Mr. Wright was struck by the seamless nature of their relationship, and he began to realize that Ms. Perello was the woman he wanted to marry. He planned to propose on their vacation to Italy in October 2014 — the first long trip they would take as a couple.

On one of the last days of their trip, as they were walking down a winding path from the American Academy in Rome to the Vatican, Mr. Wright dropped to his knee and proposed. Ms. Perello, completely surprised, accepted.

The two returned home to celebrate — and to immediately open Ms. Perello’s second restaurant, Octavia. “I had forgotten the trauma of opening Frances enough to be willing to do it all over again,” she said. “Wedding planning was going to have to wait.” Through it all, Mr. Wright remained a steady support and a force. “Often, we’d be working 17-, 18-hour days, and we’d get pretty slap-happy,” said Jennifer Jackson, Octavia’s sous chef. “It was three women, teasing him and ganging up on him, and he took it! He was so quick to laugh, to joke with us. And he cared as much about the restaurant as Melissa did.”

After Octavia opened in April 2015, it was time to take a breather and plan a wedding.

On Sept. 5, the couple wed before 120 family members and friends on a bluff at Cuffey’s Cove in Elk, Calif. With views of the rugged Northern California coast behind them and the couple’s dog, Frankie, at their feet, Ms. Perello pledged, “May my heart be your shelter and my arms be your home.”

“I love you, not for what you are, but what I am when I am with you,” Mr. Wright said.

The ceremony was performed by Tony Liang, a friend and Universal Life minister. The crowd, many of them staff and regulars of Ms. Perello’s restaurants, erupted into cheers as Ms. Perello, bouquet aloft, called out, “Let’s go eat some awesome food!”

The reception centered on a multicourse, family-style meal in a candlelit barn. Produce was grown specifically for the event by Erin Cochran of Crow and Oak Farm. The dinner was planned and prepared by six chefs from Frances and Octavia, with dishes including a grill-smoked potato salad and whole legs of lamb cooked over fire.

As cakes were served and an impromptu dance party was getting underway, a beaming Ms. Perello called her chefs into the room to thank them with a standing ovation. Mr. Wright, dapper in a sleek blue suit, had his arm around her while smiling at their extended restaurant family.