“I want to see what’s in here,” I say, going over to a pavilion. “Oh, this is cool.”
“We sit out here a lot. With the fireplace, we can use it pretty much year round.”
“This looks like it would be a great place to raise a family.”
“We think so too.”
“Would you be opposed to moving the furniture out of the pavilion and setting up some of the cocktail tables in here? We could run the silk fabric from the ceiling similar to the altar. And it’s on the way to the barn, so it makes sense for the flow of traffic.”
“I love that idea.”
“Me too,” Aiden says, coming up from behind Keatyn and wrapping his arms around her waist. “How’s the planning going?”
“Good,” she says, giving him a sweet kiss.
“So, I have some special requests,” Aiden says.
“You do?” Keatyn and I ask in unison. “A lot of men prefer to just show up.”
“That wouldn’t be my style,” he says. “But I’d like to speak to you in private when you’re finished, Ariela. I may have a surprise or two for my bride.”
Keatyn looks at him and practically swoons.
And, so do I.
“So, I’ll let you two keep going. If you need me, I’ll be down in the barn,” he says.
“Ariela,” Keatyn says, “let’s run in the house quick, grab a snack and something to drink, and I need to pee.”
“Okay,” I say, following her into their massive kitchen. “This kitchen is great. Can the caterers use it?”
“They could if they needed to, but we have a full catering kitchen in the barn. Pour yourself a glass of wine. I’ll be right back.”
I pour myself a glass of wine. When in Sonoma . . . drink wine, right?”
Keatyn comes out of the bathroom and grabs a bottle of water.
“You’re not having wine?”
“I think I’ll stick with this,” she says. “Let’s head to the barn. I thought the dinner could be inside. And I suppose if it were to rain, we’d have to do everything inside, right?”
“We’ll definitely have a rain plan. Let me worry about that though.”
“Okay,” she says, leading me down a brick path to a massive redwood barn. She stops and points out an old tree with their initials carved in the center. “Aiden carved our initials in this tree when I showed him the land. That was something we didn’t put in the movie. We planned the house and everything around the tree. I don’t know how old it is, but we couldn’t tear it down.”
“That’s a gorgeous barn. Your house hides it though. I didn’t even see it when I pulled up.”
“It’s sits a little lower than the house, so it’s kind of hidden. I like that it’s sort of a surprise.”
She throws open the doors.
“This is spectacular. Vaulted ceiling, exposed beams, old brick on the pillars.”
“Aiden, will you close the door and show Ariela your latest project?” Keatyn says to the empty space.
I hear Aiden’s voice reply from somewhere to my right. “Sure.”
The doors shut, darkening the space. Then, with a flick of a switch, hundreds of bulbs attached to the beams light up the ceiling.
“Isn’t it pretty?” Keatyn swoons. “Could we use the silk fabric and chandeliers to dress this up a little too? And lots of flowers. And I’d like those really long tables and the food to be served family style. Then we can dance in the middle.”
“And wine,” Aiden says. “There will be lots and lots of wine.”
Keatyn shows me the catering kitchen, the ample amount of restrooms, and built in bars and buffets.
“Aiden,” I say, “if you have a minute, let’s talk food. Do you have a caterer in mind? Style of food?”
“Our personal chef, Marvel, designed the catering kitchen, trained in France, and worked at many acclaimed restaurants before we hired him. He’s been planning our menu since we got engaged. You can talk to him this afternoon if you’d like.”
“That sounds perfect. What about a cake?”
“I’d like something tall, lots of layers, pastels, starting with white then ending up in pink, kind of an ombre effect,” Keatyn says. “Maggie already called our local cake designer and she said she’d do it for us. You’ll just need to get with her on the design, size, delivery.”
“Sounds easy enough. How about cocktails? Or do you just want wine?”
“A full bar,” Aiden says. “Good scotch. Top shelf liquor. Champagne. An assortment of cigars. I’ll supply all the wine. I have a special vintage I’ve been saving for this event.”
“I think that covers most of the basics. Aiden, did you want to talk to me now?”
Keatyn whispers something in Aiden’s ear that makes him smile.
“I told you it would be okay,” he whispers, giving her a kiss.
“Alright, you two have fun. I’m going down to see what the kids are up to,” she says.
“They’re at the ball field,” Aiden tells her.
“You have a ball field too?” I ask.