It was great to take a break from our weary world to celebrate our youngest daughter’s wedding in Santa Barbara. We are still floating on air from several perfect days preparing and celebrating. Well, almost perfect–the groom’s parents got notice of a planned lengthy power outage that would affect their kick-off dinner and family lodging. As usual, though, they scrambled to rearrange things before nightfall, and carried on with good humor and grace:

You’d also have to overlook the slight imperfection of the newlyweds getting slammed with Covid three days after the wedding. The groom’s father’s toast included an homage to wise decisions, like choosing the right person to marry. Going to an indoor bar for an after party after a week of little sleep? Less wise. But bride and groom are recovering nicely, and will have better hybrid immunity for their planned September honeymoon.

All the rest? Pure bliss.

Let’s start with what’s important: Baked goods. Fans of Shrinkrapped may remember that I have been coping with depressing world events by throwing myself down the cupcake rabbit hole, living in a parallel universe of cheerful YouTube videographers with their frosting and cake topper techniques. Upon arriving in Santa Barbara, we set up Baking Central, with good results:

Oh, wait–this is about my daughter’s wedding, not about my fantasy bakery! That rabbit hole is pretty alluring. Onto the Welcome Party, with hilarious toasts by friends, a great taco truck, and picnic tables overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Here’s my daughter, true to character:

It would be hard to top the Welcome Party fun, but Wedding Day itself was up to the task, starting with the happy couple saying goodbye so they could get ready in separate quarters:

Now for the real deal:

And the best part–dancing!

The morning after: