Anniversary Celebrations

A 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration held at The Estate in Sonoma, California

The Host and Hostess grow Cabernet Sauvignon grapes for wine bottled under their private label, so the "Wine" theme was a natural for this party.

Invitations were wine bottles wrapped in a cellophane bag with a gold cord ribbon tying them together. Placecards telling guests at which "Bin No." they would be seated were hung from a specially made tree of grapevines, grape leaves and clusters of mini grapes fitted in a Tuscan pot.

Each table held a wine bottle with a special label denoting the occasion and the "Bin No." for guests to match up with their placecard they had plucked from the grapevine tree.

Instead of tablecloths, 12" x 12" custom-made tiles incorporating the Personal Wine Label of the Host and Hostess were placed at each table setting. On the tile's wine label, the year of the wine's vintage was changed to "Vintage 1959" - the year of the couple's marriage, and their names were placed in the upper left corner, replacing the alcohol content.

Each guest received a tile as a gift, given to them in bubble bags with a duplicate of the placecard made into a stick-on label for the bags, and placed into alphabetical order for easy distribution. The tiles can be used as trivets for hot or cold food dishes.

An actual, live Cabernet Sauvignon grape leaf from their vineyards was placed in the upper right of each tile, lending authenticity.

The entertainment for the evening was an Italian Trio that strolled among the guests at the tables singing, playing and taking requests.

A four-foot-high martini glass was filled with ice and freshly shucked oysters during the hors d'oeuvres hour.

Executive Chef John Toulze and restaurateur Sondra Bernstein, from Estate and the girl & the fig in Sonoma, CA