The Wedding Day:Wedding Week, Day Seven!!

What a day!  What a fun, fun day!  Yes - there were moments of "Omigoodness", but really: I would not have changed a single thing in our daughter's wedding day.  Not one thing!

The morning commenced thusly:   (And thanks right here to Josh Newman and Bob Webster for the wedding photography!!  (Bob is my brother, and Josh is affianced to my niece Melinda!)

My sisters-inlaw and nieces joined me in the kitchen to begin the reception preparations.  Here's a menu of our celebration:  (If I can possibly recall...)

Hors d'oeuvres:

Artichoke squares
Melon balls
Parmesan puff pastry twists
Sweet peppers stuffed w/ chèvre
Deviled eggs
Tortellini skewers
Strawberries piped with cream cheese
Chorizo, sweet tomatoes and cheddar skewers
Apple chips
Mozzarella/ham pinwheels
I think there were more, but the day escaped me, totally!

Dinner:
Meatballs, Lutheran style

Bread rolls
Chicken salad
Croissants
Grissini
Wild rice salad
Watermelon/feta/olive salad
Yogurt Waldorf salad
Melon balls w/ blueberries


The bride and groom seemed pretty relaxed most of the day.  They did not do the traditional "not seeing the bride before the wedding" thing this day, although they did not spend the day together, either.  Claire breakfasted with her sister and girlfriends, and Rich went on a 30-mile bike ride with his cycling buddy.

At noon or so, someone mentioned the Wedding Cake.

THE WEDDING CAKE?!!

Totally off my radar.  A moment of panic.  However, the gold-star Maid of Honor/sister of the bride Gillian, and the College Boy Graham immediately hopped in the car to fetch the cake, over hill and dale, and mountainous Vail Pass.  There were a few phone calls two hours later when they were unable to find the bakery, but all fell in to place eventually, and the cake was got.  Gillian described Graham (the driver) flying back down Vail Pass, curves and descents, althewhile she holding a death grip on the beautiful white wedding cake, decorated with calla lilies.

Some brides get their hair done, have manicures and pedicures, and basically have an "I, Me, My" day before their weddings.  After Bride Claire heard that the cake was on its way to the house, she turned to me, threw up her hands, and announced, "I am going for a run."  Three hours before her walk down the aisle.  I like her way of doing things!

The afternoon clouds set in, as is the daily routine, and the rain came down, and so did the lightning.  And it rained and thundered for most of the afternoon.

We looked at Plan B: moving all things into the house and garage.  Not a problem: Let's go to a wedding!

My Mom & Dad:


 Gillian and me!
 In our family, it was a tradition to pick one's own wedding processional.  My three brothers, my sister and I all had different ones: Beethoven, Bach, Wagner, Vivaldi.    

Claire's wedding music was Grieg's Wedding Day at Troldhaugen, played by the church pianist.  The Groom and Best Man entered at the beginning of the song.  If you listen to the link, you can imagine the Maid of Honor entering the sanctuary at 1:05 in the piece, and finally, the sanctuary doors opened at 1:30, and the Bride and her father walked in at 1:40 in the music.  Withe her tea-length wedding dress and fingertip veil, she looked like something out of an Audrey Hepburn movie.  The church is small, and the talented pianist ended the processional very nicely as soon as Claire arrived at the altar.


A father's special moment:
 

On the way out:  Ringing the chapel bells:



After a few photographs taken after the wedding service, everyone (65 people?) headed to the house and we executed Plan B, very successfully.  Hors d'oeuvres, dinner, champagne and toasts, cutting the cake, and dancing.
 

Three siblings:

  Three cousins:

 Handsome men in the family:

Line dancing, all through the house...led by daughter Gillian and son Graham...

Throwing the bouquet...

 
And then they were gone!
 What a terrific day!