Oops.
They did it again.
Well..WE did.
WE did a thing.
Again.
They did too
Again.
The tables were tight..(there were less than five dozen..)
some colleagues from work..a handful of cousins
a few family pals and his close college friends
And Sunday's a FUNDAY (since my sibs could attend!!)
the venue was tiny..the dream's from a fable
as newlyweds beamed from the own "sweethearts' table
But size doesn't matter..so goes the cliche..
the spirit was huge on this fabulous day..
Yesterday we amassed to witness the union..the REunion..of Evan and Michelle.
As some of you may recall, their destination wedding happened last April, on a balmy Saturday night, in a Brooklyn palace, with unknown(to our party, but) very happy revelers, celebrating a variety of milestones. We experienced the uniquenes and joy of a typical Russian celebration..
embracing a culture and a magic that came straight out of the beloved animated Disney classic, "Anastasia."
It was so nice that we did it twice.
The cocktail room in the venue was the size of a Kardashian closet,(and just as stunning), a local Italian banquet hall with a picturesque outdoor garden that transported our guests into a village in Tuscany.
The ceremony took place in a garden, where the intoxicating scent of tomatoes and peppers and Italian spices perfumed the air.
And here's a great time to mention that my two and a half year old great-nephew, Asher, couldn't keep his hands off of an enormous dangling squash, and the dirty jokes his grandfather, (aka "abba", aka my brother, Steven) cracked at the image that hopefully someone caught on camera, but more on that later.
We chose this venue because of their access to outside glatt kosher catering, pleasing the palettes of my observant family who were able to travel, since the big event was held on a Sunday and not on Shabbat.
The timing worked out perfectly as well for one of the the groom's childhood friends, Jimmy, who is proudly serving our country overseas, but who was able to attend this event with his wife, Rachel, and their five month old son, the adorable Jonathan McNamara, who danced pretty much every dance with them.
There were no frills per se on this second go ..no exotic candleabras adorning the tables, no ornate drapery, no decorated flowers on the delicious chocolate cake. The couple rode in their cars instead of limousines, but they might as well have been arriving in Cinderella's golden carriage.
(The Brooklyn wedding had transportation that resulted in a memorable wedding hightlight, as we all soaked in the memories of the wonderful evening that took a busload of we weary partiers back to New Jersey in the incredibly early hours of the morning.)
If we could not include you in the celebration due to space constraints, please be aware that we sensed your presence in spirit.
Deep in our hearts.
We felt the love and we return it in droves.
For those of you who enjoyed my wedding recap last spring, if you got the time..I got the sequel.
November 5th, 1989
July 23rd, 1995
September 14th, 2025(and April 26)
Save for when my personal favorite won the Oscar, or I had the best well-marbled steak I've ever had, or winning that first gold medal in a Woodloch Scavenger Hunt, the above dates mean one thing only:
They're all the happiest day of my life.
The BIG Ones.
The ones that when I take my last breath on this planet, if I can still breathe and still think, will make me grateful that I ever graced this Earth to begin with.
My marriage to Jim.
The birth of my only child.
The wedding of Evan and Michelle.
The day started off with me obsessively checking and rechecking the weather, so grateful that the forecast showed no rain but most of us got sdoaked anyway--in our own perspiration--and most of us would do it again in that heat in order to witness that beautiful ceremony we witnessed.
After obsessing about the weather and ordering virtually everyone I know to promise to DO "something" about it, (???!!!!)I made a trip to India to have my makeup professionally applied.
And yep, with my seventieth birthday just a few months away, I probably WOULD have traveled to Mumbai to look youthful and be a prettier version of myself, but this India is the name of the talented cosmetologist just minutes away, who, along with her co-worker, Margie, turned the matted mess that takes up residence on my scalp into a work of art.
And once again, my sister/neighbor Tami, my lifeline to fashion and sanity, picked out my dress that was red-carpet worthy, a shimmering silver gown and bejeweled ballet slippers that I could actually walk in. Her mom, Evelyn, is just as gifted, lending me her stunning silver clutch and clip on earrings, plus a beautiful necklace that I wore backwards because Jim put it on me and we're both clueless, until Evelyn adjusted it and..omg!! I don't know how much longer I can pull off being a girly girl! Being a fashionista was unique and wonderful, a cinderella story that lasted a whole day, and why am I talking so much about Me, Myself, and What I Wore?? You're probably already tired of reading something this length by now.
Soon after a visit to the glam squad, Jim and I stopped by the restaurant to drop off our LG flat screen TV that would be used for our big surprise in the upcoming hours.
I will eventually get around to posting the actual presentation of said surprise, but I'll say this for now: I wrote special lyrics to one of Michelle's favorite songs, "Dancing Queen" that was used in both wedding's processionals.
