My parents and I had the best time in Sonoma Valley over the weekend. I wish I could pack another suitcase and go back there for a week or more, but I'll have to wait for the wedding in August to see it again. 

We left Chicago on Friday morning and returned 48 hours later. Although it wasn't a lot of time, we fit in three tastings (one with the caterer and two cake tastings), a tour of our hotel where our guests will be staying, picking out all of the flowers with our florist, a hair and makeup trial, tasting wines for the wedding at our venue, looking for tuxes, a meeting with the rabbi, two delicious dinners, and a terrific lunch on the bay in Oakland. We didn't waste any time!

I'm not sharing pictures from all of my visits for obvious reasons: I have to keep some secrets about the wedding! I will show you a lot of pictures of food, though! Is that different from any other post? 

On Friday, we met with our wedding planner at Park Avenue Catering. They will be doing all of the food for our wedding, with the exception of the wedding cake. My dad really wanted to take the reins on the food throughout the planning process, so he chose this caterer and picked the menu. We tried some very creative dishes that I can't wait to display on my wedding day. I know that our guests will love them! The one dish that we're definitely going to change is the mahi mahi. We wanted a more flavorful fish, so we're going with something else. Doesn't it look gorgeous, though?

They gave us chocolates at the end of our tasting. Although we got full portions of everything, I made sure not to stuff my face. I still had room for them. I can't remember exactly what they were, but I tasted superb chocolate and raspberry and ate two of them. I would have had more, but there was nothing left on the plate. How sad. 

We heard great reviews about Park Avenue Catering, and our visit with them confirmed those reviews even more. The staff was incredibly friendly, and our tasting was spectacular. I'm thrilled that we're going to have good food at our wedding!

After our meeting with the florist, we drove to our hotel, checked in, and met with one of the events coordinators for a tour of the hotel. We liked the pictures that we saw of the property online, but we were even happier when we saw the Nectar Lounge where the after-party will be on the night of the wedding. We'll have our own space in a stunning outdoor area (with heating lamps) that's elevated above the city of Santa Rosa. It's gorgeous at night with all of the lights. We can also go inside in case it rains. That wouldn't be a problem, because the lounge and restaurant is also very nice. 

My parents and I stayed in adjoining rooms; theirs had one king bed and mine had two queens. Both of the rooms were very spacious. For my friends who want to fit four in a room, you will have no problems!

I loved the way that they folded our towels. 

I also used toilet paper instead of kleenex, because I didn't want to dissemble this flower:

While we were meeting in the main lobby and talking about brunch options for the day after the wedding, I saw that they were setting up a complimentary wine and cheese tasting. It was a bliss reminder that we were staying in Wine Country. 

Of course, I hit the cheese-and-crackers table a few times before dinner. I also had a glass of red wine. 

For those who are coming in August, don't forget to book your room! The link is on the wedding page. 

If you watch a lot of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives or love Guy Fieri as much as my parents and I do, then you might know about Guy's first restaurant: Johnny Garlic's. The original location is about five minutes away from our hotel, so we really wanted to try it. 

I loved it the second that I walked in the door, because it was anything but a "snooty" restaurant. The bar was in my face, T-shirts hung all over the walls, and a friendly hostess smiled and asked how she could help us. It reminded me of a family-friendly restaurant, but it also wasn't tacky. I could see Guy's personality in everything. 

Our sever took a while to greet us, but everything went smoothly once we put in our drink orders. Wine in wine country? Yes please! The servers brought out our wine in that little jug below (one jug per glass), and then they poured it into our glass. How cute. 

We got some of Guy's focaccia bread to share, which was outstanding. It was light and fluffy in the middle and had grilled onions on the outside. We dipped it in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. 

My dad and I both got the veggie burgers for our main meal. As you see, Guy does not want us to go hungry. We chose garlic fries for our side. They tasted wonderful, but I have to warn you that I had garlic breath for 12 hours. I brushed my teeth twice, scrubbed my tongue with the toothbrush, chewed gum and ate mints. It wasn't until I had two cups of coffee the next morning that it went away. Johnny Garlic's does not take their garlic lightly!

There's a chance that people who come to the wedding will get to experience Johnny Garlic's if they are there the night before it. We don't know for sure, but it's looking better than worse. We loved the restaurant and the staff, so we'll see. If there's one thing that I do promise, it's that we not will serve the garlic fries!

Here is my final recap from Chicago. I tried on wedding dresses!

