{Vacation Recap} Philly Wedding

Wow, what an amazing wedding weekend.  It was full of laughter, family, new friends, and of course a whole lotta love.   I agree with Kristen's assessment that our family sure knows how to have a good time!  I can attest to that because I'm still worn out from all the fun, hehe.

Kevin and Allison are such a fun, gorgeous couple and it was evident all weekend what a great team they make.  Neither are from Philly originally, so they took this opportunity to welcome their friends and family to their new hometown. They really outdid themselves and I think a lot of people left with a new-found appreciation for the "city of brotherly love"!

We've only been around Kevin a handful of times but always have a blast and look forward to more get-together's with them.  They play off each other so well and both are caring, generous people who always want to ensure those around them are ok and having a good time.   Good peeps.

We flew in to join the festivities (which had already begun!) on Thursday evening and later that night I met up with the bride and her party for a night out on the town.   Allison and I have definitely grown closer over time  (a shared love of bourbon will do that to ya!) and have texted all year leading up to the wedding.  Even though I wasn't technically a part of the bridal party, she made me feel like part of the group and her girlfriends are all such wonderful people, they made me feel like I had known them for years.  I also had the chance to meet a couple of her BFFs during a shower this Summer (one of whom is friends with another friend of mine..small world!) and knew that Kristen, Devyn and the newly-wed Becky would be there too!  Needless to say, I was looking forward to partying with all of them!   In addition, I got the opportunity to meet some of her awesome college & Philly girlfriends and everyone got along fabulously.  Nothing better than being surrounded by smart, fun, beautiful women who like to have a good time.  Allison kept the outting low key and always made sure we were having fun.  Such a low-maintenance Bride - love it.

Found my sister! Don't mind my eyes, they were red all weekend!

Left: The blondes!  Al center, Kendra, Chelsea, Kat and Jessica  Right: Becky & Al

Shenanigans

Oldest Bar in Philly where 17 bucks will buy 4 cocktails - Crazy!

Not really sure what is going on here, but I like it

Devyn, Becky, Al, Kendra, Me, Chelsea, Jessica, Molly, Kristen, Kat, & Bethany

Pretty sure this is where the Declaration of Independence was signed :)

Somehow we all made it home that night in one piece - thank you Uber! (<--referral link that gives you a $30 credit).

We met up the next day for nails and lunch which was awesome as the moms and aunts as well adorable little girls were able to join in on the fun.  Afterwards, I went with Kendra and Jessica (and bumped into Chelsea and Katherine in the process) to do a bit of shopping.    I then broke off by myself to explore the Rittenhouse Square area (it reminded me a bit of Chicago's Lincoln Park...specifically the Halsted/Armitage Shopping area which is fabulous) while waiting for a hair appointment.

Stephens Girls:  Karen (Auntie K), Lynn (mom), Janis (Peach), Gram.  Bottom: Al & Becky 

Peach and the Bride-to-be!

Finally it was time for the rehearsal dinner!   Kevin & Al rented out a cute brunch spot and catered in a seated dinner.   I adored the bourbon bar and I LOVED that she re-purposed her mom's wedding dress as her rehearsal attire and went with Veronica Lake-Like Hair.  So stunning and clever!  We spent the evening eating, drinking and generally having a blast.  The family kept sending wine over to our table and we had no problems taking care of it :)

Gorgeous Lady

Our table with Kris and Gabe...Gram joined us and we had even more fun

Top: One of my favorite pics - Gram holding court as we soak it up, Bottom: Newly-weds Becky & Luke (love them!) and Auntie K

Tom and I on our way to the Dinner

Bourbon Bar and the Bride...sounds like the title of a really great book, hehe

After the dinner, we all headed back to the hotel and proceeded to congregate in Peach's hotel room where we sat in our PJs,ordered Fries and Pizza and stayed up way too late talking and laughing. Gabe MIGHT have broken a lamp in the hotel room as well #neverforget

The event itself was the perfect city wedding.  From the Catholic Mass Ceremony in a beautiful Cathedral downtown, to the wedding party being escorted in a Trolley - everything was  wonderful. You can see from the pics that Allison was a truly gorgeous bride and that she and Kevin make a beautiful couple.  They had a ton of people to greet (200+?) and made the right call in hugging us all personally as we left the church....this freed them up from "being on duty" at the reception which was GENIUS.

It's official!

Love this pic

Speaking of the reception....WOW.   It took place at a country club and right away, I knew I was in the right place when I was immediately greeted by an amazing bourbon bar.  The grounds were beautiful so a ton of pics were taken...I'm including some of the "outtakes" because I think they are hilarious. It takes a lot to get a good shot!

First try

Here we go again

Nice one ladies!

C'mon over - get in!

Brunettes flanking the hot blonde

Somehow this girl and I earned the Nick-names "MacGyver" & "Ace" ha, love her!

