A Love of Travel

Holly Hall and Stephen Gordon

Married in Napa Valley, California on August 22, 2010

Location: V. Sattui Winery, St. Helena, CA; Cake: Perfect Endings, Napa, CA; Caterer: Tra Vigne!, St. Helena, CA; Day-of Coordinator: Darlene and Jim Forbes; Florist: Jessica Switala, Fleurs de France, Sebastopol, CA; Officiant: Tom Hall; Ceremony and Reception Band: Oya Thomas/Spirit of Oya, Los Angeles, CA; Cocktail Hour Entertainment: Ortega Mariachi Band; Bridesmaid Dresses: Max Azria; Hair: Mercedes Angelo; Makeup: Sarah Cabrera-Hernandez; Shoes: Pour La Victoire; Veil: Vera Wang; Wedding Gown: Lazaro; Photography: CherieFoto, Los Angeles, CA

Holly Hall and Stephen Gordon met while Holly was attending a weeklong global sales conference in Saigon, Vietnam. Steve was there at the same time accompanying his friend Carolyn Guthrie, who worked in the same role as Holly in the company’s Auckland office. Steve—a former PGA professional golfer who now works in sports marketing and as a PGA golf coach—spent the week tagging along on the same activities and tours that the work group went on.

In their afternoons off, he and Holly shared a few casual (and more private) dates on their own, exploring the vibrant Asian city. They quickly discovered that they had a lot in common, beyond their mutual wanderlust for travel: Holly and Steve had both gone to university for design and architecture and they shared, both a great eye for style, as well as a deep love and longing for a family of their own.

Steve continued to travel following that Vietnam trip, but he and Holly stayed in touch exchanging emails and phone calls. By the time Steve was scheduled to return home to New Zealand, they missed each other desperately, so Steve adjusted his itinerary to transfer back through Los Angeles to see Holly. During his 10-day visit Holly not only showed him around the City of Angels, but also took him to Las Vegas and up to Napa. And it was at Napa's magical vineyards where they agree that they fell madly in love. At the end of the trip, both realized that a promising love had bloomed and that they had a decision to make; Steve canceled his plans to return to Auckland and never left.

Because Napa Valley was where they fell in love, it was a natural choice to wed there. Friends flew in from all reaches of the globe for a once-in-a-lifetime visit, making side trips to San Francisco, Monterey, Carmel and surrounding Northern California areas. On their wedding day, Steve and Holly celebrated their own mixed heritages (Steve being a Kiwi and Holly being of Vietnamese, English, and German descent) and honored the international backgrounds of their friends by having a friend from each of the various countries represented (Japan, Germany, Australia, the U.K., New Zealand, the U.S., Canada, South Africa and Kenya, amongst others) present wedding traditions from his or her respective country, which resulted in a memorable montage of unforgettable skits, poems and dances.

Holly—now a sales director for a private jet company—and Steve kept their love for exotic travel and adventure alive by honeymooning in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where they relaxed in the sun at Copacabana and Leblon Beaches, then hang glided off the rocky cliffs above Sao Conrado Beach. Following their days in Rio they continued on to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where they indulged in some shopping, watched live tango shows on the streets of famed "La Boca," devoured steak at the local parrillas each day, and drank copious amounts of the local wine varietal, Malbec, by night.

The couple now resides in San Francisco where they are very much ready to start their new family.

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