Tea and vows at McHenry Mansion for Valentine’s
Love will be in the air for Valentine’s Day at the McHenry Mansion, where weddings, mementos and a spot of tea will mark the celebration of all things romantic.
Couples who sign up in advance can say their vows in civil ceremonies at the historic Victorian estate in downtown Modesto, 924 15th St. While the Stanislaus County clerk recorder’s office has offered the mass Valentine’s Day weddings over the years, this Feb. 14 will see the first at the mansion in a decade.
To help mark the “Marriage at the Mansion” event in style, McHenry Mansion docents will gift each bride with an Old World Red Heart ornament as a memento of her special day, according to Anne Hatheway, manager of the nonprofit mansion’s visitor center.
In addition, the visitor center will have a calligrapher on hand that day who will personalize the hearts for the couples free of charge, she said.
Leading up to the big day, the McHenry Mansion’s gift shop will celebrate Valentine’s Day with a special tea on Saturday, Feb. 11. Depending on the weather, the Tea at the Gift Shop event will be held either al fresco on the patio or inside the store.
“In either case, the tea will be hot, the food fresh and yummy indeed, the service fine, and the company fun,” Hatheway said in an email. The tea will start with scones, clotted cream and lemon curd, followed by assorted tea sandwiches and then dessert. There also will be a favor for each guest.
Seating for the tea is limited to the first 45 who register, and the cost is $25. There will be one seating, at 11:30 a.m., and reservations can be made by calling the visitors center at 209-549-0428. The gift shop is just down the block from the mansion.
The gift shop also will be open with a valentine’s theme during the Feb. 14 ceremonies, and wedding photos can be purchased. To preserve the antiques, there is no flash photography inside the mansion.
The nonreligious ceremonies will be conducted inside the mansion itself in English or Spanish by Stanislaus County Clerk, Recorder and Commissioner of Civil Marriages Lee Lundrigan, her staff and invited deputy marriage commissioners.
The ceremonies are individualized and will take about 10 minutes each. Four marriages can be conducted in various spots in the mansion at one time, according to Lundrigan’s office. Guests are limited to 15 for each wedding, and children must be age 12 or older to attend.
For more information on the wedding ceremonies, call the clerk recorder’s office at 209-525-5250, 209-525-5230 for assistance in Spanish.
This story was originally published February 7, 2017 at 10:13 AM with the headline "Tea and vows at McHenry Mansion for Valentine’s."