Trying super hard

Much better :)

Tom & Gabes Christmas Card this year

Pretty couple!

Mom (who lost 65 pounds! woot) and her Kids

Gram & Gramp surrounded by Men

Mom and Daughter - beautiful!

Tea-potting pretty hard

My main squeeze

One more for good measure

Once inside, the party really got started and the the music was off the charts.  They hired a live band which was full of super talented people who added so much energy to the reception.  They were rapping, singing, dancing on the floor with everyone (even putting the mike in my face to sing along at one point)...I've never seen a wedding band quite like them.  Even without the music, Kevin and Al have so much personality they brought fun to everything from their entrance to having dance party breaks between each of the courses.  I loved that their first dance was to Bob Seger's "Night Moves" hehe.

Tom and I certainly let loose (one of the bourbon drinks - don't worry it wasn't the Pappys! - MAY have been knocked out of my hands, crashing to the floor, but at least I was in good company #7stitches #neverforget) and danced til our feet hurt.  I also have to note how great the speeches given by Becky and her Father were (as well as Kevin's brothers), I wish I had recorded them to leverage if I'm every in need, hehe.

Top: Wish we could hang with Kris and Gabe more often!  Bottom:  The O'Mera Siblings (good looking family, right?!)

Dance Floor Shenanigans, Kris, Kendra and I are missing from the top due to #7stitches

Had a blast with these girls - we are seated right next to the bar (trouble)

John and his girlfriend, Kim!  Gram & Gramp taking a break

These two never stopped moving 

Now about the Pappys....Earlier in the year Kevin & Al told Tom & I that they would have special bottles of it available and that we were definitely on the list.   All we had to do was go up to the bar and mention it, and they'd give us a generous pour.   Anyone who understands how hard it is to even FIND Pappy Van Winkle's knows what a special treat this was.  We were respectful, but definitely took multiple trips (they have various years available so you know, we had to try them all...).  Tom & I have a couple of the bottles on the way to us and this just got us even more pumped for the shipment!  Thank you, Al & Kevin, that was incredibly generous of you two!

My date for the night - don't worry, he was Tom's date too

The brunch in their beautiful Philly Rowhome the next morning was such a great send off full of delish food to soak up the previous night's craziness.  I loved their home and thought it was smart that they had the street blocked off so it could accommodate everyone  

These types of events are such a great time to catch up with family and grow even closer.   I was sad to say good-bye to everyone, but hope the newlyweds have a blast during their African Adventure (Cape Town, Wineries and of course a Safari!).

Thanks again for hosting us in your wonderful city.  We love you both so much and it meant a ton to share in your wedding weekend!

Cheers!

Pssst: I have to mention that Rent the Runway (referral link) definitely came through this weekend!  I rented 2 dresses (the pink and the yellow ones shown above) and loved them both so much I was super sad to send them back. If you've never tried it, do so soon. It's so much fun and much cheaper then buying similar dresses out of pocket.  Don't be surprised to see me in one or both of those dresses again...


Xoxo,
Meg

{Vacation Recap} Napa

Well hello, strangers!  Sorry about the length of time between posts.  Who knew getting a single recap up was such work?!  This post was clearly written awhile ago.  I had another version of this ready to  for months and somehow it was eaten.  Finally got around to trying it again, and this time all of my photo streams stopped playing nice (iOS, Google+, Picasa...). I know, rough life, right?!  ;) I think I have them reconciled, so we'll see if this ever hits the Internets or if it's a blank mess.  I hope it works, because I cannot wait to update you about Italy!

This Summer is flying by and I am finally in one place until it's time to go to Italy!  I wanted to be sure to capture this wonderful trip and make note of what we did because we had such a good time!

Towards the end of June, my friends and I all met up in Napa for a 4 day weekend.  Tom and myself, as well as Nikki and Jon, and Calem and April all flew from Midway into Oakland.  We then rented a van (it was cheaper to rent a van than to pay for shuttles there and back) and headed to the Inn on First to meet up with Karly and Aaron who were driving in.

The Inn on First is where Tom and I first fell in love with wine country.  After we stayed there we couldn't wait to go back with friends.   We pretty much took over the entire Mansion and it was fun to walk back and forth between all of our rooms (especially with us ladies getting ready!)..almost like we were all in college again.

Pic courtesy of tripadvisor.com

Pic courtesy of innonfirst.com

Pic courtesy of tripadvisor.com

Nikki's favorite part of the inn - their amazing tea/coffee buffet...not shown: platter of warm chocolate chip cookies that are always available...pretty sure magic keeps them that way no matter the time of night you might need them

Being a B&B, we enjoyed amazing breakfasts and I was blown away with how well they accommodated Karly and my dietary restrictions while also having "regular" food for the easy guests.   To be greeted with warm gluten free chocolate chip cookies upon arrival was such a nice surprise!  We all really loved our rooms. Everyone had a special something about their suite that made it unique.  Tom and I especially loved our little balcony in the "Angel's Share".  We all had fireplaces, Jacuzzi tubs, and enjoyed complimentary Mumm's Champs upon check-in.

