Why do they cry at Weddings?

You must remember the wedding scenes in the "Godfather" - I can assue you that the Family spared no expense for the wedding of The Don's daughter. Weddings come in all shapes and sizes, but one thing is for sure, weddings are an important part of our culture, and no matter what happens, people keep getting married.

It doesn't take a genius to get married, and it certainly doesn't take a genius to have children. If you are blessed with a daughter, you will also be blessed in paying for her wedding. I never understood this so-called rule, and I would also suggest that a wedding is not the most important moment in most people's lives. Having said that, weddings unto themselves have become a gigantic business, and as long as you have the means to finance your daughter's wedding, it's really quite simple.

You merely gather forty or perhaps fifty thousand dollars, and select you favorite
hotel, country club, caterer, or whatever. It's not all that difficult.

Our project is of a very different slant on your proposed wedding. It just happens to be 2011, and trust me when I tell you, not everyone has an extra forty or fifty-thousand dollars lying around. Most of the people are just happy that they figured out a way to get their daughter through school, and the happy thoughts of a wedding has just turned into your worst nightmare.

We have developed an extremely important program for enjoying the experience of a memorable wedding that the father (and mother) of the bride can live to talk about it.

I'm guessing that the members of the Corleone family had the finances to make that very memorable celebration happen (almost without a glitch). We are here catering to a very different audience, and our concept of "Affordable Weddings" can help you through the night (so to speak).

It's all about chefs and great food, and it's all about a bar presentation that will save literally thousands of dollars. It's about the ambiance that is critical to a wedding, and it's about everything you can think of including the music, the glassware, the parking, the photography, and everything that that's involved in a memorable wedding.

We have a litany of professionals who can help you, and we have done it. It doesn't take a genius (or tons of money) to have a wonderful wedding. It's easier than you think!

I Want To Be Like Mike!

I knew going in that Bern's Steakhouse in Tampa is something very special, and I knew the outstanding reputation of Napa Valley's Sequoia Grove. My "job" this particular evening was to have dinner (at Bern's Steakhouse) with the President and Head Winemaker at Sequoia Grove, Mike Trujillo. The challenge was to sample the great wines of Sequoia Grove and the great steaks of the much revered Bern's Steakhouse, and if it gets any better than this, please let me know.

Beyond all that, Bern's has one of the best wine lists in the world - some 6,800 selections, and some half a million bottles. What's amazing is that they offer many old and rare bottles at extremely reasonable prices. At a time when most American restaurants think nothing of a 300% markup, the prices on Bern's famous list could almost convince you that it is the 1950s all over again. The steaks, dry-aged for up to eight weeks, are trimmed and cut once you order, and broiled over lump hardwood charcoal and they are indeed something special. My advice to anyone interested in tasting a truly superb wine from Napa Valley, Sequoia Grove and Berns go very well together.

So many of us dream about opening our own restaurant - it sounds like the perfect life, and it's so easy to do. It's actually so easy that most people quickly discover that their best dream has turned into their worst nightmare. A secondary dream has to be living in Napa Valley, and of course, becoming a player in the wonderful world of wine. The wine thing is a bit more complicated, but actually, every bit as dangerous as opening a restaurant. Mike Trujillo had zero dreams about wine and/or restaurants (so he says). He was studying engineering in college and by total accident, he was working for the former owner of Sequoia Grove and ended up applying his knowledge of chemistry and mechanics to the wine industry. He also acquired a winemaking certificate from the University of California, Davis, and obviously, he was thinking more about wine and probably less about a career in engineering.