Happy Labor Day!
We celebrated the wedding of our youngest son this weekend. Lots of family time, getting to know our new daughter-in-law’s relatives, enjoying friends and reveling in the adultness of our sons.
My love and I were a bit involved with the whole celebration: we made the programs for the ceremony and then assembled them into fans – which were very much needed and appreciated, hosted the traditional rehearsal dinner*, brought ribs** to the family bbq on Saturday, found the appropriate lights*** for keeping the outdoor reception lit at night, and made sure everyone was kept ‘watered’ at the reception.
The bridal couple – I think mostly the bride – did an incredible job of planning – all the little details made the setting and event just perfect. The MOB – Mother of the Bride – kept the plans moving whenever it looked like the kids had stalled. The two fathers, FOB and FOG, were pillars of peace and assurance throughout.
Will get to more pics later – I wound up not taking many, but others will be sending them my way (as David M has already done with the bbq ones linked above – thanks!).
Overall, it was a lovely weekend. The weather was absolutely perfect – sunny, warm but not terribly hot, delightful evenings. All major crises were averted – only minor ones snuck in and were coolly dealt with. The bride was gorgeous (she always is!) and the groom seemed to be floating in air the whole time. The two little nieces of the bride took the dance floor spotlight with their amazing moves – I didn’t know a body could do some of those things! There was a wonderful mingling of families and friends. Just perfect in every respect.
The newlyweds head to Spain for their honeymoon – it is such a delight to see them so happy.
Will fill in more details as I put up pics. Must get on to another major project right away.
* Groom Greg planned the menu for the rehearsal dinner (which was held at Sergio’s in University Circle, Cleveland and which is where he is the Kitchen Manager and Sam is their top waitress): squash blossoms stuffed with soft yummy cheeses, chorizo boracho (Spanish sausage on grilled bread), spinach pies, wedding soup, choice of braised beef brisket (with mango hoisin, baby bok choy, chiitake mushrooms and rice), seared Alaskan halibut (with herb roasted Ohio fiberling potatoes, fresh lemon napa slaw and sake butter) or fettuccine (with roasted tomatoes, button muchrooms, fresh garlic, virgin olive oil and shaved parmesan) followed by dessert of grilled summer peaches with Tahitian vanilla gelato, honey and crushed marcona almonds. Absolutely delish!!!!!!!
** Bride Sam first visited a couple years ago when we were having a family gathering and loved the ribs that her future father-in-law (FIL) was grilling. She asked if we would bring some to the bbq. No problem, except that her FIL had really not made the ribs – all he did was heat them up and get them crusty on the grill (my sister Miri had done all the cooking beforehand) and for this occasion we wanted to keep to beef ribs due to having her Jewish relatives present – all the ribs her FIL had cooked in the past were pork. A great adventure that resulted in finger-licking ribs – with no leftovers!
***Never fails that something will be forgotten – the tent rental folks didn’t think about needing lights for an evening reception… so Sunday morning we were checking out all possible stores on the east side of Cleveland for those round Japanese style paper hanging lanterns. Word Market is the place, just in case you need to know!