Our room, pic courtesy of  innonfirst.com

We couldn't ask for a better location.  Each evening we were able forgo the van and walk off the day's tasting by strolling to downtown Napa.  It was super convenient and fun as the weather was awesome.

I would say the one downside to the Inn comes from the historic charm:  thin walls.  It's an older house so the main living spaces are not sound proof.  What this means is that when the group of us strolled in (very "spiritedly" you might say) each evening and grabbed refreshments around the dining area, our voices  - no matter how quiet we thought we were - carried.  Unlike a hotel which has a lobby and a dedicated bar space, you are more or less staying in someone's "home" and therefore don't have as much lee-way which I hadn't taken into account when we decided to stay here.  Not helping things, one of the inn keepers was apparently a bit cranky when telling them to hush one night (I had gone to bed at that point). My recommendation would be to stay at the Inn on First by all means, but perhaps come as one or two couples or maybe rent out the entire house (we were one couple short of taking over the entire home...that couple was moved to another room located in the gardens...).  Otherwise you might find yourself without a group space to hang late in the evenings.  Besides that hiccup, we really enjoyed our time there.

We had a fabulous limo service that drove us everywhere for the two days of tastings and I highly recommend doing the same.  The rate was extremely reasonable between 4 couples and the driver was fantastic.  Between the Hosts at the Inn and the driver, we were kept on point and made aware of little details that we wouldn't have taken into account on our own (ie "you might want to call in your picnic now, bc there will be an hour wait if you don't...").  

We also enjoyed some amazing food!  Karly and Aaron took the heat off Tom and I (who planned the majority of the trip) and booked a reservation for us at a fabulous restaurant, called Celadon (don't let that website fool ya!) that the Inn had recommended.  We scored outdoor seats and were blown away by the cocktails and delish food.  The architecture of the place was amazing and it was such a fun way to kick off the weekend!  Napa is about great wine AND food and it was so nice that we got to treat ourselves to such a lovely dinner.   I will definitely go back! Great decision by Karly & Aaron!!!

Another restaurant the Inn recommended was Carpe Diem.  It's usually booked, but the Innkeeper called the chef and got us in. It was another great meal and I'm pleased we got to try it.  But, I'll be honest, I was pretty "tired" at that point and can't recall much of the actual dinner.  Based on the yelp reviews I'm sure I'll want to go back.  That will also remain known as the night, no one understood why Meg was sooo "tired" at dinner, as I only had one drink...apparently Tom expessed confusion as well but forgot to mention that we also enjoyed an entire bottle of wine in our room during Nap time.

Planning this trip was a bit trickier than you might expect.  Tom and I are used to just randomly picking wineries and not really setting appointments.  Apparently, when you travel in a big group, most wineries require that you do private tastings which caught us by surprise. In addition, we all had different 'experience" levels.  From those of us who weren't even sure they liked wine, to those of us who go to tastings fairly frequently even LIVE next to Oregon wine country.  Tom and I had already been to Napa, so when we realized this, we were tempted to just replicate all the places we had already been to prior and loved, but realized we wanted to have a couple of "new to us" places as well. Some were home-runs...others not so much.  

Here's an outline of our activities for anyone who may be planning a similar trip.  Tom and I are nerds and keep spreadsheets with detailed itineraries (due to the amount of money involved including car rentals, private tasting times, etc  - no one wants to lose a huge chunk of cash due to disorganization).   We are happy to share if you'd like to leverage it,  just ask in the comments!  We flew the day before tastings and flew out the Monday after, so all told, enjoyed Napa for 4 beautiful days.  However, you could easily have a similar experience by going only 2-3 days.

Tips:  A great rule of thumb is to have no more than 1 tour a day, and stick to perhaps 3-4 wineries total.    I can vouch for the fact that we were all looking forward to our afternoon naps after the last appointment of the day! I have no idea how people are able to do 1 hour tastings at 5 or more places...I'd be on the floor. Additionally, if you stay at place like the Inn on First, I can't say enough good things about their recommendation's list and subsequent help.  It made our lives so much easier so do take advantage of any similar resources!

Tastings Day 1

Peju - This was probably everyone's favorite.  All of us purchased multiple bottles, loved the grounds, and found the people super friendly.  It's very unpretentious and eclectic - what a great start!  If anything, I wish we would have had more time there.  Our tasting guide was fun and everyone appreciated the warmth and friendliness of the staff.  Highly recommend no matter the experience level.  We had a private tasting which was perfect for us, but I can also recommend the group room if you just want to pop in to give it a try.

