Happy Friday! Guess what Mr. Feather and I are doing today?
….we are going to town hall, to get married! Yes, apparently this is what happens when you decide to have a bachelor friend who spent most of his life living in Europe get ordained for $20 on the internet, and marry you – you end up not being actually married. Here we thought that paying a zillion dollars for florals and buying various friends of your parent’s who you will never see again steak and scotch was all you needed to get married in America. But no, we actually are supposed to go fill out paperwork and sign some papers.
In the spirit of marriage, and since I think it may be a while before my actual wedding photos arrive, I wanted to share some pictures of the two day little “mini moon” that we took right after the wedding (our real honeymoon will be this winter). We stayed at Solage Calistoga for the first time for two days – it’s part of the Auberge family and pretty new – I really loved it there. We stayed on the property almost the entire time – it has a full beautiful spa, Michelin starred dining (both casual and more formal), great grounds and complimentary bikes to ride around in. We are definitely going to go back.
the bedroom..
Smores and strawberry greetings in the room
Fireplace…I firmly believe all Napa/Sonoma lodging should have working fireplaces
Sitting area right outside..
…where you sit under a thatched roof!
Sitting and relaxing outside of Solbar with some pizza…
Have a fabulous weekend!
48 Comments
Anonymous
August 26, 2011 at 12:29 pmKatherine-
We used to stay in Napa at least one weekend a month as we love it so much! I stayed at Solage one time (when the Auberge was booked) and wasn't too impressed, what were your thoughts? We have stayed at all the "nice" hotels in St. Helena/ Calistoga (Calistoga Ranch and Meadowood), but much prefer the Auberge du Soleil. Their suits are incredible, the service is impeccable and the locations is quite perfect. I definitely recommend you and your hubby stay there next time you're in Napa if you haven't already.
Where are you going on your "real" honeymoon?!?! My husband and I did the same thing since he was in the process of selling his company, a 5 day "mini moon" in Hawaii and we're going to India and the Maldives this winter as well!
Annette
August 26, 2011 at 2:24 pmYour rings are BEAUTIFUL! Such a good size. Not too overwhelming, but definitely eye-catching. And that dress is very pretty too 🙂 now go get married, forreals!
C'est La Viii
August 26, 2011 at 3:16 pmPretty dress and rings!
http://www.cestlaviii.blogspot.com
Bravoe Runway
August 26, 2011 at 3:30 pmOooo so pretty! I love that white dress, Temperley of London? And your ring is pretty 😀 Perfect size!
questforfashionsense.com
August 26, 2011 at 3:33 pmYour minimoon spot looks lovely. That's exactly the type of decorating that my husband likes. I'm going to forward him your post, hahaha. The dress is fabulous. Have a great weekend (and best wishes again! ;D).
Mrs. Hot Cocoa
August 26, 2011 at 3:43 pmI loved the Solage when we stayed there. Did you guys go to any of the TK restaurants or Bouchon Bakery? I'm drooling just thinking about it.
Katherine
August 26, 2011 at 3:58 pm@Anonymous a minimoon in Hawaii sounds divine! That sounds like a real vacation to me – I love Hawaii, where do you stay there?
Auberge is my favorite resort in Napa as well but they only had one of the main house rooms for one of the dates that we were trying to book – I agree that it is a lot better than Meadowood which I found to be a little "loud and sceney" surprisingly – the same thing was there at Solage but I was expecting it and it wasn't as bad…what were your thoughts on the resort? Plus it was probably ~half the price of what it would have been at Auberge (the breakfasts cannot compare though!)
Annabelle
August 26, 2011 at 3:58 pmHappy kind-of wedding day!
That white dress is adorable — I don't think I'd be able to stop twirling if I were wearing it.
Katherine
August 26, 2011 at 3:59 pm@Mrs. Hot Cocoa actually we originally had reservations at French Laundry but ended up canceling! We had too much heavy food and just figured we couldn't handle it…lol
breakingrumours
August 26, 2011 at 4:01 pmYour ring and wedding band(correct me if i'm wrong bout the wedding band) looks amazing! 🙂 and the place looks like a pretty nice place to stay for such occasions.
Elaine A (TOBeautyReviews)
August 26, 2011 at 4:18 pmWhoa what a story! You look absolutely gorgeous have a fabulous 2nd wedding day 😉
Olivia
August 26, 2011 at 4:37 pmEvery thing about this post is lovely- that room looks so sleek and comfy, your dress is so pretty with fringe adding a little spice and your rings are beautiful.
