Bona fide Wedding

Bona fide: In good faith. Genuine.

Everything about the Sunday 10-10-10   wedding  of Miss Gennina Tan to Christopher Bona was bona fide.

Rancho Camulos  is old California personified.  Inspired by the success of Harriet Beacher Stowe in calling attention to the plight orf African Americans in Uncle Tom's Cabin, novelist  Helen Hunt Jackson  set her novel Ramona  using Rancho Camulos as her inspiration to romanticize the plight of the American Indians. A full century ago D.W Griffith  chose Mary Pickford give life to the silent movie epic  Ramona. 

Walk with me on across lawns and aged brick pathways cutting through the splendidly humble grounds. See California as she is meant to be seen. In a garden.

Historic plantings add the aura of timelessness. Impossibly tall palm trees were pregnant with bunches of fruit hanging from on-high.

Arms of cactus reach up through boughs of blooming eucalyptus.

An aviary breeds life to a yard on the side of a long grape arbor.

An ancient black walnut is on life support, timbered up to keep it standing tall.

The sun helps roses reach up to the ancient bell,  hung over a path. If it chimed, the stories it could sing.  It would ring stories to remind us to seek beauty not just in what is shiny or new. Time has patinaed this place, but have not made the grounds less glowingly beautiful.

The gardens were lush in a thousand shades of green, despite the  creeping barely over 100°F  afternoon.

At half past four in the afternoon, the chairs near the fountain facing the wooden chapel  were filled.

Loved ones came from near and far. Santa Clarita to Chicago, Kansas, Missouri and South Dakota.  

Guests flew in from Germany and the bride's native Philippines to witness bona fide love.

Glen Thompson, the groom's grandfather with daughter, Gayle

The Reverend Lee Peppin officiated the lovely sand ceremony.  Two vases of sand, each representing the bride and groom, were poured into a central vessel. As Gennina and Chris were separate people before they were married, when they were pronounced man and wife, they are now like the sand. Inseparable. 

Mr. and Mrs. Chris Bona

Mariachi Latino made the moment, serenading with perfectly tuned instruments.

A traditional disc jokey augmented the music with songs including a selection by the Zac Brown Band .

The Bona family. Papa Paul is handsome at 70. Behind Chris and Gennina is Jonnie. Glenda was pregnant with him when soon after we became friends. She is an AMAZING woman. Talented, intelligent and exactly who you want by your side when things go wrong.

Gennina and Chris- May you always love each other as much as it showed on the dance floor.

The wedding cake.  I LOVED it. Fine's Family Bakery miniature commerical fishing boat was delightful. It was perfect because it so  personalized Chris's interest in deep sea fishing- and sanctified  Gennina's acceptance of who Chris is.

John Nardone occasionally broke into song. Here he simply enjoys the company of his son, Rudy

Two of my tablemates.

Wrapped in gauzy pink packages, the wedding favors were gold fish.  My table mates took advantage of my having had two glasses of wine (remember: 2 glasses of vino in public is how I ended up coming home with a chihuahua from a dinner). They poured their goldfish into this wonderful centerpiece by Jenny Lopez of Forget Me Not Flowers The centerpiece was two pieces. 

I was thrilled at their offer to take home the 2 part arrangement. The top was an island of greenery with heavenly scented  stargazer lilies, alstormeria and cattails. Underneath, a goldfish bowl carpeted with pebbles and a tiny light that magically lit the imagination.

Chris is the owner of Bonafide Hydroponics

2822 E. Imperial Hwy

Brea, CA 92821