Corey & Ron's Wedding

The date was Saturday, November 21, 2009!
Corey married the man of her dreams that day!

I am going back in time, but I did not have a blog back then...and if I did, I probably would have written something daily on all the plans, preparations, hurdles and bumps in the road.

The wedding was in the most beautiful place, a place full of memories and a place dear to my heart. Corey & Ron got married in the Stewart Chapel at the San Francisco Theological Seminary in San Anselmo, CA. Anyone who grew up in San Anselmo as I did, just knew this place as the Seminary. The location is in the center of the little town of San Anselmo and as you drive into town on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard the chapel and the "castle" like buildings just pop through the trees. My sisters and brother & I used to climb all over this place when we were kids, playing Robin Hood and Army. It was a place where my sisters and I would go at night to hang out and talk about boys, our dreams and any trials and tribulations were were having. It is kind of a "secret" place...kind of... our secret garden.

But back to the wedding....The processional was Under the Umbrella, from the movie, "Little Women". It was truly a family wedding with my brother-in-law Randy as the officiant, my niece Aubrey as a reader and as my husband, sisters and niece as singers! Part of the wedding four people were asked to give wedding advice to the couple and so, Corey's dad spoke (a one-liner) my father, Corey's grandfather spoke, Ron's brother Tim and my aunt Kathy spoke. All wonderful advice! Ron's family came all the way from Greely Hill, near Sonora. We had family and friends for a beautiful weekend of activities and it all turned out so incredible!

We started on Thursday night in a beautiful victorian home on the seminary property. We moved loads of boxes, the wedding attire, food, drink, decorations and more into the house and prepped for the wedding day. That night we gathered in the kitchen and watched Catherine & Allen make the cupcakes for the shower the next afternoon.

Friday it rained, well, it actually poured and some of the surrounding streets flooded! Corey & I and my sister and my niece headed out to get our manicures and pedicures and then to visit the honeymoon site. Of course, hoping all the way that it did not rain on the wedding day!

This will be an event in my life that I will never forget! We got back just in time to change for the shower and find that the house had been turned into an elegant affair with a dining table full of scrumptious treats and a gourmet lunch! Decorations and flowers were amazing!

At 3pm the shower was over and we turned the house into the location for the rehearsal dinner with a little tropical flair - setting up tables and decorating again! My amazing friend Debra and her husband Jim prepared the meal for that evening and it was an amazing feat! They worked so hard! the wedding party went up to the chapel for the rehearsal and we returned to have a great party and view a slide show starring the bride & groom (from babies through their engagement).

Wedding day morning I was the first to wake and make coffee and greet my hairdresser that arrived to do hair for the wedding party. My niece, Monica made french toast for breakfast and we all hung out and just enjoyed the morning with people buzzing by hair in rollers and different stages of make up and dress! My hairdresser, Michelle is not only an incredible at what she does but she is a very incredible person with a big heart! She tears up when she puts the veil on the bride...so she has us all going!

When everyone was ready we drove up to the church and got the bride ready and took tons of photos and then the event began.......all worth the work, all in love and it was the greatest feeling to have so many people in one place, all having a great time and all with smiles on their faces...I think it was heaven!

My Friend in Tea

I have the most wonderful friend that I would like to tell you about. Her name is Deb Heaphy and we have been friends for about 17 years. We both live in the same town and our children have grown up together. Debra is one of the most caring people I know on this planet and the best friend anyone could ever have.

Debra came into my life when she needed daycare for her sons James and David. James is a year younger than my son, Brian. David is a "special" guy and he was three years old when I started taking care of him. He is now 20! As our kids grew up and they stopped needing day care and I stopped taking care of other kids, Debra and I remained friends.

When I started my home party business with tea parties, our friendship has become even more solidified as Debra became my biggest supporter as she loves tea. She has one whole cabinet of tea in her kitchen! It is full of all sorts of varieties and flavors! She has had three Tealightful Treasures tea parties with me and we have done parties together where we have planned every detail! We love to go in search of tea rooms and we love to have tea together at least once a month. In fact today we had tea and she was kind enough to get us both lunch and we had iced tea with it. We love to try new varieties and flavors and we talk about tea every time we are together!

Well, then of course Debra and I each have a collection of tea pots. I will write about those in another post. But, Debra's collection is more extensive than mine, but as we have been collecting, we have also collected a story or two behind each tea pot.

Debra is a treasure and has brought much treasure into my life. She has helped me with my daughter's weddings (that is an understatement) and she is always good for an idea or two and she keeps me inspired in my business and creativity. She knits and sews and is a master at her craft! I am always in wonder how she makes things so fast and with such wonderful quality!

She is just an amazing friend and is forever and always will be....my friend!