Mimosas – Snapshots & My Thoughts by Ailee Petrovic

As part of my mission to eat Burrata cheese at all of these Houston restaurants, I decided to meet a good friend of mine, Paola, at Rainbow Lodge on Sunday for brunch (99 cent mimosas? yes, please). I had never been before, but had wanted to go for ages, so jumped at the opportunity to check it off the list. As I walked in, I felt like I had in fact been there before. I quickly remembered that I recognized the restaurant because I had seen it on photographer Taylor Lord’s blog. She shot a wedding there last year, and I loved every detail. In fact, little did I know at the time, but I would end up in the same Crepe de Chine BHLDN dress! I was grinning ear to ear when I pulled up the pictures again and saw that.

The food was incredible. The Heirloom Tomato Salad was heavenly – the Burrata cheese was perfect, as were the wonderfully affordable mimosas. The 100 year old cabin home turned into hunting-style restaurant is an amazing spot for Sunday brunch or date night. The views are amazing – windows all around. The vegetarian options are definitely limited, but that’s what I expected from an upscale game lodge eatery.

I am so blessed to have a best friend whose boyfriend is equally as talented at picture-taking as she is, or else I would have no photos to share of the wedding until I get our official ones back from Ryan in a few weeks! Sophee and Johnny captured some precious moments from both the rehearsal dinner and the wedding day. Sasha and I got married on July 19 at The Carneros Inn in Napa, and while everything didn’t go as expected (to be explained momentarily), it was the most perfect day of my life…

As mentioned last week, I fainted during the ceremony (honestly, who does that?). All of those warnings to eat food, drink water, bend your knees, etc. are not to be taken lightly. Fainting runs in our family, so neither of my parents were surprised when 15 minutes into the ceremony, Sasha asked me, “Are you okay?” To which I replied, “No,” then subsequently fell onto his shoulder and he placed me on the ground. A whole two minutes later, I wake up to a host of very capable people putting ice on my neck and holding me in the right position. I had two doctors and a paramedic at the wedding, so I was well-taken care of. After going inside to cool off, we returned outside – to continue the ceremony seated (with parasols – see pictures below). I was in good spirits about the entire event – you truly cannot let anything ruin this special day. It also helped that Sasha scooped me off my feet to carry me inside, which his groomsmen swear was all planned to make him look like a knight in shining armor. The rest of the evening went without a hiccup – the speeches, food, drinks, company, and dancing were all incredible. I cannot wait to share Ryan’s pictures with you when they arrive. In the meantime, here are some that Sophee and Johnny took. Thank you to them both! Love y’all so much.