When you ask someone how they met their significant other, the stories are across the board. "We met in a bar" is the one answer that seems to get the most criticism. Why?

I am sitting in a plane on a flight from Atlanta to San Francisco to celebrate one of my best friends wedding and thinking about how happy the "newlyweds" are and the fact that they actually did meet...in a bar.

Most singles feel that a real, healthy, prosperous (no, not that kind all you gold diggers) relationship will not bloom out of a tavern. We have all heard stories about the "psychotic" people some have met in a bar, but let's be honest for a minute now, "crazy" people don't just hang out in the local watering holes. I have met a few unbalanced women in my days through various methods including the most trusted among those singles in search of love; a friend.

As I look out the airplane window and admire all the fluffy white clouds, I realize that somewhere along my quest to find the one, I must have told myself that I will never meet a quality woman or start a real relationship in a nightclub.

Have I placed myself upon these clouds way above the chance to meet my possible soul mate?

Have I subconsciously taken myself out of "the game" by restricting which courts I will play on?

As this thought is being bounced around inside my head, my body is being bounced around inside the airplane from turbulence. Quite ironic.

The truth is that you can possibly meet the person of your dreams anywhere and at anytime. I believe it is a matter of timing. When a person is ready to take on the endeavor, their odds increase exponentially. Then again, what do I know? I am still searching for true love.

So I put down my wine and headed out to the vineyard in Napa Valley to spend some time with the newlyweds, who happened to have the birth of their new life together take place in Atkins Park, a bar in Atlanta.



On the ride to Calistoga as the rental car barely hugs the winding road, I am in awe with the landscape. It reminds me of Tuscany, Italy with all of the grape-vined hills and wineries canvassing the area. It is no doubt a beautiful day, in a beautiful region, with an even more beautiful purpose...their marriage.

Maybe the fact that they met in a tavern has given them enough reason to organize such a serene setting. Maybe it is the fact that it is every girls dream to have such a fairytale wedding like this. It is not every day that you get to eat dinner in a candle-lit cave in the heart of a winery that is exclusively yours for the day.



So how did it happen? What was their mindset before that fateful encounter took place?

Both the bride and groom agree that meeting in a bar was not high on their list of desired situations. "I admit that I thought he was a player" she says as the golden moon sits upon the hilltop behind them.

I can almost see the love surrounding them as the groom gives his best advice; you can't hold the location you met against the other person or judge them by it. The bride then tells me confidently to open my eyes, open my heart, drop the walls, and love can happen anytime and more importantly anywhere.

The next day we celebrate their success at another vineyard and picnic under a huge tree enjoying each others company.



As I leave the valley and head back to San Francisco for the day, I am in a way, viewing my surroundings in a more appreciative way. After all, I was immersed in a Monet Painting all weekend.

As I sit on the beach overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, I notice a lot of happy people enjoying their day and I am not paying as much attention to the sad and lonely as I usually do.



If there is anything I have learned from this weekend, it is to consciously pay attention to my surroundings and choose to look for all the "greatness" that makes up my world.

Arriving back in Atlanta from an amazing journey, I am glad that I was fortunate enough to have been invited and even more appreciative that I have now opened another window of opportunity to find the woman of my dreams.

Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Hope!