By Shannon Williams
2021 was the year for weddings for me, so I ended 2021 at a lovely wedding in Napa, California. There is a lot of good reasons to get married on New Year’s Eve and a few not so good ones. This wedding had been postponed two times due to Covid, so was going to happen by the end of 2021, regardless of what was going on in the world.

As you age and look back on how you have spent New Years Eve’s during your life, it can really cover just about anything you could dream of. I have done big ballroom events with friends where you spent all weekend at a hotel and took part in a big ballroom party with some of your friends and a whole lot of people that you did not know and most likely never saw again. I have spent it on the beach watching the fireworks, and home with dear ones; there were a few where I spent it alone, which is not a bad thing and sometimes a good time to reflect. I have gone to parties at Churches, at dive bars and many at friends’ home and have hosted one or two at my own home. I have spent a few hosting parties for the seniors at the sites I oversee, and those were great fun. One NYE, Paul and I went back to a little cabin in the hill country that we use to meet at during our courtship. On that trip, we cooked steaks and then built a great big bonfire and danced around it all night long; it was cold as hell, but we stayed warm with our dancing and cuddling.

I left for the West Coast on Wednesday and it was a long day! I was flying into the Sacramento Airport, and these days getting a direct to anywhere is hard, so I took a flight that I did not have to change planes, but let’s just say we made “a few “stops along the way. Nine hours later, I finally landed. Don’t get me wrong, I was very grateful not to have my flight cancelled with all that is going on! I was tired and in need of food and ice tea! The wedding was taking place at the Napa Valley Marriott Resort, which is a lovely place! My dear friends’ daughter was the one getting married and her other daughter is married to one of the managers at the resort, so we sort of got the royal treatment! In no time, I was in the bar with a cold glass of ice tea and some humus, as I did not want to ruin my dinner! There were a lot of events with the wedding, so my friend and I took advantage of the only night we did not have a planned event and went off for a nice dinner. Her Son in Law (SIL) had suggested a restaurant called FUME and it was so good! It was a cold evening, but we sat outside near the fireplace and with the good food and company, we never thought about being cold. It was one of the dinners where you order an appetizer first, then order you dinner and make dinner into a couple of hours event. I was glad we both like to get tastes from what the other one ordered as there was so much I wanted to try. The hit of the meal was the grilled artichoke.

The next day was spent getting those little last-minute objects done, I was the gofer and made a few trips to Target and we had to go and buy a garter as the one that was for the throw way one could not be found. We had enough time for a little nap before the rehearsal and that dinner. The wedding was outside in a grove of redwood tress in the courtyard of the resort. They had heaters and you never really felt the cold. We laughed a lot during the rehearsal and then were put in our assigned vans and driven to the dinner in Calistoga. More wonderful food and fun getting to know everyone. One the way home the father of the bride sang to all of us in the cool van (ok, It was the old folks van LOL).

The day of the wedding, my friend (the bride’s mother) and I were given the task of taking the new mother in law and her family to breakfast as the boys went to play golf and the girls were in hair and makeup already. There is a bakery and diner in Napa, called Butter Cream which has been there for over 70 years and there is a reason why. The biscuits were great as was all of the food. We also picked up the donuts for the donut wall, part of the dessert for that night. I then helped the mother of the Bride get ready and even had time for another nap (I was on vacation!) before I needed to get dressed and be in my assigned place. The wedding was just lovely, short and sweet. The bridal party all gathered and took a shot of tequila as they finished walking out of the wedding. It was sort of neat and great fun to watch. We spent the rest of the evening with a cocktail party, sit down dinner and dancing. All were just a lot of fun and of course the food was over the top. I would love to tell you I stayed to see the new year in, but did not make it!

Brunch was the next morning and we bid all goodbye and then we went wine tasting, shopping and of course more great food! We got back and packed up to be ready for an early flight for me in the am. This time it was a direct and in 3 and half short hours, I was home! Again, I was so grateful that none of my flights got cancelled and both me and my luggage (and even a couple of bottles of wine) all arrived in good order.

So, it was a good time to get married and a good time to say goodbye to a not so fun year and dream of all the good times to come. So far, I only have one wedding for 2022! I hope I have not jinxed 2022 for me, as there were no black-eyed peas to be found in all of that eating that we did, LOL!

[Jan-4-2022]