BERNARDUS LODGE, CARMEL VALLEY, CA

  Emiko and Martin met in class at Art Center College of Design. They didn’t meet again until a year later, in another class. “Every week we sat together in Small Business Management,” Emiko recalls. Martin says that Emiko was the only reason he showed up for class! But it would be another year before they became more than just classmates.

  Once they began dating, it was five years after their first meeting when Martin proposed to Emiko in Napa Valley, where the couple was vacationing. They’d spent the day at their favorite spa in Calistoga, and then Martin suggested a scenic drive. “After driving through the hills a bit,” says Emiko, “Martin parked and took me to a lookout with endless views of gorgeous hills and vineyards. Just as the sun was setting, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.”

    The theme for Emiko’s and Martin’s wedding was what they refer to as “modern with an Asian twist”—inspired by their shared Asian heritage and their favorite colors.
Karen Axel of Tapestry Flowers prepared hanging flower spheres in those vibrant colors—orange, lime, red, yellow, pink—for the arbor under which the couple was married. For their Bernardus Lodge garden ceremony, Emiko wore a Richard Glasgow gown in white silk and satin from the Marina Morrison bridal salon. Martin added a hip, modern touch to his and his groomsmen’s attire by creating a combo dress shoe/sneaker design, which he had manufactured by DC Shoes.
   During the ceremony, a friend read a passage from Jane Eyre. Then, because both love the beach, in lieu of a traditional unity candle, Emiko and Martin simultaneously poured two containers of different-colored sand into a larger container, representing the blending of their two lives into one.
    The décor at the reception, held in one of  the Lodge ball rooms, featured hundreds of paper lanterns, four-foot-tall orchid “chandeliers” created from strung lime orchids, and draped sari fabric of iridescent orange. The reception repast, prepared by Bernardus Lodge catering, culminated with a dessert buffet, served outdoors, that included biscotti, chocolate-dipped strawberries, classic cheesecake with blueberries, midnight chocolate mousse cake with fresh raspberries, tartlet of seasonal fruits, and petit fours. Because the evening was chilly, a fire blazed in the outdoor fireplace, adding to the romantic ambience of dessert under the stars.

    Emiko and Martin stayed at Bernardus Lodge for their wedding night, then honeymooned for a week on Maui and Kauai.

 
GENE HIGA