November 13, 2016 | M&D Farm

A cozy space that feels just like home, only better, and prettier, surrounded by your friends who feel more like family… The smells of the most incredible paella cooking on the stove. The taste of sweet sangria, Daniel’s secret family recipe (!) cool in your mouth. Love all around you.

This is what it is like to experience a dinner party at M&D Farm. Last weekend we had the pleasure of being a fly on the wall at this beautiful dinner party to celebrate the engagement of Anna and Jobert. This one was unlike most dinner parties in that all the guest got to participate in the making of their meal—a beautiful paella.

Cooking Class

Daniel explained not only how to make this incredible dish but also the stories of his family and how he learned to cook it. Daniel is originally from the South of Spain and he brings a rich cultural heritage to the kitchen and to his love of hosting others. Joshua Rockwood, a local artisan meat farmer, was not only a guest at this meal (with his wife of 8 years) but an instructor in the fine art of cutting a whole chicken to prepare it for this feast. Josh raised all the meat for this meal himself, using environmentally -friendly and health friendly practices. (You can read more about that on his website).

Style

The brains behind the beauty of this gorgeous dinner was the “M” in M&D Farm, Mario Pollan. This man’s eyes are valued at over $1,000,000. Ok no, just kidding, but they should be. He can make anything beautiful. The way he pulls together plants, plates, textiles, and food, makes your heart feel good. It almost takes your breath away. His great grasp of style is the secret sauce here. Most everything you see has his careful loving touch behind it making it look so incredible.

So we cooked, we shot photos (and by “we” i mean the great Nicole Nero), we made a little film of it all, and hell yeah, we took portraits. I mean, when your guests are this beautiful, and your setting is this beautiful, it would be criminal not to! So out we went mid courses and poked around M&D’s beautiful grounds and found some very exciting spots to shoot. Precious & Paola, newly married this year, were still glowing and they happily obliged our request for portraits. 🙂 And we just had to get our shot (pun intended! *groan*) with Anna & Jobert, so we did a mini engagement shoot while everyone was looking so cute.

Thank You Notes:

Big thanks to Kyle Ann Garcia for making everyone look so nice, to Libby’s Lovely Buns for the incredibly delicious spice cake, Samantha Nass Floral Design for the lovely centerpiece and greens, to Emily Jahn for the beautiful menus, and of course to M&D Farm for hosting us all. It truly takes a village to throw an engagement party (ok more groaning). We had so much fun, we could have stayed all night just soaking in the atmosphere. It is a true pleasure to be in Mario & Daniel’s home. We wish Anna & Jobert a long happy marriage filled with dinner parties and love and kitty cats. 🙂 Photo Below  (the incredible black & white one!) by Nicole Nero Studio.