JASON AND KRISTIN'S WEDDING

WOW! That was some wedding Al and I attended on Saturday. The church was our church but it did look lovely with candles in stands with glass chimneys and delicate greens and tulle fabric bows all down the center aisle. The flowers and candles at the front were beautiful, too. The girls outfits were burgundy and the bouquets were pink roses with burgundy carnations or burgundy roses with pink carnations. The guys tuxes were nice but they didn't have the standard tux bowtie, they had regular long ties...burgunday for the groomsmen and white for the groom.

There were two limos, one Navigator and one Hummer. We headed home for a short break before heading back to the reception! The receiving line was one of the best we'd ever been through. Only the parents of the bride and groom were there to greet guests plus the bride and groom, of course. To the left of the bride and groom were the maid of honor and the best man handing out shots (anisette or peach schnapps) to the guys and little wrapped gifts to the ladies. Then we were directed to the open bar...which was to be open ALL evening long...from 6pm until midnight! YIKES! I would need to monitor my intake! My first drink was a gin and juice and Al had a beer on tap. They had appetizers which were shrimp wrapped with bacon and grilled with barbeque sauce. They also had bruchetta topped with chopped tomato, melted mozzarella cheese and herbs. After an hour of cocktails, the doors opened and the guests found their assigned seats and got ready for the toast to the couple from the best man. Each place had a glass of rose wine poured ready for each guest to toast the newly weds. From that toast, they had the blessing and then huge platters of antipasto salad were delivered to each table. They were filled with marinated mushrooms, artichokes, olives, salami, mozzarella and parmesean cheese chunks. Shortly after that, giant bowls full tossed salads were delivered to each table. And no sooner had those been served than two huge platters of pasta...one topped with red sauce and one topped with alfredo sauce were brought to the guest tables. Needless to say, at that point I would have been ready to head home, but there was still the buffet of food to tackle once our table was asked to join the line!

The buffet included roasted mini potatoes, sauted mixed veggies, wild rice pilaf, seafood newberg, sliced pork roast in gravy, chicken french with articokes and sliced roast beef. Eating was slowing considerably, but the cake was yet to be cut and served and the platters of fresh fruit and cheeses would come out from the kitchen for each table once the entrees were cleared. While the featured dances were conducted (I'm not sure of the song that Jason and Kristin danced to) but Kristin and her father danced to Because You Loved Me (Celine Dion) which had me tearing up and then when Jason danced with Joanne to Through the Years (Kenny Rodgers) I totally lost it. Al seems to think that the cosmo, 3 margaritas and sunrise that I'd had up to that point in the evening contributed to my inability to keep my emotions in check. Angelo and Joanne danced to Inseparable (Natalie Cole) which was the last of the requested songs and then the band cut loose. It was a terrific group. They did lots of great dance tunes including, Smooth, Walkin' on Sunshine, We Are Family, etc. The ensemble was an 8 piece group with a female vocalist and then the guys joined in on various songs. Just after the cake was cut and served they rolled out a cart of after dinner liquors and Al for some reason got a brandy which I ended up drinking when he decided he couldn't drink hard liquor any more. Oh, also, along with the after dinner drinks came the unveiling of the sweets table! We have never been to such a lavish affair! It was unbelievable! We called for our DD (Aaron had driven us and came to get us around ll pm) and after a fond farewell to Angelo, off we headed. The boys (Jason, Nick and Marky...it was Aaron who added "Joanne, the baby" when he came to retrieve us) aren't the little kids who used to live across the street from us on BSC. Mark (AKA "the baby") will be a ninth grader at Aquinas in the fall. Even Kristin remembered that rainy night at MGM/Walt Disney Studios at least 2 years ago, when we ran into them at the Brown Derby. I remember the other times we headed to WDW together, too. Those were great family times. They even shared in the thrill of the planning that lead up to WDW! Neighbors who shared our love for the fun and relaxation we had in Orlando over the December holidays! They were times we won't ever forget...just like this awesome wedding event. Hopefully, Hurricane Dennis won't interfere with Jason and Kristin's honeymoon cruise plans, but they sure had a perfect Rochester day for their beautiful wedding.