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Saturday June 30 at
the Peace Barn in Bolinas, CA:
Our Bolinas reception took place on a gorgeous, clear
day on June 30th. It was such an incredible, joyous, heartfelt
celebration in one of the most gorgeous settings—the Peace
Barn! The barn had been decorated from the day before with streams
of Indian garlands, festive Indian saris on the tables, and
vases of sunflowers (as well as many other summer flowers) from
the S.F. Flower Mart. Mady’s Bolinas jams and jellies
got ribbons tied around them and a beautiful alter table was
set at the entrance. It all looked spectacular, thanks to our
“decorating committee” and Inger who organized all
of us!
Our reception day started with some of us getting to the barn
a little earlier to do the final touches— Nancy arranged
the photographs, Rich and Inger assembled the appetizer platters,
Katie, Andrew and Janie organized the shell necklaces, Uncle
Todd starting taking pictures, and Kamala and Vaughn Paul prepared
the entrance table, lighting the lotus candles and Indian incense.
Paul from Lotus Cuisine arrived with the Indian food, and local
chef, Claire Heart, brought appetizers and other entrées
for the buffet table.
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The
barn just glistened with vibrancy, sparkling even more from
the colorful chandeliers above. Local artist and bird watcher,
Keith Hansen, set up his telescopes and binoculars outside for
bird watching, and our musician, Brian Wallace, began playing
beautiful Indian music on stage. As our guests arrived and came
through the garland entrance, they received a shell necklace,
a program, a bindi, and then went through the barn to the outside
patio where they could mingle at the appetizer and mango lassi
station.
We heard later that a mule deer (above) with a full rack of
antlers had made an auspicious appearance, gazing onto the party
peacefully. Those who saw the deer felt as though it had been
dad coming to give his blessing—what a gift!
Herb rang the gong (I love this photograph) and gave a welcome
speech, as did Vaughn Paul and myself. We shared how we felt
so honored to be all together with so many of our family members
and very dear friends, how special it was to have our reception
in Bolinas--a place that holds so much family significance and
memories for both of us-- and how grateful we were to both Herb
and Nancy for helping us make this a reality.
We then all walked down to
the lagoon and sat under the trees with the little moth fairies
fluttering about for a blessing led by our dear friend, The
Reverend Jan West. Jan started by reading a poem by A.A. Milne
called “Linked Lives,” continuing with her blessing
and wishes for us, and then read a prayer of St. Francis. One
my favorite moments was when Jan invited everyone to stand and
rest a hand on Vaughn Paul or myself or someone else who was
touching us so we all would be linked together. Jan then said
a prayer for love, joy, and peace for our marriage, reminding
Vaughn Paul and I how we are united and connected with our circle
of family and friends. Thank you so much Jan!
After returning to the barn to eat the tasty Indian buffet lunch
and delicious desserts made by local baker Sandra, followed
toasts by Herb (we loved the “Bolinas feeling” and
namaste!), Nancy, Rich (describing me as following my “Plan
A”-- hilarious!), Mark, Garth, and Cam. Thank you—each
one of you—for your very touching, thoughtful, and memorable
toasts. Vaughn Paul and I went on to share our story of how
we met… and how we got engaged on our 2nd date (even before
we had kissed) four years ago.
We would like to thank all of you for joining us to celebrate
our marriage and gifting us with your love and support! Many
of you drove or flew in from afar — thank you! It was
so meaningful for us to have so many of our family members and
dear friends there, both in body and in spirit. We would like
to especially acknowledge Herb and Nancy for your loving and
generous support to create this amazing celebration! Thank you—this
gift was tremendous for us. Also, we so appreciate Uncle Todd
and Uncle Tom for all of the photographs—you both captured
many precious, special moments! And finally, a big mahalo to
Fletcher for your help to organize and orchestrate this party—your
Bolinas crew was fabulous! |
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