Wild Wedding Weekend, Part II

Okay, before we get to the reception part, my friend Maura mentioned that it's spring in Connecticut. It was spring on the wedding day (it turned to summer by Monday) and the museum had bunnies, quail and lizards running around. And I forgot to say that when the bride got to the altar you could hear an ambulance going by on the road outside the museum. It was kind of funny and my brother and I decided that it was my father saying hi (since he used to be a paramedic.)

Okay, reception. After we put The Graminator down for a nap and my mom and I 'refreshed' ourselves, we went down to the area where the reception was. The hotel has a restaurant area that opens onto a large patio with a fountain and lights, it's very pretty. All of the tables and chairs were covered and had centerpieces with creamy roses and cherry blossoms. The guests took a postcard from inside (each one with their names and a thank you message from the bride and groom) then matched the vintage Vegas picture on the photograph to a picture on one of the tables (it's a clever way of doing the seat assignments, don't you think?) Each table also had mini ketchup and mustard bottle favors with Will and Val's names and wedding date inscribed on it, along with playing cards, dice and assorted Vegas memorabilia. (See how it all went with the Old Las Vegas history theme?)

Because we were about 15 minutes early for the reception the bridal party waited just outside the patio, then Russ and I were introduced back into the room I had the pleasure of announcing the entrance of the bride and groom. Will made a few introductory remarks then it was time to eat!

Because the reception was at four in the afternoon, they had decided on an appetizer reception. The food was amazing. When they ordered the 'canape' platter I expected the frozen mini quiches you get at Costco, because I have been to may receptions where those have been served (and for the record, they aren't bad, they are actually good, just not exceptional). But what we actually got were handmade ones, with unique flavors like chorizo with cheese and one with ham and pineapple. There were also handmade spinach puffs and pastry wrapped brie. And I thought the 'antipasto' was just going to be a tray with some veggies and cheese but instead it was skewers with olives, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes and fresh mozzarella cheese. So wonderful. There was also an herbed cheese platter with toast points and this cucumber bruschetta topping. My brother's favorites were the sliders. There were burger sliders (see how the ketchup comes in?) and some of the best pulled pork sliders I've ever had. And the fresh fruit bowl was full of fresh fruit like pineapples and purple grapes and decorated with intricately carved fruits. It was a lovely spread and soooooo delicious. I was worried that appetizers might not be enough food but there was plenty and no one left hungry (the sliders were huge!) There was enough food left over that Candice (the wedding coordinator for the hotel) put ribbon wrapped containers of food in the fridge of Will and Val's honeymoon suite to have for a midnight snack and she put one in my room as well. It was just as good reheated!

While everyone ate and mingled, the wait staff poured champagne for everyone (there was a cash bar for all other alcohol) and then it was time to make the toasts. Russ made a lovely toast as best man and mine was nice except for the blubbering (yes, I cried, just for you Chan!) Then Randy, Val's stepfather made a nice toast too (he also cried) and the Will and Val said a few thank yous and toasted each other. Then they started the dancing. Now my brother doesn't dance (as he said when they started dancing, their first dance was truly their first dance) but it was nice to see them dance together. They danced to The Flaming Lips song, "Do You Realize". (In a very touching moment, my Uncle Gary asked my mother to dance since my father wasn't there. Thanks Uncle G!) Then Randy and Val danced to "My Girl" and my mom and Will danced to "Time in a Bottle". They opened the floor for open dancing and I danced with Russ, then I danced with my brother to "Falling Slowly" from the movie "Once" because that's "our song" (since we saw it live at Sundance). After that nobody danced really, everyone just sat and mingled. it's too bad because my brother put together a killer playlist with lots of really cool songs. It was all just very relaxed and convivial.

I was so busy talking that I almost missed the cake cutting. Due to wind, the wedding cake I made them sat on the table instead of on top of the tower of cupcakes. I had warned them ahead of time that since the cake was covered in fondant that the cake was more for looks than taste. But Val shouted out to me that it was delicious (and you know what, it was!). Then everyone got cupcakes. Chocolate flew off the fastest, followed by the Cherry Cheesecake then Tiramisu. Pina Colada seemed to be the least favorite (my mom says that's because it was the least impressive, since it had rounded, coconut covered tops instead of towering swirls of icing like the others.) It's too bad because they were all good (even though I didn't take any cupcakes at the wedding, I did eat some of the 'rejects' at home - rejected because the didn't look perfect, but they still tasted great!) I had also brought small boxes so we encouraged people to take some home too. There were only about six or so cupcakes left at the end of the night and those went to the staff that helped us out, who gave them rave reviews.

As the reception went on, people mingled and talked and had a good time. The flower girl, Gabby, played with Tina and Jay's son Avi (isn't it cool how quickly kids make friends?) and they were funny to watch. They ran and jumped and colored and threw pennies in the fountain (although I don't think that is something Gabby had ever done before because she wanted to dive in and fish her penny back out.) We also had to draw the line when it became apparent that someone was either going to fall in or try to drink from the fountain. Also, spitting in the water seemed popular. Hey, they're two and a half, that's fun when you're that age, especially when grown-ups tell you not to.

As evening fell, the crowd dwindled down to family. Then even that dwindled to just my family, who sat around for one more glass of champagne. It was a lovely night, made more special by being together. Finally my Uncle Gary said, "Okay, let's go, they want to get up to their room", to which my brother replied, "Yeah, let the snoring begin!", which made my mom laugh so hard that she did a champagne spit take. It was very funny. Russ and I loaded their gifts up to their room and everyone said good night. I stayed in my suite for the night because I was too tired to drive all the way back to town. Which turned out to be a good thing because Candice came tapping at my door really late, because Will and Val had left their marriage certificate behind. I kept it safe for them.

It was a wonderful wedding but it flew by so fast. It was a whirlwind of memories that I tried to savor. I'll be glad to see the pictures and wedding video so I can see it with different eyes. But it was so lovely and I think everyone had a really good time.

I don't have lots of pictures (yet) but here are a few.


Val with a ketchup bottle (because I think a bride with ketchup is cool).


Will and Val's first dance.


Val and her father Randy in the father daughter dance.