Amanda and I married on April 13th
of this year after I had proposed in October.
Shortly after the New Year, Amanda and I declared the date. Unfortunately, due to the relatively short
stretch of time in between our choosing of the date and the actual wedding, the
thought of having a reception in April seemed insurmountable. That said, Amanda and I shared the day with a small group of friends, and had an annotated reception with a promise of a more formal reception to come in the future. After the wedding,
we immediately began planning our reception.
We investigated a number of venues, and ultimately opted for the Hall at
The German Central Foundation. We booked
for September 22, 2012 and the pandemonium began. As you’ll recall, shortly before Amanda and I
got married, I took a new job and financial panic ensued. The original idea was we’d both allocate a
fair amount of money towards the reception to make it happen; when I took the
new job, that possibility flew out the window.
Amanda and our respective families worked hard to make the reception
happen, and last night, the loving efforts of many came together, resulting in
an event that we were so lucky to be able to share with our friends and family
members.
Now, for
backgrounds sake, you should know: my sister in law worked for a long period of
time as an event coordinator/florist for a local florist, her boyfriend is a
professional chef and our families are both very excellent at making things
happen that seem implausible. Over a
period of several months, Amanda, our families and myself met and coordinated
last night’s reception. We invited two
hundred plus, gave a relatively short period of time to respond and about two
weeks after the fact, we still had an insufficient amount of responses to
accurately gauge who intended on attending our event. Accordingly, we planned for one hundred
fifty. My sister-in-law jumped to
action, contacting her employer and coordinated flora for the event. My sister-in-law’s boyfriend jumped to action
and immediately began menu planning and arranging for the procurement of
food. At our next meeting, David
announced his menu and accordingly, jaws dropped. Admittedly,
I was a bit nervous, but David reassured all that he was getting a crew
together and that he would be able to make this happen. We arranged for my cousin to play the role of
DJ and things were “looking up”.
We
delivered our final counts to David. A
few weeks before the reception, David learned that the crew he had put together
to assist wouldn’t be able to make it due to another obligation. David has this hilariously stoic demeanor
when faced with adversity, and I believe he uttered, “We’ll adjust”. Though I am well aware of David’s abilities
as a chef, this prospect made the “crew” and me a bit nervous.
The reality
of this event did not come to me until Friday when we began setting up. We clothed tables, prepped arrangements and
began our prep cooking, much to the dismay of the rental agent at the German
Central Foundation. On Saturday, Amanda
and I normally pick up our CSA, so I met the rental agent at the venue, she and
I engaged in a curt conversation, and she was on her way. Shortly after, the troops arrived and we
began the process of cooking. Some
stirred sauces and some dressed salads and others cut bread.
After a
brief lunch, we finished up our cooking and before we knew it, guests began
arriving.
The
reception went off without a hitch. We
danced, and had a wonderful time. The
most overwhelming thing was the outpouring of love and support from our
family. The cuisine was outstanding, and
loved by all and life felt good.
We got to
ten o’ clock at night or so, and it appeared that the night was winding to a
close.
I’ve always
been under the impression that receptions were meant to be easy for the bride
and groom; any one who has had one or had part in one, I’m certain will advise
you that this conception is ill informed.
After the reception, I headed to the kitchen, and began doing
dishes. Let me tell you: doing dishes
for a meal prepared for one hundred and fifty people is grueling at best. But,
I enjoyed doing them, because the love and the energy that we shared with our
family and friends yesterday made it all worth it.
Reception is defined as: the act of
receiving, or the state of being received.
It is interesting to read the definition, because right in the
definition, it dispels a notion that I had about them. I went in thinking that
a reception was for others to simply receive you, as bride and groom; and
perhaps that isn’t totally ill informed, as often times in our culture, that's how society treats them, but more importantly, receptions are
for the newly eloped to receive their guests, to greet them as (and I’m sorry,
but this is the best possible way I can think to express it) their new
selves.
Amanda
asked me today what my favorite part of last nights reception was. I had to think for a minute, because every
moment felt so joyful. At one point last
night, my lovely cousin Gracelyn came to me and asked me if she could have a
flower. I asked for a hug, and she gave
it to me. It’s been quite some time
since I’ve been able to share much with that side of my family, I don’t know
what barriers I encountered that made it seem so prohibited, but alas. I was so
happy, after a moment, I thought about the fact that we had a few flowers left
over, and so I escaped in to the back and grabbed them and gave them to
Gracelyn. The smile on her face made my
night.
Last night
reminded Amanda and I just how lucky we are to be able to share our lives with
all of you. And you, us. Thank you.
With that,
I raise my flute to you, my friend and thank you for sharing this event with
us. Words seem wholly insufficient to
express our thanks to those who helped make this event possible. We’ll certainly pay it forward. You are so loved, my friends and family.
