An Intimate Anchor Bay Minimony for Eight on the Mendocino Coast

Family Portraits Above the Anchor Bay Coves

After the ceremony came family portraits, then a stretch of time for just the two of them while a cocktail hour opened with passed bites from a private chef. Anchor Bay sits on the piece of coast locals call the Banana Belt, an eastern cut in the shoreline that shelters it from the prevailing wind and hands it more sun than the beaches nearby, so the afternoon held its light while the couple moved from grouping to grouping.

The whole family gathered on the bluff for a portrait — both sets of parents, the sister who married them, the friend who made the drive — the coves and open water dropping away behind everyone. Dragonfly Floral had done the flowers in white, blush, and green, Min's bouquet and Corbin's boutonniere among them, and the two of them slipped off alone into the coastal pines, Corbin kissing her cheek while she held the bouquet and a dark fringed shawl against the coast air.

Dinner and Dancing on the Deck

Dinner was one long table, a dark grey runner down the center, woven rattan chargers under white plates, silver flatware, and a low run of white and blush roses and greenery threaded down the middle with printed menus at each seat. They cut a white cake with a fresh-fruit filling from Sweet C's Bakeshoppe, feeding each other a bite and laughing through it.

The evening opened with dances and gave the floor over to the six people in front of them, a thank-you toast from Min and Corbin, then both sets of parents standing to speak. As the light went, everyone sat down together to eat on the deck, the Mendocino coast going dark behind them.