Liv @ bklynlifestyle.blogspot.com
Tangled In Texas
August 26, 2011 at 4:39 pmHave fun today! I *love* that dress! Thank you for sharing your mini-moon pictures with us. 🙂 Have a great weekend!
I am Khatu
August 26, 2011 at 4:55 pmdoes that mean you'll have two anniversaries to remember? lol.
Bay Park Dream
August 26, 2011 at 4:57 pmOh my goodness your ring is so so sooo beautiful! 🙂
Have fun in Napa
~Tammy
Samantha
August 26, 2011 at 5:07 pmKatherine!!
You look so lovely in that Temperley dress – what a perfect after wedding dress! The picture of your hand and Mr. Feather's is really sweet.
Your minimoon lodging is fabulous! Glad y'all had a wonderful time. (And good luck with the "second" wedding!)
xo,
sam
amy b.s.
August 26, 2011 at 5:15 pmwell congratulations again! love the dress.
Lydia
August 26, 2011 at 6:23 pmWhat a pretty dress & gorgeous ring! I hope everything went smoothly with the paper work process this morning. Have a great weekend!
xJOLE
August 26, 2011 at 7:27 pmI hope you did some major booty shaking in that dress!
alison*elle
August 26, 2011 at 7:59 pmAt least the fact that you have to get "re"-married makes for kind of a funny story! Love both of your rings and glad you got to go on this mini-moon 🙂
xo, alison*elle
Chelsea
August 26, 2011 at 8:37 pmAt least it's a great story to tell later 🙂 Congratulations again 🙂 And gorgeous rings!
– Chelsea (www.hautechildinthecity.com)
Michelle
August 26, 2011 at 8:54 pmWhat a great tale to tell on your 50th Anniversary! Your minimoon sounded fab and as always you look gorgeous. Love the pic of you and Mr Feathers.
Lisa
August 26, 2011 at 9:31 pmi loveee solage calistoga hotel!!! it's so pretty and peaceful there :)!! your mini moon looks wonderful and that cake dress is GORGEOUS!!
you picked the swing ring!!! *sigh* love love love so pretty! that's one of my all time favorite TCO bands!!
the proper poppy
August 26, 2011 at 9:36 pmSuch a pretty dress! Sounds like a great break after all the whirlwind of the wedding. I love the bikes there, made me feel like a kid again. Congratulations on everything and making it "legal" today. 🙂
Best Of Palm Beach
August 26, 2011 at 10:09 pmMy husband and I did the courthouse thing a month before our ceremony. So on paper our anniversary is almost a month earlier and on my birthday. Which is good because we will then celebrate our anniversary separate from my birthday. I love that dress and cannot wait to see your wedding pics!
Veronica
Chocolate, Cookies & Candies
August 26, 2011 at 11:07 pmWhat??! How did you happen to find out you're actually not married? Your mini moon sounds lovely. The dress is beautiful on you!
Chocolate, Cookies & Candies
August 26, 2011 at 11:07 pmWhat??! How did you happen to find out you're actually not married? Your mini moon sounds lovely. The dress is beautiful on you!
Chocolate, Cookies & Candies
August 26, 2011 at 11:07 pmWhat??! How did you happen to find out you're actually not married? Your mini moon sounds lovely. The dress is beautiful on you!
Steph
August 27, 2011 at 12:56 amyour room looks great =]
that dress looks amazing on you!!!!
Make Mommy Chic
August 27, 2011 at 1:15 amHi Katherine, oops- that definitely must have come as a little shock to find out that you weren't actually legally married. How did you first react? Stunned, or did you laugh? I bet you laughed, right? Your temperly dress is gorgeous. Your figure reminds me of Kate Middleton actually, and I know that she wore a lot of Temperly dresses during her north american tour. The mini-moon looks amazing, it must have been nice to have some down time after the wedding. Thanks for the post!
Olyvia
August 27, 2011 at 4:07 amcongrats on being officially married! That dress above it so pretty and fun! Can't wait to see your wedding photos too!
Lily
August 27, 2011 at 4:11 amLove the dress and the rings are SO gorgeous !!
xxLily
goldandgray.com
Aesthetic Alterations
August 27, 2011 at 1:13 pmYour dress and rings are beautiful. Be. U. T. Ful. As always, it's a thrill to hear your happiness. May it always continue.