Jim worked with the deejay on perfecting the presentation from a technical standpoint, and the music that brought the entire room to tears and laughter would not have happened without the amazing vocal talent of Rachel Toner, a performer who's known across the pond as "Sandy Bloomers."
We befriended Rachel and her family on our 2017 European cruise.
She hails from Darwen in the UK and her distinct British pronounciation of certain words only made the song that much more well received. Thanks, Rach!!
We sweated bullets once we found out that Evan planned to get dressed in our house before heading literally up the street to the magnificent Piazza di Roma, certain that the surprise would be blown because he'd noticed the absence of the livingroom TV..but he never did.
Nervous pacing and adjusting bowties certainly has it's benefits for the oblivious.
We've driven by this restaurant almost daily in the thirty years we've lived in our current home, but it never dawned on us to one day throw a wedding in an Italian eatery, but it should have. Not only could they accomodate the seven members of our kosher crew, they anticipated every need for everyone before we even knew we had them.
Rosalia and Mike have been running this establishment like a well oiled machine, their glowing reviews on line actually downplay how amazing it actually is. From the TLC of the attentive staff to the breath taking outdoor garden, to the scrumptious Italian cuisine, this is the place where beautiful memories are made to last forever..the ones that never leave your soul, even during your most cynical hours.
This blog is getting too long, even by my crazy standards, so let me try to highlight the highlights, although there's no guarantee that's going to be a reasonable length either.
I'm still on a high.
Floating way above the clouds.
A drone would probably pinpoint my location in the sky, a drone demanded..er..requested..by my brother's seven year old grandson, Eyli, who was the reluctant ring-bearer with eyes set on a great bridal party member gift.. in the form of an actual drone.
Eyli might have opined that the ceremony was "long and boring, a bit from his non-stop comedy routine, but it was anything but.
The couple hired a secular officiant who not only encouraged flash photography and videography, she encouraged laughter and irreverence and shouts of "woo hoo!".
And even though some of us witnessed the exchange of vows last April(my niece Marissa, and Evan's two roommates from Rutgers, Matt and Chin) nobody seemed bored by the repeat.
Tears flowed, laughter was in abundance..and seeing Evan's millenial friends overwhelmed with visible emotion made me grateful that I entered this wonderful thing called motherhood some thirty years ago.
The officiant, Dee, turned a usually sacred event into a mini rom-com..an unforgettable one. I don't think I've ever cried, laughed,( or sweated) that much before in my life.
A special highlight for me(well, there were many, but I'm only going to discuss this one before my fingers fall off) was the reenactment of something that happened in August of 2008, something that would have made the list of the happiest days of my life if we hadn't trusted so many inept professionals, (like the videographer who totally botched the video)
Namely, Evan's bar mitzvah.
I honored the couples’ request to keep things low key..no tossing of garters or bouquets, no mushy father/daughter or mother/son dance, but my sister-friend neighor, Tami, remembered how Evan and I danced to "Seasons of Love" (from "Rent") when he was the thirteen year old celebrating becoming a man, and asked the deejay to play it again.
The room was too noisy for me to hear her special request and the deejay's announcement, but Evan heard it, secretly thanking(I think??) Tami, as he agreed to dance to that terrific song. This time I actually prayed a little that we WOULDN'T get the videography, a painful reminder of the aforementioned bar mitzvah ceremony, because with my dancing skills, I make Elaine Benes look like Ginger Rogers.
But I seriously didn't care what I looked like in that shimmering silver.
I only cared that my son knows how proud I am of him..how deep my love for him runs.
But we danced..and everyone danced..including the relucatant ring bearer, and his mature-beyond belief sister, Shoshana, who was actually honored to be in the wedding party. Shoshanna, in her blue princess dress, loved her responsibilty, and loved that Evan and Michelle chose "Popular" from her favorite movie, "Wicked" as the bridal party was introduced to the enthusiastic crowd.
We had dancers, we had gourmands, we had strangers becoming fast friends at the beautifully decorated tables, we had chicken francaise and broiled salmon and eggplant, all of which I was too nervous to eat. We had slow dancers and jivers and laughter and reminiscing.
We had Evan's childhood best friend, Matt, give a speech that could be heard by everyone(the one he delivered at the April reception was recorded privately by the videographer) that highlighted his smarts and wit and quirks and loyalty. People that barely knew who Evan is certainly got enlightened, in a joyous and educational way.
We had a speech delivered by Jim that was right out of toastmaster ceremony.
We had it all.
We had a ball..
I couldn't sleep a wink on the day of the wedding, but now I don't think I'll ever stop sleeping..because sleeping means a chance to relive every moment of that day in a special, vivid way, in literal dreams.
It was the happiest day of my life.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way.
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