Fairytale Wedding 👰‍♀️

We got married at the gorgeous Pelican Inn at Muir Beach just north of San Francisco, with sixty of our closest family & friends. Words can’t describe it (though I’ll try). But pictures will!

These first three are my favorite pictures. Drew from our biking squad got this one:

The Story

We rented out the entire Pelican Inn for the weekend. We got the outside lawn & gardens, the seven upstairs rooms, dining room, the pub, the “Snug”, and an extra “Conservatory” room that’s almost like a greenhouse. An utterly beautiful, faithfully constructed, English Inn and Pub, offering candlelit dining for every meal, true Old World charm, and beautiful decor.

Karin, my friend & bridesmaid, had similar enough hair and is a braiding wizard. Thankfully she agreed to do my hair and set up my fascinator / adorbs lil’ veil hat. 🙏🏽

Doing final prep, trying to avoid the jitters. Thankfully myself and a bunch of the biking crew did a great redwoods + coastal mountain/gravel bike ride that morning to help with endorphins and stress :p

Bridesmaids! It’s 5pm. The groomsmen have “snapped” their way down the aisle (snapping fingers to the downbeats of Hunter’s beautiful live brass quintet) – we are about to go on. Kim (right) is my bestie and Matron of Honor. We met in college and have lived within 15 minutes of each other most of our lives since then. My younger sister, Nancy (left), gives a great Irish poem reading during the Ceremony. Katherine has already started down the aisle; Tara (twin brother’s wife) is pictured in the background. I had just realized I forgot Hunter’s ring upstairs and ran and got it. MY DRESS HAS POCKETS!

OMG. Walking into next room (the “Conservatory”), about to go on, I saw the cake setup for the first time and started to tear up - it was so pretty! We got this amazing passionfruit & coconut white base cake, plus chocolate top layer cake :)

The gals walked out to live piano and flute “La Vie en Rose”. I walked down the aisle to Hunter’s amazing “Tracey Lullaby” piano & flute piece that he wrote for me over twenty years ago. I was doing everything I could to not sob to his beautiful music, played live! 🥹 🥹

We wrote heartfelt custom vows. The dress pockets had my vows, phone, and his ring. I spent most of the Ceremony trying not to cry – once the vows started, I was fine and truly enjoyed the Event. I knew the rest of the day was going to be perfect and so much fun spending time with friends and family.

Sliding on Hunter’s ring. Neither of us had any hint of what the other was getting the other. We both loved our rings! 💍

Mike Wood, our Officiant, and leader of our biking group, did SUCH an amazing job. His dad was an Episcopal Bishop – so he was able to channel some of his dad’s spirit beautifully. Mike really made our day Special - huge Thanks!! 🙏🏽

We did it! We’re married! 🎉

So fun to see all our friends and family up close as we joyously walk down the aisle.

My niece & goddaughter were wonderful Flower Girls. About the same age, they get along great together.

Me with the Bridesmaids (missing Kim), flower girls, and the groom.

The full Bridal Party with the Groomsmen.

My amazing direct family – father couldn’t make it due to a major health issue 2 months prior. My mom almost wasn’t able to make it – her flying out for the weekend was The Best wedding present ever! 🥰

This is direct family with their families. Twelve of the fourteen of us who get together for a week every summer on Cape Cod. 🥰 All of us stayed overnight both weekend nights of the Wedding on the second floor of the Pelican Inn. Such amazing rooms with back-in-time European pure charm and utter oceanside weather coziness. ❤️

The fifteen amazing bike group friends we invited. So great that Sarah got such a great set of pics outside the Pelican Inn

Scooting from the pictures to the Inn’s front. Reenie spotted me!

So great to see everyone before dinner!

Utter fairytale. Totally surreal. Utter bliss!

Drew from our bike crew got this amazing shot of us.

We got so many great photos outside.

A great depth-of-field shot from twin brother (and groomsman) Russ.

This place is so impossibly cute it makes me squeeee.

Perfect shot of our amazing cake from Full Belly Bakery (Oakland, CA)

These are my amazing college friends. We all met first night at Cornell University, and became instant friends. We all rented a place together, senior year, that was a converted Barn right next to one of Cornell’s famous gorges – so we all refer to our group as “The Barn” :D All seven plus wives flew out - so happy! We have stayed in touch and even done two multi-day wilderness river raft trips, Sun Valley mountain biking adventure weekend, gatherings in Park City, and more.

When I later gave a toast, I themed it around the word “Lucky”.

Lucky to have such an amazing family.

Lucky to have made such amazing college friends.

LUCKY to have found this amazing bike group, led by Officiant Mike Wood, during “the Covid Years”. We all needed to get out of the house and do something safe and fun together. Mike setup this great two hour dirt/gravel bike loop, starting/ending at a new super cute beer garden in Moraga, the most rural area closest to the Bay Area cities. We have all become such great friends, camping and racing together many weekends a year, helping each other out with things, having local bike shop and beer garden gatherings and house parties. LOVE THIS CREW! 🥰

The second table of “The Barn” college friends. Blake & Laurie came all the way from England!

Before being “announced” to the dining room, Reenie got this amazing shot and setup of us!

