Celebrate Good Times, Come On!

Ten years in the making – It’s official – Tony Rodriguez and Alisha Silverstein got married on July 12, 2025. That announcement is worth the fireworks!!

Fireworks from St. Michaels, Maryland

Rick and I, along with Gail and David Bernstein, flew from Annapolis to CA for the sweet event. We started the weekend with Maureen O’Gara and Craig Adford (thank you!), in their beautiful home in Moorpark, CA. The monarch butterfly from their yard is for Alisha.

Wedding Magic – Mixed Tape

It is estimated that 150 people made the journey for the destination wedding at the secluded Pine Rose resort in Twin Peaks, CA [near Arrowhead]. Friday night was a casual mixer at the Strawberry Lodge, with roughly 60 people; a relaxed introduction of family and friends from both the bride and the groom, including childhood pals from Alaska, and special folks from CA, Oregon, Washington, Texas, Ohio, Nebraska, Kansas, Florida, New York and more!

Long-time friend from Alaska, Elizabeth, brought fresh Moose Meat, recently killed by her handsome hubby. Now that’s truly organic! Photos offer just a small sample of the happy faces who joined us.

Carly, Tony, Alisha, Mary S, Zach, Julia, and Elizabeth.

On the stairs Mo captured some (not all) of the Alaska Family: Austin, Kingston, Ella, Millie, Mary S, Julia, Tony, Alisha, Elizabeth, Joe, Brandon, Ruby, Carly, Zach and Elke.

Here’s one more from the stairs:

On the outside patio we found Alisha, Tony and Elke.

The Big Event

Saturday, 7/12/25 at 3:37 pm the magic commenced. If you are a fan of the epic Christmas movie, Love Actually, you must recall the wedding scene – go ahead, click on it, as a full choir and hidden band members surprise the bride immediately AFTER their vows, magically performing “All you need is love”.

To the delight of EVERYONE, the Big Event’s bridal procession began with live music, a marching band, with a trumpet and a drummer. The procession was accompanied by Alisha’s cousin, Joe Buckendahl, expertly performing on saxophone. Alisha’s cousin Kingston, and Tony’s business partner Joey, were strategically positioned in the audience on electric guitars.

Then the big surprise. Alisha sang, with confidence and skill, as she entered the venue. The procession song was Ray Lamontagne’s finest “You are the Best Thing”. Click here to listen to the original version – but you should know that Alisha did it BETTER. As she sang to Tony, there was not a dry eye in sight.

To keep the magic flowing, we are sharing some of the love witnessed that evening, with the help of many friends and family members who sent photos. Instagram captions give credit to the photographers.

Tony‘s vows resulted in uproars of laughter as he shared his deep appreciation of Alisha – who was caring for a well fed cat when they first met. When he realized it was a community cat, not actually her cat, he knew what she really needed – “not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, not 5, not 6, but 7 furry babies” who are now spoiled members of their family. Beloved critters include three dogs – Jocey, Tilly, Mookie; and four cats – Taco, Belle, Luka and Jac.

The 100-year old wedding veil has been passed along in the Silverstein family, I believe it has been worn by eight women (is that right Wendy and Elise?). Thanks Grammy (Norma Silverstein), you were there in spirit every moment of the day.

Enjoying the magic with Craig, Maureen, Gail, David, Rick and yours truly.

Father of the Bride, and the bride, singing the Otis Redding classic, “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay“ . They both know all the words :-)

Yes the late night chicken was this good!

So Proud

Closing with an exquisite photo of the new Mr. and Mrs. on Sunday morning! Zoom in, Alisha’s t-shirt reads: “eat your heart out, I’m Married.” Mazel Tov and Congratulations to Alisha and Tony.

Special update: Tony’s beautiful daughter, Pristine, gave me a warm hug as we were checking out on Sunday. She seemed happy to enlighten me – since Tony is my son-in-law her two sweet babies, Juliette (age 3) and Penelope (age 1) are my great grandbabies! Pristine is truly beautiful, inside and out, and I am beyond thrilled to be a great grandma. Wow. Congrats again everyone.

Next Up: Traveling Chesapeake Bay, a slow journey to Washington D.C. See you soon Craig and Maureen.