A Celebrated Union

Edible Reno-Tahoe publisher shares details of her autumn wedding.

Last fall, I tied the knot with the love of my life.

Our love story was 25 years in the making. We met in the fall of 1999 in a San Francisco bar. We were looking for Ms. Right Now, but instead found Mrs. Right. The relationship blossomed based on mutual respect, authentic connection, and true love. Our quarter century of experiences have run the gamut from great travels, exceptional meals, and happy moments to sad losses and uncertain times. Thankfully, we’ve weathered it all. So it seemed natural to take a new step in our relationship, and add another experience to our lives, by legally and publicly solidifying our union.

Our vision of an ideal wedding was a small ceremony with close friends and family members in a beautiful setting filled with laughter, smiles, and happy tears in between bites and sips of delicious food and drink. Thus, last year we set out to make that dream come true.

Luckily, two close friends, Dominic Martin and Steve Gunderson, are masterful wedding planners (Martin Gunderson Events). They helped organize every detail to create a smooth and seamless occasion. 

Romantic Venue
After months of racking our brains for the perfect venue, we had an epiphany. Some of our favorite locations for a getaway are The National Exchange Hotel in Nevada City and Holbrooke Hotel in Grass Valley. These lovingly restored historic properties (169 and 173 years old, respectively) have character, soul, and impeccable food-and-drink programs, and they’re just an hour and a half away from our Reno home. 

Anthony Roumanis, events and sales manager, was our liaison at the properties. He patiently listened to our ideas, answered our questions, and attentively walked us through our many choices.

We chose to throw our evening welcome reception in the Iron Door speakeasy at Holbrooke. The cellar-style cocktail lounge was the perfect setting for our guests to drink expertly crafted cocktails and fine wines and nosh from platters of tasty small bites. Hors d’oeuvres included hard and soft cheeses, charcuterie, and vegetable accoutrement boards; ricotta and apricot toasts; shrimp cocktails; short rib crostini; and fried chicken sliders. Guests followed those with dessert: lemon bars, turtle pecan bars, and fruit tartlets.

Some guests continued their conversations upstairs at the bar and restaurant, Golden Gate Saloon, one of the longest operating barrooms west of the Mississippi River.

After the reception, we caravanned back to The National Exchange Hotel, a six-minute drive, where our guests stayed. The next day, they spent time exploring the quaint gold rush towns, hiking through the woods, and relaxing in elegantly designed rooms. Meanwhile, we tried to contain our nerves and excitement until the ceremony started at 4 p.m. 

In terms of our attire, I found an elegant, red carpet-esque, cream-colored, off-the-shoulder-draped-sleeve gown at Swoon Bridal in Reno. I bought a white rabbit-fur wrap from a Reno antique store to cover my shoulders. For a bit of quirky fun, I wore silver-rhinestone cowboy boots. My bride and copublisher, Jaci Goodman, wore a stunning black Zadig & Voltaire tuxedo suit and lacy camisole with sexy, black-pointed Alexander Wang boots.

After a couple of hours of hair (by stylist Jenessa Norris based in Grass Valley and Reno) and makeup, we slipped into our outfits and proceeded down the aisle hand in hand. Luckily, we were spared from a threatening rainstorm, and The National’s back courtyard was beautifully bedecked with fresh flowers from Sparks Florist and Reno Wholesale Flowers. We chose long-stemmed roses, dahlias, and ranunculus in soft shades of toffee, cream, and blush. We added a few ferns to enhance the space’s greenery. The chuppah (arch), which we rented from Celebrations Event Rentals in Sparks (and Lincoln, Calif.), was dripping with fresh flowers.

Following the ceremony, we moved into the reception hall for Manhattans, Aperol spritzes, glasses of cava, and conversation. For our sit-down dinner, we chose family-style service so guests could share food and chat while passing dishes. We started with a locally sourced green salad with shaved vegetables in a Champagne vinaigrette. Main courses included Skuna Bay salmon with a beurre blanc sauce and Wagyu bavette steak with a rosemary au jus. Sides featured Brussels sprouts with pickled Fresno sauce, fried garlic, and mint; colcannon (mashed potatoes with kale and green onions); and roasted seasonal vegetables with fresh herbs.

To elevate the look of, and experience at, the dinner tables, we rented elegant plates, silverware, and glassware from Celebrations Event Rentals.

Expert Services
Tables were decorated with luxurious linens from Creative Coverings in Sparks, as well as candles and short vases filled with simple bouquets. Our tres leches cake and apple-bourbon-brown-butter cake were supplied by Cake Bakery & Café in Grass Valley.

