How I Got My New Sister!

The first thing I’ll mention in the playback of the weekend is Shakespeare. “What’s in a name?” Really, what IS in a name? Answer - a place to sit! This was the first family event and the first event with place cards and assigned tables I’d attended since getting married. When we walked up to the table where the place cards were, the first one I saw was my Uncle John’s with my OLD last name on it. So, I started looking for mine and didn’t see it! My husband gave me my card and reminded me that I wasn’t an “L” anymore!

Tori and Rina gave the groom away!

The ceremony was held at the same hall as the reception with Laura’s brother officiating it. It was quite cool how they set it up! As the ceremony started, Dave came in, escorted by Tori and Rina. Then Laura came in, escorted by her daughter, Amanda and son, Rob. At the end of the aisle that lead to where Dave was, they stopped and Amanda’s husband, Aaron escorted her to the front and Rob escorted his Mom the rest of the way. Instead of asking who was giving the bride away, there was a Children’s Declaration of Consent. I thought that was too cool! Too many marriages that combine families don’t make a point of including the kids in the ceremony more than as part of the bridal party. The kids’ consent or lack of it can truly make or break a marriage, a family. I got a little misty from that!

The newlywed family!
Rina, Tori, Dave, Laura, Amanda and Rob

After the ceremony was dinner and then of course the dancing! Dave was talking to David and me and made a comment about Laura looking like a million bucks and indeed she did look gorgeous! Then he said when he saw her he looked himself over and decided as a couple they looked like $1,000,001!

In lieu of a bouquet toss, they did an anniversary dance. I first saw this done at my friend Mary’s wedding in 2007 and thought it was the coolest thing ever! I had long hated the barbaric ritual of herding all the single women and making them fight over thrown flowers while others laughed at them for being single. I think it bugged me most because I’d often referred to it as cursing someone with the next wedding. I was perfectly happy when I was single as a single woman. I didn’t need to be made a spectacle because of it and I did not want to be treated like an animal thrown into a fighting ring.

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steps off that soap box now. Continuing with wedding story.

When Mary and Sal got married, they did an Anniversary Dance. All the married couples got on the dance floor and then the DJ called out “everyone who’s been married for less than a day, leave the dance floor,” and so on counting months, then years until the couple who’d been married the longest was the only one left. If we’d had a wedding, that would have been done instead of a bouquet toss and I gave it to Dave as a suggestion and he laughed because that was already the plan!

So, all us married folks got on the dance floor. The first call was for anyone married less than a day and Dave and Laura left. The next was for anyone married less than four months. David and I were two days shy of three months, so we left. Came to find out later that Dave knew it was less than three, but he told the DJ to say four so we wouldn’t have to do the math on the dance floor! (Come on Bro, at three months, even a husband still remembers the date he got married! hehe) The last couple dancing was Laura’s parents, over 60 years! Is that awesome or what? In addition to the bouquet, they renewed their vows after the song. Totally awesome! Nani gets misty-eyed again!

The favors were great! In the invitations, there was a request to send a recipe. There were books called “The People We Know and The Food They Eat” as the wedding souvenir. A fun collection of recipes from the friends and family of the bride and groom. The first recipe is for a family favorite that Mom always made for holidays. The page before it was written by Dave about Mom. I didn’t read it until later because I knew it would make me tear up. Talking to Dave and Laura at our table, Dave asked if I’d read it. I told him, “no, I’ll read it later.” Laura told him “I told you she’d want to read it alone.” I said it would probably make me cry and he proceeded to tell me what he’d written and my eyes got glassy and Laura made him stop. But when I did read it later, it was very sweet.


Pictures

My camera disappointed me. It just didn’t have what it needed to take decent pictures in the hall. Most of them turned out grainy and red-eyed. Dave is going to send me a disk of their photographer’s photos though. So, I get to scrap a wedding after all! I told him I’d give them a book of the wedding from the point of view of the groom’s sister. There are a couple from my point and shoot that turned out okay!

The vows

Okay, I confess that the fountain gave me a flashback to Dave’s first wedding. But, that fountain was bigger and it was showering out Asti Spumante. I don’t think this one was alcoholic at all. ;)

Tori and Rina said they felt like mascots because everyone wanted a picture with them. But look at them! They’re BEAUTIFUL! Mascots should look so good!

Laura leads the conga line snaking through he hall!