Obviously, I'm not showing you my favorite, because it's probably the one I'm going to wear at my wedding. I went to Volle's Bridal in Lake Zurich, Illinois. I found out about the shop from a lady named Theresa who was working as a tailor at Jessie's wedding. I got my bridesmaid dress altered before her wedding, but it was still too long on the day. I don't know what I would have done without Theresa there. I probably would have tripped while walking down the aisle. Anyway, we got to talking while she was hemming away at my feet, and I found out that she worked at this bridal shop right by my house! I made an appointment to try on dresses a few days later. 

Volle's Bridal looks like an adorable old house from the outside. As soon as we got inside, we met with my sales consultant Deena. She took us upstairs (I brought my mom and both of my grandmas) to my huge private dressing room. There were chairs for everybody to sit, and there was great lighting. 

I told her at first that I wanted an A-line gown until I tried one on that made me look like a decoration on top of a cupcake. We figured out that I actually wanted a "dropped-waist" design, where it's tighter on the torso and starts to go out at the hips or lower. 

Black belt on a white dress, anybody?

Deena had to "clip" me into all of the dresses. They were way too big. 

The most expensive one was the dress I tried on below. It had so much detail on it. 

This one below was my second favorite. I liked it a lot, but I still knew it wasn't "the one". 

Everybody cried when I put "the one" on. But how much do you like all of the fabric on this frock?

Also, our wedding date and location are almost secured! I'm so excited to share that information. 

That's all for the recaps, folks!

After the whole getting ready process, the Ladies in Green waited for the bride to come back downstairs to take the pictures. She was outside for a while taking photos with the groom, and she needed a hair touch-up. While waiting in the lobby, the flower girls were the key entertainment (we waited for a while). 

After pictures, which included WALKING ACROSS Michigan Avenue in our gowns (I'm telling you, the photographer is a genius), we had very little time to kill before the ceremony. The wedding planner insisted that Jessie eat something, so she ordered her a turkey sandwich. She's usually a messy eater (I call her Messy Jessie), so we put napkins on her lap so that she wouldn't get food on her dress. 

Before the big ceremony began, we witnessed another intimate ceremony in a separate room with the rabbi, the bride and groom and two witnesses (Jessie's brother Jeremy and David's grandfather). They signed the Ketubah, which is a Jewish marriage contract. It felt very special to be able to witness this, because it was the first time that David and Jess became husband and wife. 

The Grand Ballroom was beautiful. 

In Jewish weddings, there is always a chuppah. The bride and groom stand under it during the ceremony. It's a symbol for the home in the couple's future. 

Since it was Shabbat (sundown Friday to sundown Saturday), the ceremony had to be scheduled for after sundown. This meant that it couldn't start until 7 (and we only started 20 minutes late).

During the ceremony, the maid of honor Danielle, the best man Daniel (David's brother) and both sets of parents stood under the chuppah with them. The Ladies in Green (and the Men in Black) stood by the side. 

After the ceremony, I met my parents for the cocktail hour in the room that we watched the Ketubah signing. By now, there was food everywhere. It was after 8 pm, and I was starving!

Around 9 pm, we went back into the Grand Ballroom. The room had transformed into a party room with tables galore and a huge dance floor in the middle. 

The menu

The palate cleanser. 

I picked the chicken dish.

Jessie and David met on a Birthright  trip in Israel, so Jessie surprised him with a camel on the cake. 

First dance as a married couple. They took dancing lessons, and they were great!

We had so much fun on the dance floor. 

The drinking and dancing continued until 1 am (my parents went home way before that), and then we headed up to the bridal suite for the after party. Unfortunately, many of us were so tired that we were not able to stay very long. I had been awake for almost 24 hours by that point. I think I went back to my friend (and fellow bridesmaid) Alex's apartment around 2/2:30. I also think that Jessie and David kicked everybody out around that time. I slept very soundly that night.

I woke up the next morning feeling tired but not completely defeated. I was so happy that I didn't consume nearly enough alcohol to get a hangover. I was also excited for brunch. 

Alex and I took a cab back to the hotel and went up to the Tower Room. It had unbelievable views of the city, much like Jessie's bridal suite.  

The Shamrock Shuffle went past the hotel. 

Brunch was fantastic. I filled my plate with fresh fruit, chicken sausage, scrambled eggs, roasted potatoes with peppers (capsicum in Australia) and a really good muffin. It's too bad I can't remember what it was. It had oats and raisins in it. I also had two glasses of fresh squeezed orange juice. 

On the way out, I took my last photo with Jessie. She looked amazing; I looked like I had just rolled out of bed and thrown on a dress (which is exactly what I did). The lucky gal is now honeymooning in the South Pacific. 

I got a ride back to the suburbs, and I proceeded to nap for about two hours. What a weekend!