A Tuscon Wedding

People started moving about early in the morning, but not one person was showing his or her face to the outside world. When I finished showering, Ron had disappeared, so I wandered down the trail to the other buildings to see if he happened to be there. No sign of him. The only person around was one of Andrea’s friends. Although I intruded on her peaceful morning, she was gracious enough to offer me a cup of freshly brewed coffee. We had a pleasant chat about life in general before I thanked her and moved on.

Back at our building, I ran into Ron. He had taken a walk with the parents of the bride. They had not found a coffee sharing person yet, so he and I decided to walk the mile to the mini restaurant down the road. It turned out to be a mini-mini restaurant, which we were fortunate enough to have found open. Those who ventured there later found it closed. It was Sunday after all.

Wedding events were not scheduled until 5pm, so the 37 guests were free to lounge around the pool or elsewhere to occupy their own whims in whatever way they wanted. As the day progressed, the caterers arrived immediately bustling away in the kitchen of our apartment. They had every surface covered with either ingredients or utensils. Three cooks did not seem to spoil the soup; they worked like a well-seasoned cast iron frying pan. Not a single voice was raised during the preparation.

Under the shade of trees and a gazebo, long tables were set up for the bountiful food that would follow. In the meantime, there were dozens of chairs set up on the lawn for the ceremony. It resembled church seating. Creating an aisle between the chairs was a long white runner for the bride to walk down. It was sprinkled with yellow and white flower petals. To the left of the guest chairs, was a small platform where a violinist would perform prior to and during the ceremony. When the florist arrived to deliver their goods, sunflowers adorned the celebration area and filled vases elsewhere for a lovely flow of energy.

On each of the chairs was a small brown bag sealed with a sticker that proclaimed “Andrea and Marc’s Wedding – June 23, 2013”. Underneath each bag was a program giving the guests tips on having fun, what would happen during the ceremony, and what to do with what is in the bag after the ceremony is over. What the bags contained were multiple handfuls of candy confetti the likes of which is used for decorating cakes. This was to be tossed in lieu of rice or paper confetti. As promised in the wedding program, the ceremony was short, sweet and romantic.

There was a two hour ‘free-period’ after the ceremony and before dinner was served. During this time, the church seating transformed into restaurant seating with tables and chairs to seat 8 at each were waiting for the hungry guests. Typical of an Italian dinner, the meal was multiple courses. Rather than list it all, there is a picture of the menu below. Forgetting my diabetic issues, I ate everything and drank wine like tomorrow would never materialize. There is never a guarantee of a tomorrow, so I couldn’t risk letting these delectable pass me by, could I?

A band started playing where the violinist once was, there was now a dance floor. The transformations to accommodate each next phase of celebrations were swift and seamless. We shared a table with the same group from Andrea’s work who invited us for dinner last night. Again, the company was significantly enjoyable; laughter was generously stimulated and shared by all. In one section of the lawn, the married couple had set up a “Photo Booth”. There was a camera on a tripod set up, but before you ventured into a pose, you needed to adorn yourself. This was all thought of ahead of time. There were Viking hats, Roman warrior breastplates, shields, oversized glasses, funny hats, and assorted other “extricate your inner child” paraphernalia. The band played long after we went to bed at 1am.

Truly, this is within my top three best weddings I have ever attended.

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