful and elegant! Your aunt did a lovely job!

Oooh, love the bride's gown! (I just spent the afternoon watching Say Yes to the Dress!)

Any ceremony including readings from The Princess Bride scores a thumbs up with me! Love, twue love! (Making a mental note if I should ever get married)

The food looks amazing! I love the cakes...glad they tasted good too!

Jill in CO

Thanks.
I did include the sandals in my bag as a back-up. I know my feet too well.

The bride's dress was stunning. It was completely 'her' and suited her perfectly.

Looks like some tasty food! Still a long way to come for a wedding! I hope they appreciated your travel.

We got an honourable mention in between everyone else from Philadephia, Boston, Chicago and Vancouver.

It is a long way to travel.

Wow what a gorgeous wedding! The ceremony setting looks so serene and pretty. And the view from the restaurant is fabulous!

The food looks delicious too! Glad you ended up enjoying the cake after all

Both cakes were good; but the black forest was one of the best black forest cakes I've had in a long time.

I absolutely love your bird pictures! They are just amazing.

Thanks for checking in, Michele! Hope everything is well with you.

The location for the wedding looks very nice and all of your pictures are very nice.

The restaurant looks very nice and the atmosphere must be amazing.

Thanks Bret. It was a very pleasant space and I totally understood why my cousin chose it.

What a stunning day! I think the blue outfit was a great choice - you look beautiful.

I'm not sure I would want my guests sitting in different areas of a restaurant during my wedding, but other than that, everything about that wedding looked absolutely perfect. Love the look of the ceremony venue, the dress, the flowers, and the food.

I love weddings, but it feels like so long since I've been to one. I keep waiting for my BFF to announce her engagement so I can start planning for a wedding trip to London.

I think the same as you. I prefer to have all the guests sitting in the one spot. Still, given the food, the ambience and the view....I guess you can't have everything.

OOH! A London destination wedding. How exciting!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Loved your dress! The sandals looked fine and I'm sure felt much better than the heels! It looked like a lovely ceremony and reception.

I have to admit that I chose the necklace I was wearing specially because I knew it would tie in with both pairs of shoes. I did have other pieces that I did consider but they clashed with the sandals.

You looked great!! So did all that food. AND THE FLOWERS!!......wow.

.

Thanks!

Loving the report so far! I won't comment on everything because I'm so far behind. Just quickly though, I love the hummingbird photos. We saw a couple on our trip, but there was no way I could have taken a photo of them! Good on you for slowing down a bit and enjoying the garden Love your wedding outfit, even with flats. If it makes you feel any better, I wore flats to both my own wedding, and my SIL's wedding in which I was a bridesmaid I think every wedding that I have been to in Australia in the last few years has had either a unity candle or the thing with the different coloured sands. We bucked the trend and did neither

I didn't feel too bad about wearing the flats. Aside from the comfort, it turns out a few of the other guests wore sandals as well. It was a hot day.

The unity candle wasn't popular when I was getting married; but then it is quite a few years ago. I was wondering when it became popular in Australia. Seems like it could have been in the last 10 or so years.

O. M. G. do I love food porn.....I think I may have a slight addiction.

The wedding looked absolutely beautiful! The venue, the flowers, the bride's dress, the little funny moments...it all was gorgeous and very romantic.

I really liked your dress and thought your shoes looked fine with it. Whenever I have a wedding to go to, I always sneak a pair of comfy shoes in the car for the reception. My best friend is getting married in December and much to my delight has said that all of the bridesmaids can wear sneakers under our dress.

Thanks!

I didn't post a picture...but one of the best men DID wear a pair of sneakers. It was so obvious under the suits. I think he forgot to bring his black shoes.

That view from the reception! Wowzer! I'm with you on the whole cake thing. I like cake but sometimes just plain wedding cake is too sweet for my taste buds. I would have been pleasantly surprised by that black forest cake. Yummy!

It sounds like you had a splendid time with your family at the wedding.

It was a good night with the family.

Both the cakes were a surprise. It was a good dessert course, in the end, and a perfect way to end the dinner with coffee/tea.

