“An atmospheric river. What are the chances?” Abigail Blakeman asked as she dressed for the rehearsal dinner in the guest suite at La Mariposa. The sky was clear for their party, but the weather for the wedding was threatening, with updates coming in from Madison every hour. Abigail wondered why even have a wedding coordinator if she was just going to roil everyone up about a little rain? Wasn’t her job to calm everyone down? To the bride’s credit, she responded to every text with an umbrella emoji and a heart. Chase simply shrugged his shoulders and said, “We’re inside and wearing clothes. No need to panic.”

Just in case, in a nod to due diligence, George had spent the morning at La Mariposa supervising the tent setup with Antonio’s cousin. He reported that while it wasn’t the most glamorous tent, it would “do the job.”

Meanwhile Abigail had spent the morning at the Padero Surf Club with Sarah and Lloyd finalizing details, stringing additional lights, and supervising the table setup even though it was the exact same setup that the club used for every event. The rental blue-and-sand tablecloths and napkins registered “beachy vibes,” just like the bride wanted. The flowers arrived, and Flora the florist took the tables over the top with muted tropical tones that paired with the blues. The bride and groom insisted that there be no wasteful or extraneous monogrammed party items, so, sadly, Abigail didn’t order the monogrammed bucket hats for each guest as a party favor. (But that decision did save hundreds of dollars, which she put toward top-shelf tequila.)

“At night, with the twinkle lights on, it will look like a movie set. Amazing,” Madison promised, as she looked around the casual, chic clubhouse.

The theme of the night was “Moonlight Surf” and the dress code was California Cowabunga, a ridiculous pairing of words concocted by Madison as a placeholder for the event that somehow stuck and ended up on the invitation. Chase and Penny loved the romantic overtones of “Moonlight Surf” and thought California Cowabunga sounded casual, ironic, and on point to describe the vibe of the Padero Surf Club location to out-of-towners. Surely, guests would know they didn’t mean to literally come in surf wear, Penny had said, dismissing Abigail’s concerns about the descriptor. “Everyone will know to dress up by dressing down.”