I don't know why this pic is so big! 

Kuleto - The property was GORGEOUS.  This was a "new" place to us and once I saw the pictures, I couldn't wait to organize a picnic lunch on their property.  The wine was really nice and we lucked out with our guide.  He was very generous in his pours and didn't hesitate to keep it coming and best of all - wasn't a douche (you definitely have to watch out for those in Napa).  There's a small farm on the property so the tour consists of not only tastings but also a quick tour of that as well.  We bought a bottle from them (just FYI that this is customary when using any picnic grounds at wineries), then settled in to eat our lunches (from Oakville Grocery) and enjoy our view!   We were all put off a bit by some of the ostentatious aspects of the tour (we kept hearing how much something cost which...no one cuuurres), but agreed it is one of the most gorgeous properties we'd ever seen.

We also ended up enjoying the tour with Dan and his beautiful wife (who were traveling through wine country after their daughter's beautiful wedding).  I bring this up, because a few months later, Calem and April were connecting through the Philly Airport and bumped into Disco Dan himself!   Stories like this are why I LOVE wine county.  The vino puts everyone in a great mood and it's actually fun talking to strangers. ha

Frog's Leap - By time we made reservations, we could only score the smaller garden tasting but this ended up being perfect.  We were all a bit tired by this point and it was nice to just walk among the property, sit down and catch up, instead of interacting with a guide.   They kept our wine glasses full and the wine was great...love that it's organic.  No purchases made but I recommend the wines and would go back to try another tour for sure.  It actually ended up being an ideal way to end the day of tastings.

Day 2

Mumm - Karly and I love our champs so we had to make sure to hit a couple of "sparkling" wineries! Mumm's property is beautiful and inviting and I remember loving it when Tom and I hit it up a few years back.  Our guy was fabulous and we all lucked out b/c our significant others all ordered a different flight which meant we all had a lot of samples to try.  Everyone ended up buying at least a bottle and I know we would all go back for sure.  Definitely a must if you ever go to Napa.

Domain Carneros - This property is stunning....it's modeled after their French property and a jaw dropper for sure.  Our guy here was super nice as well.  We all loved the tastings and enjoyed it under an umbrella outside overlooking the vineyards.  It got hot, but nothing refreshes like some bubbly! We weren't able to squeeze it in this round, but I highly recommend a winery just across the street that we stumbled upon last trip (while killing time before a tasting at Domain) and LOVED: Cuvaison.  

Del Dotto - (<--- not linking them for a reason).  Where do I begin?  Tom and I went here years ago and it was hands down our favorite at the time.  This was the place where we turned to each other and said, "We HAVE to come back here on a group trip!" It practically inspired this entire friend-cation and we could not wait to share this experience with everyone.  Though pricey, the cave tour gave super generous samples of really expensive blends (and it's where I credit our love of Cab Francs).  Our previous guide  was hysterical, and there was also plenty of food at the end.

Right away, I could tell this was not the same tour.  Our guide had no sense of humor, was apparently hungover from his party the night before, was stingy with the pours, brushed off anything we asked (taking a picture of the group inside the cave, showing us this little alcove we expressed interest in that he previously said was part of the tour...). To make matters worse, he spilled red wine all over Karly and didn't even attempt to get her a towel or even seem remorseful about it.  It was also clear that they overbooked the tours because we kept having to skip a taste due to a group right in front of us or coming up behind us.  Also, while checking out, we couldn't help but notice that groups were still doing the tour who started way ahead of us and didn't even seem close to finishing.  Basically we felt shafted.

Sadly it seems as though the people running it have perhaps become a bit greedy and are no longer keeping the customer experience in mind.   After complaining to the management, they finally gave us all our money back (it took a while and it was beyond frustrating that our complaints were only taken seriously a when a male from our group came over and backed us up...sexist much?)  To boot, management was incredibly condescending.  Ugh.  How disappointing that this "highlight" was how we closed our last day of tastings. womp womp.

Don't let the smiling faces fool ya!

We mentioned this experience to the Inn and they said they have since taken it off their recommendation list because we unfortunately are not the first people who have complained recently about it going downhill.  Needless to say we did not buy anything from them (a bummer because we saved funds for this tasting as their wine really is good) and we will NOT be going back.  It was also by far the most expensive tour around.  My recommendation is to save your money and take it elsewhere.  Jarvis for example is a wonderful cave tour featuring some great reds, amazing atmosphere, and good food, so please try it in lieu of this place!

Despite that hiccup, we all had an amazing time.  Wine country is beautiful and like nowhere else in the US.  To be able to share great drinks and experiences with some of my favorite people in the world was beyond incredible.  We feel so lucky to have such great friends and be able to do fun trips like this from time to time.  Cheers to more fun vacations with great peeps in the future! 

xoxo,
Meg