Andrea
August 27, 2011 at 4:48 pmAwweh this is so sweet. Thank you for taking the time to comment when you're sorting all of this out! Your ring is gorgeous, so lucky you have the rest of your life to look at it. Love the dress too, it's so beautiful and almost 1920's flapper.
emily
August 27, 2011 at 5:25 pmGORGEOUS dress! i love the rings as well, and the hotel room looks divine 🙂 the plate of scones and strawberries is so cute.
Anonymous
August 28, 2011 at 12:23 am@Katherine
Katherine-
I too had booked Solage b/c the Auberge nor Meadowood were available. I wasn't a huge fan of the location and I felt that it wasn't on the same level in terms of service and ammenities. That said, it certainly wasn't a bad experience, but I am so spoiled from the Auberge so it's hard for me to give a totally fair comparison! There is nothing like having a drinks on the restaurant deck @ the Auberge in early fall– SO GORGEOUS.
If you haven't already tried Redd, I highly recommend it, in my opinion is it only second to TFL. If you and your hubby like fried chicken you must check out Ad Hoc's "fried chicken nights"– I am not a huge fan of fried food but this chicken is SO good!
To be honest, I'm not a huge Hawaii person– I much prefer the much less humid climate of Cabo. However, Hawaii is stunning and lush. On Oahu, I recommend the Halekulani (the Vera Wang suite!), on the Big Island, the Four Seasons Hualalai (incredible service,/tranquility), and on Maui the Four Seasons as well (not a huge fan of Maui).
In Cabo, we love the One and Only Palmilla, Las Ventanas or Esperanza. The One and Only has exceptional service, a gorgeous pool and fabulous rooms complete with butler service. Las Ventanas is right up there in terms of service, but is not quite as lush of a property as the O and O. Esperanza is the closest to "downtown" Cabo San Lucas (which is not my scene– aside from some of the shopping LOL) Cabo is only a 3 hour flight from SF (great for a long weekend) and Virgin now has flights going there as well (double plus!!!).
Where are you guys going for your "real" honeymoon???
Katherine
August 28, 2011 at 2:58 am@Anonymous Wow thank you so much! I really want to go to Mexico and when I read your response I started looking up rates for a 3 day weekend at the One and Only! I really want someone I know to get married there so I have an excuse to go. I will definitely check it out one day so thank you for the recs.
I love Redd, it's one of our favorites in Napa too – and great because it can also be casual..
We are going to Thailand – I am actually in the middle of begging the GM at Trisara to let us in but they seem to be all fully booked! I want to try it out, I heard it's better than Aman…the prices during peak season are way more than I thought they'd be though! Whew.
Cindy
August 28, 2011 at 7:44 amYour dress is so incredibly stunning! Haha the whole married/not actually married thing is a bit confusing. European bachelors these days…
xxCindy
Daria
August 28, 2011 at 8:31 amamazing location..and ring!! have a nice day, too 😀
Francesca
August 28, 2011 at 10:14 amAbsolutely beautiful rings 🙂 xx opinionslave
/ twitter: @opinionslave
Schnappy
August 29, 2011 at 12:14 pmOh, your ring is so wonderful! Cool dress, and amazing room!:)
Lindsay K
August 29, 2011 at 1:34 pmThe swing ring is one of my favorite Tiffany & Co rings- it looks gorgeous on you. Eek! Thailand is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been- you are going to love it.
Mica Cataletto
August 29, 2011 at 4:15 pmThat is an awesome story. I'm glad you got it all worked out by now. I hope you had a great mini-moon. the ToL dress is amazing on you.
Lots of best wishes and congratulations, Mica
LabelSnob
August 30, 2011 at 1:20 amThat dress is AMAZING!!!! SOOOOO beautiful! Looks like you had an amazing time!
Islandia Lane
September 1, 2011 at 7:40 pmlove this white dress and all that swing it has!
http://www.citygirlknows.blogspot.com
Mary Lane
September 2, 2011 at 3:32 pmThis place looks gorgeous, and I love the fringed dress… perfect for twirling around at a wedding reception!
http://www.stylish3.com/marylane
urbanjunglefashion
September 23, 2011 at 5:33 amGirl your ring is AMAZING!
Napa – The Carneros Inn and Angelo’s » Feather Factor | Feather Factor
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