John B. Reyna
Love in the time of COVID-19
Updated: May 29, 2020
Who knew that planning a wedding involved scheduling around a pandemic? We sure as hell didn't! So having to cancel our wedding and all of the festivities accompanying the wedding was quite a shock.
But this isn't a post to gather sympathy points. We aren't heroes. We made a decision and then moved on with our life. Yes, life, singular.
If anything, our wedding weekend (i.e., March 27-29) presented us with an incredible opportunity to love one another during this COVID-19 mess. To be there for one another. To embrace the things that make us happy. To be us.
We've done a lot of drinking. Shocking, we know. But we've also cooked great meals together. We've played games together. We've laughed, smiled, and embraced. All while being stuck in our house with our three fur-babies.
We've also cried too. None more so than when we watched an amazing, tribute video put together by John's sister--Jessica. She contacted friends and family from both sides of the aisle and asked for personal messages to share with us. The final product was something that we will cherish forever. Forty-seven minutes of love sent to us from Washington, Massachusetts, Ohio, Texas, North Carolina, and many other states across this nation. We received it on Friday night, and it was our entertainment while we enjoyed amazing meal, which is pictured below.

Seared sea scallops with crispy shallots in a thyme and corn beurre blanc.

We paired the scallops with two wines: (1) a beautiful "orange" wine made from the Rkatsiteli grape varietal in Georgia (the country); and (2) a dry riesling from Trisaetum Winery in Willamette Valley, Oregon.

Sea bass with mango salsa and grilled carrots.

We paired the sea bass with two wines: (1) a chardonnay by Ayoub in Willamette Valley; and (2) a pinot noir from the famous Shea Vineyard that was produced by Purple Hands Winery.

Here is the opening to the amazing tribute video that my sister made!
Well, we survived that weekend and the following week. So we are sharing this post, our first post, to say thank to all our loved ones since you will likely be our first guests to this site and its sister Instagram account.
We look forward to sharing weekly posts about wine, cocktails, and food. Some will be our favorites and others will be us trying something new and sharing our learning experience. If there happens to be a topic that you would like for us to explore, let us know!
And once this craziness goes away, we look forward to saving you a seat at Teakwood Tavern!
Love,
The Reynas