Last Sunday night Mr. R and I went to a beautiful wedding in San Francisco with my entire family who flew in from all over the country. It was held at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in the financial district, which managed to be both a glamorous and intimate location for a wedding of over 200 people!
While the venue was beautiful, the food was delish (butternut squash risotto? yes please), and the dance party was awesome, this wedding did come out of a small tragedy we are having here in Northern California.
The wedding was originally planned to be held in Napa, but due to the wildfires that have burned over 200,000 acres of our wine country, the wedding was moved 2 days before. 2 DAYS BEFORE!! Can you imagine having to plan your dream wedding, and then last minute locate a new venue, negotiate new hotel room blocks, arrange for transportation, food, and seating changes? Not only did this happen, but the bride and groom kept a smile on their face the entire time, embraced their new wedding venue, and ended up with a beautiful wedding that was a blast to attend.
While the wedding turned out magnificently, our poor wine country is still under fire. Literally. Over the past month our country has experienced too many unparalleled tragedies. Hurricane Harvey, the Las Vegas shootings, Hurricane Maria, and now the Northern California wildfires… it’s sadly too much to comprehend.
If you were able to donate to Houston or Puerto Rico, then I ask you for a little help in donating to our over 100,000 evacuees who will need to build back and replace over 5,700 homes, hotels, wineries, and farms lost in the fires. If you have ever visited our famous wine country or dreamed of a Napa vacation, then you know how beautiful our countryside is and how much we do rely on tourism and it’s natural beauty to fund our state. Without the wineries, hotels, and beautiful farm land, we cannot drive the traffic and tourism needed to re-build by ourselves.
I know this is not the same destruction or horror (Las Vegas) as the other incidents, but my fellow Californians need help too! If you are able and willing to donate to the Northern California wildfire relief efforts, you can donate through the Redwood Credit Union here in NorCal, where 100% of your tax deductible donations will go to those in need. Thank you so much in advance for your donation and pat yourself on the back the next time you are enjoying that Sonoma Pinot or Napa Chardonnay!