You look great in that dress and the sandals are just fine!

The event looked like it was quite the affair and that dinner sounds and looked spectacular!

I think that the unity candle was coming into vogue around 20 years or so ago. I seem to remember a humorous event at someone's wedding *cough* *cough*. Said bride and groom were having trouble lighting he candle and asked "Does anyone have a lighter?" Every single one of the groomsmen produced one. The audience (or whatever you call them) got a good chuckle.

Glad you were able to catch up with family at such a wonderful gathering.

I really enjoyed the ceremony and dinner. As you said, it was quite an affair. Tastefully elegant; which describes the bride perfectly. I think my cousin did really well with her.

20 years ago? Okay. That gives me a rough ballpark. Thanks.

I would agree, that's adequate service, not necessarily good.

I'm happy you took an hour in the garden though a bit concerned that taking one hour was such a major accomplishment. I too am very go go go, but definitely like "off" as well. It's a good habit to get into, I hope you get a little more of it!

I do manage to take a bit more time off at home from time to time. When I'm on holiday, we're totally on the go. An hour was luxury!

In fact, this holiday was really different to the types of holidays that DH and I normally do. We have thought about just heading to an Asian resort to relax for a week or so. It will be interesting to see if that's what we end up doing.

I have to admit, I can't imagine wearing hose. I haven't done so in years. In fact I was at an event where someone was discussing having to wear it, their feeling being that it was an east coast thing and they didn't want to offend and I did a bit of a double take. I can't honestly remember the last time I saw anyone wearing hose at anything. Tights yes, but pantyhose? No. I imagine though it's just as well. While hose might protect the feet for a short while, the wedging is still there and catches up. You looked lovely! Shoes and all.

Lovely wedding, sounds like they had a buy out of the restaurant? What a lovely dinner and ceremony and the flowers were stunning! Unity candle seems very standard, I actually recall my dad and stepmom having one so that would have been what 36 years ago?

The curtain thing is funny!

Thanks!

Your 36 years is a little bit further back than Alison's 20 years. But you both give me an idea of when the candle became popular.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

You looked lovely in your outfit and the bride's dress was amazing, as was your aunt's flower arrangements. Very beautiful wedding and divine food. I am another one who has never heard or experienced a Unity candle at any wedding I have been to and never heard either of Zanzibar's coloured sand thing????? can't get my head around that at all, you might have to elaborate Zanzibar. Is this a Qld versus southerner experience? I would have said neither were Australian so what would I know! A friend's son is getting married Sat and another friends' son was married a month ago so will have to enquire further for our latest trends!! I was a bit surprised by the bridal party's black and white theme as I still have the old fashioned notion that you don't wear black for weddings (both my mum and MIL would have fits!) Glad you had a wonderful family day - always very special.

 

[zanzibar138]

You looked lovely in your outfit and the bride's dress was amazing, as was your aunt's flower arrangements. Very beautiful wedding and divine food. I am another one who has never heard or experienced a Unity candle at any wedding I have been to and never heard either of Zanzibar's coloured sand thing????? can't get my head around that at all, you might have to elaborate Zanzibar. Is this a Qld versus southerner experience? I would have said neither were Australian so what would I know! A friend's son is getting married Sat and another friends' son was married a month ago so will have to enquire further for our latest trends!! I was a bit surprised by the bridal party's black and white theme as I still have the old fashioned notion that you don't wear black for weddings (both my mum and MIL would have fits!) Glad you had a wonderful family day - always very special.

I'm at the age where we've been to heaps of weddings in the last few years, all over the country. Most have had either the unity candle or the sand thing. The sand thing is when each person has a vial of different coloured sand, and they pour them into one container. It's supposed to symbolise that once their lives have been combined, they can never really be taken apart again. It's quite popular for blended families too, with each child pouring a vial of sand too.

Black and white is also very popular at the moment. There is also the less popular all white (when the bridesmaids wear white too). It's not taboo to wear either black or white to a wedding anymore. My Nan nearly had a fit when she found out that I was putting my maid of honour in navy