LAUREN LIVES

Goddess [god-is]: (noun) 1. A woman of extraordinary beauty and charm. 2. A greatly admired or adored woman. 3. A woman who is so beautiful, brilliant, and wholesome, that she is simply not like any other women on earth. She possesses some sort of uncommon spiritual element that, while it cannot be solidly defined, it is clearly present.

 

This past weekend as the sun went down, I sat outside in beautiful Sonoma County, California, on a small back patio, surrounded by eight goddesses. We drank wine and coffee simultaneously, and each of them took turns telling me what they admired most about me. Now, try as I might, they wouldn’t let me tell them what I loved most about each of them, but rest assured, I could fill up pages and pages with the ways that they have impacted my life, and with all of the things that make me love each of those women; my Bride Tribe.

I have a really really strong group of women in my life, and everyday I feel so blessed to call them all my friends – my soul sisters. They’re all from different chapters of my life, and they all have shaped me into who I am in some way. They teach me something new about myself every time I talk to them. They challenge me, they motivate me, they make me laugh, they love me. They are family in the deepest sense of the word.

So to have them all there with me in one place for an entire weekend, surrounded by the beautiful Northern California landscape and doing one of my favorite things to do – wine tasting, duh! 😉 – made last weekend one of my very favorite memories; one that I’ll cherish forever.

Thank you! To all of my ladies, for putting together, what I think, was the most perfect Bachelorette Weekend of all time! We could not have asked for better weather, a cozier little home for the weekend, more gorgeous wineries, or better company. All of the smallest details contributed to make it everything that I could have dreamed of…and I’ve been replaying it in my head all week! Can we go back now??

Some details about our trip:

On Friday, after hopping off the plane, we stopped at the Gloria Ferrer Winery for pink champagne and charcuterie. We grabbed a table, made a toast to the weekend, and enjoyed the fantastic views before we were able to check into our cozy Air BnB, where we made tacos and drank margaritas and laughed probably way too loudly.

On Saturday, we started bright and early with a tour and tasting at Hanzell Vineyards. The grounds here are breathtaking, and everything was especially green due to all of the rain they’ve been getting. We were taken on a tour to learn all about the wine making process with our guide, Tony. He taught us how the different wind patterns and the lay of the land affects how grapes are grown, and so each section of vines is strategically placed to make chardonnay vs. a cab, etc., and that’s also why Sonoma County makes such different wines from say, Napa Valley. We walked through the caves where all of the oak-aged barrels are kept, learned about the bottling process, and finished up our tour with a tasting in the old (and majestic) barn where all of the wine was originally made when the vineyard was much smaller.

Afterwards, we stopped for lunch at El Molino Central, a small Mexican restaurant with tons of outdoor seating. When you’re drinking wine all day, you need to make sure you’re eating too 😉

We had a second tour and tasting at Petroni Vineyards, up a long and narrow winding road. It felt like we could see all of Sonoma County from up there! We were led by our guide, Brandyn, through the gorgeous cave … it felt so fancy in there, and they even offer you (faux) fur blankets to wrap around yourself while you’re tasting with your group! It’s so interesting how this cave is just built right into the mountain…you wouldn’t even know it was there! This vineyard also has a bunch of its own olive trees, so we got to enjoy their very own olive oil as well.

We ended our tasting at the B Wise Tasting Room, where we had some delicious red blends and cabs. It was so much fun to sit around the big round table in the back. I had a moment where I just looked around at everyone sitting there and smiled at how happy I was. It’s really something else, when you can combine your different groups of friends and it suddenly feels like everyone has known each other their whole lives.

We had dinner that evening at The Girl & The Fig, which is located in the Sonoma Square. The food was so good, and it’s definitely one of those quintessential Sonoma County restaurants that you must try according to everyone we talked to 😉

On Sunday we checked out of our Air BnB and spent the morning exploring the Square. I definitely recommend stopping in the Cheese Factory for any last-minute purchases, and lots of free cheese tasting 😉

I am definitely not exaggerating when I say I feel like I had the most incredible Bachelorette experience anyone could ask for. Thank you, especially, to my Maid of Honor, Kaylie, for seeking out the most beautiful vineyards and making reservations for all of us! The weekend was everything I wanted & more.

Sending love to all of my goddesses out there! ❤