After our reception and dinner, we headed to Golden Era bar for the wedding after-party. The talented Mark Sexton was our DJ. He managed the music for our ceremony and reception. Then he played a customized, three-hour set at Golden Era, where we danced, drank, and smiled until midnight.

Reno-Tahoe photographer Kari Henrichsen superbly captured our special moments, from the reception, getting ready, and attire to property details and the walk down the aisle. She intuitively photographed candid times between us and our guests that we will cherish for years to come.

Thick and Thin Lines Calligraphy in Reno created our gorgeous invitation suite, welcome sign, bar menu, food station signage, and dinner place cards. Her modern calligraphy was elegant and romantic. The Stylish Scribe in Reno designed the dinner menus.

Our officiant was our good friend who became ordained through the Universal Life Church. She researched our relationship details and practiced her lines for months before surprising us with her beautiful words at the ceremony. A family member also participated in the ceremony, saying a few poignant words that we’ll always cherish.

We carefully curated our memorable welcome baskets for guests’ rooms. They contained a hand-milled, Nevada-shaped, heirloom walnut cutting board created by Wendy Baroli at Wren Wood Studio in Reno; a trio of cheeses from The Wheyfarer Cheese and Specialty Foods in Reno; handcrafted salami from Liberty Artisan Meats in Reno; handmade sugar cookies from Mix Bakeshop in Reno; handcrafted, ethically sourced chocolates from Tandem Chocolates in Reno; peanut brittle from Chocolate Nugget Candy Factory in Reno; award-winning estate whiskey from Frey Ranch Farmers + Distillers in Fallon; freshly made crackers from Sasquatch Snackers in Reno; and a Laguiole cheese knife.

Final Event
Since we were not able to invite many friends to the ceremony and reception in Nevada City and Grass Valley, we decided to throw an after-wedding bash at our house for about 100 people. Chef/owner Jay Rathmann, with BJ’s Nevada Barbecue Co. in Sparks, and his team catered the event with such lip-smacking bites as caramelized fig with foie gras and black salt; gravlox with lemon dust and whipped caper cream cheese on a toasted mini bagel; filet mignon with pink peppercorn sauce; roasted beets with goat cheese mousse and roasted seeds; and chestnut risotto with wild mushrooms.

At the after-wedding party, we also offered German chocolate cake from Papa What You Cooking in Reno and a cake from Kevin Futamachi with Sweet Escapes Bakes in Reno that featured two tiers: pear and butterscotch in one and carrot in the other. For the event, we rented two wooden bars from Celebrations Event Rentals, from which our two bartenders, with Coco’s Cocktails traveling bartender service in Reno, served signature cocktails as well as beer, wine, and mocktails to our friends. We also rented high-top tables and heat lamps from Celebrations to keep our guests comfortable and socializing during the autumn event.

The long wait to formally celebrate our union turned out to be well worth it. The choices we made and vendors we hired all helped to create truly remarkable experiences. We will remember every moment for the rest of our lives.

RESOURCES

BJ’s Nevada Barbecue Co. Bjsbbq.com
Cake Bakery Grassvalleybakery.com
Celebrations Event Rentals Celebrationspartyrentals.com
Chocolate Nugget Candy Factory Chocolatenuggetcandyfactory.com
Coco’s Cocktails, Colleen Cardenas Cocosmobilebartending@gmail.com
Creative Coverings Creativecoverings.com
Frey Ranch Farmers + Distillers Freyranch.com
Golden Era Goldeneralounge.com
Holbrooke Hotel Holbrooke.com
Jenessa Norris (stylist) 775-848-1354
Kari Henrichsen (photographer) Karihenrichsen.com
Liberty Artisan Meats Libertyfoodandwine.com
Mark Sexton, DJ Find Mark Steven Sexton on Instagram
Mix Bakeshop Mixreno.com
Reno Wholesale Flowers Renowholesaleflowers.com
Sasquatch Snackers Sasquatchfoods.com
Sparks Florist Sparksflorist.com
Sweet Escapes Bakes Sweetescapesbakes.com
Swoon Bridal Swoonbridal.com
Tandem Chocolates Tandemchocolates.com
The National Exchange Hotel Thenationalexchangehotel.com
The Stylish Scribe Renoweddinginvitations.com
The Wheyfarer Cheese and Specialty Foods Thewheyfarer.com
Thick and Thin Lines Calligraphy Thickandthinlines.com
Wren Wood Studio Wrenwoodstudio.com