The Happy Couple is Announced!

Another shot of “The Barn” college friends.

Our bike friends all got one long table together. They were the life of the party! We were sure it’d be a competition between them and “The Barn” college friends. But “Thirsty Thursday” bike crew always manages to be so fun!

Hunter, great lighting, doing “crowd work”, hehe, with our bike friends.

Tracey, doing “crowd work” with her college friends.

Us with my goddaughter, Mariah. I love this interesting composition, caught candidly.

The toasts were all so sweet and amazing. I’m in love. I wish everyone can have this feeling – all your best friends and family – the people you love the most, all in One Room together. All mutual love. 🫶

The bridal party table with David, the Best Man’s toast

Our families got to know each other, along with our long-time friends I met from Xerox PARC when I first moved to California.

Giving my “Lucky” toast and comments. So lucky to have been blessed with so many amazing people in my life.

Gorgeous shot of us, with that awesome blurring background, showing off the beautiful candlelit dinner.

Time to change into Dress Number Two! Karin helping me slide into the more casual “perfect for dancin’” second dress that I fell in love with. Why choose when you can fashion show, amirite?

Me with many of our bike friends, showing off the gorgeous English Inn.

Prepping to cake cut, the real view was looking out – so I smartly grabbed a selfie here of the guests in “the Conservatory” second room for dancing.

We cut the first piece and didn’t smear ;) Like the rest of the night, I love how happy and glowing I am here.

We picked “At Last” by Etta James for our First Dance. Gorgeous song – and after twenty-seven years as a couple… married. at last.

Dancin’!

My brothers, having fun twirling the flower girls.

Oasis “Wonderwall” was a hit!

I like this photo - many stories are happening at once kind of thing :D

ABBA “Dancing Queen” was such fun!

OMG so cute!

The Barn college friends bestowed “The Monster” to me as its new steward! It’s been in The Barn family since 1993 (!) – and this is the first time having it until the next passing.

An English Inn of course has its own British Pub! Two brits, an Aussie, and Zimbabwe posh english speaking bike guests find it of course!

Bike crew showing a lot of handsomeness inside the Inn near the Pub. Winston (right) will gift us sixty cowbells at the end of the night to ring us all out!

Here we are in “The Snug” near end of the Celebration. Inn overnight guests get access to another room with couches, piano, chairs, games, working fireplace, and more.

Winston “more cowbell!” from our bike friends gave us all cowbells to ring us out at the end of the night. So sweet!

Downloading Pictures

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Missing Person

We lost a Polaroid Camera - sentimental value (from my grandfather from the 80s).

It looks like this - if you happen to find anything like this - please let us know!

Back Story

We actually got engaged just a few minutes up the hill from the Pelican Inn. We bike by both the Wedding and engagement locations on the Saturday morning mountain/gravel bike ride loop that I lead. It is about 24-30 miles, and 3000-4000 feet of climbing. We start and finish at the marsh on the bay side, climb up Mt. Tamalpais, then head down to the Pacific coast and Muir Beach, before a secondary climb up and over the ridge.

A Reading

Oh, Call it by Some Better Name - Thomas Moore (Irish) (1779 – 1852)

Oh, call it by some better name,
For Friendship sounds too cold,
While Love is now a worldly flame,
Whose shrine must be of gold:

And Passion, like the sun at noon,
That burns o'er all he sees,
Awhile as warm will set as soon --
Then call it none of these.

Imagine something purer far,
More free from stain of clay
Than Friendship, Love, or Passion are,
Yet human, still as they:

And if thy lip,
for love like this,
No mortal word can frame,
Go, ask of angels what it is,
And call it by that name!

Approximate Schedule

• 5 - 5:30pm CEREMONY (5:10 - 5:45pm actual)
• 5:30 - 6:30pm apps & drinks & photos outside
• 7 - 8pm DINNER (to 9pm actual)
• 8:30pm CAKE cut (9:15pm actual)
• 9 - 10pm DANCE DJ party (9:25 - 10pm actual)
• 10pm music stops
• 10:30pm everyone out

Dance Music

• Muppet Show Theme
• At Last - Etta James (~9:26pm)
• Summer Girl - Haim
• Steal My Sunshine - Len (~9:35pm)
• Groove is in the Heart - Deee-Lite (~9:38pm)
• Wonderwall - Oasis (~9:41pm - 9:44pm)
• It Takes Two - Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock (~9:45pm - 9:48pm)
• Dancing Queen - ABBA (~9:50pm)
• Pink Pony Club - Chappell Roan (~9:56pm)
• Slow Burn - Kacey Musgraves (~10:00pm)
• [cowbells] (~10:01pm)

Credits

• photos & video: Reenie Raschke - our professional photographer, next door neighbor, and great friend
• photos & video: RJ Films - pictures by professional video & photographer, twin brother, and groomsman
• flowers: Bush Poppy Farm, Heather Marano
• cake: Full Belly Bakery
• cupcakes: L’Acajou - our morning bikeride cafe that makes everything from scratch!
• DJ: Todd Hodges - hunter college great friend, music major, audio engineer 🫶