Solvang, California

July 16, 2006

Sandra Bullock married Jesse James on July 16, 2006 at Folded Hills Ranch in Solvang, California. The 270 guests included Hugh Grant, William Shatner and Keanu Reeves, who RSVP’d to what they thought was a barbecue for Sandra’s 41st birthday.

Jesse made a grand entrance — with tires squealing — in a red double cab truck. He joined guests for sunset cocktails, hors d’oeurves and a jazz band. At 7:45 p.m., guests were led into a tent where they watched a 10-minute video of the couple talking about their love for one another. At the end, Jesse made an announcement that he and Sandra had been secretly engaged since October, and guests were about to witness a wedding.

Bagpipers in kilts began to play, leading friends and family from the tent to a wooded grove covered in sparkling lanterns. Guests were seated on hay bales covered with horse blankets.

The couple’s mutts, Kernie and Bob, led the processional wearing collars woven with natural grasses. As Sandra walked down the rose-covered aisle, a recording of Sandra’s late mother singing an aria from Bellini’s “Norma” was played. The bride wore a silk and lace tulle Angel Sanchez gown paired with satin cowboy boots. In her hands, she clutched a bouquet of chocolate covered cosmos by Celia Heffernan of Flower Hardware.

The couple were married in a 20-minute ceremony under an old tree, with a cameo belonging to Sandra’s late mother hanging from the branches. The couple exchanged self-written vows in which Jesse made Sandra promise he could bring home stray dogs, and Sandra made Jesse promise not to bring home stray dogs until she approved.

Following the ceremony, a reception was held in a tent covered with amber lights and chandeliers. The bride described it as a vintage Western-themed wedding. Cowboy hat centerpieces were filled with garden roses, daisies and natural grasses.

The newlyweds shared their first dance to the Motown classic “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me.” Guests toasted from their hay bales. A buffet-style dinner included fried chicken, shrimp gumbo, and macaroni and cheese. Sandra’s sister, who owns bakery Gesine in Montpelier, Vermont, made a four-tier carrot cake for dessert, along with 270 mini versions of the cake for each guest. She also made a chocolate cake for the groom with a sculpted gorilla, a nod to his nickname, “Vanilla Gorilla.”

Guests danced all night to bluegrass punk-rock band the Cousin Lovers and dance music from DJ Tony Okungbowa, best known for spinning on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

The couple spent their wedding night at the San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito, California and took off the next morning in Jesse’s red double cab truck for a road trip to Las Vegas. Their first stop was at a McDonald’s drive thru. They ordered French fries and ice cream cones.

The two honeymooned at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay.