A Big Fat Greek Italian Wedding

​Not a snow-megeddon-again!!

Thank you for  cooperating, weather gods, and not arriving yesterday, when you could have potentially  wrecked the absolutely gorgeous wedding of Dylan and his  beautiful  Marianna!

Tami was the most magnificent  Mother  of the Groom I’ve ever seen.. c’mon, did you expect anything less from her after the way I talk about  her here??

It was such a joy to see Evan and Michelle on that dance floor, whooping it up like crazy, sharing in the happiness of the boy-next- door he’s known for over two  decades. 

The impressive  architecture of the Greek Orthodox Church made for an unforgettable ceremony (Pachelbel’s Canon in C Minor kept the tears flowing even before the processional began.. as it always does, ever since I fell in love with “Ordinary People” in 1980) and the venue for  the reception hours later  was breathtaking, as evidenced from the moment you left your car with the valet parking and entered the magnificent  marbled foyer.)

The Greek and Italian combined  flavors were evident everywhere, from the dollar bills tossed at the couple to traditional Italian wedding dances.

I am one of Tami’s top confidantes( and vice versa) so I was very excited when the mother/son first dance became a  public reality.. I knew I was going to cry after hearing those first notes of “ Close to You”  but she kept a big secret.. even from me, her trusted confidante,  who was happily shocked  to see Dylan toss  his white  tuxedo jacket   onto a  random table seconds before they burst into a beautifully choreographed, professionally rehearsed rendition of “ Stayin’ Alive.” 

Party goers were on their feet, worked into an absolute  frenzy. 

Me? 

I was just verklempt, watching this little kid who grew up next door, whooping a great scrabble player like me every time when he was  just nine, and  felled that summer by a baseball injury,  which turned him into a wizard that would average four hundred to five hundred points a game ,  besting me every time,  to this grown man who positively commanded the dance floor.

I know Dylan and Marianna will have a future as sweet as that dessert table.. the biggest I’ve ever seen! ( baked Alaska? S’mores? Sundaes and soft pretzels and cupcakes and.. I better stop before I get a contact sugar high!)

I know youre reading this, Evelyn, as Dylan’s proud grandmother, or “Mia” as the Italians say, and you were as sparkly and as beautiful as as all the fine jewelry you’ve been lending me for over twenty years now. The crowd broke into a thunderous applause at the first mention of your name.. deservedly so.

So maybe the tropical getaway will have to be postponed for a few days, but weather gods, you are thanked by lots of folks for staying at bay for a day. 

I haven’t stopped smiling!!

Seems like Dylan and Evan were just little kids, playing Mario Kart and coming up with hilarious nicknames for people they knew.

I hate cliches.. but time really did  fly!

I’ll remember those Best Man  speeches forever.. Sal, your writing made me laugh and made me cry and made me grateful that Evan is part of your social circle too. 

Time to consult that  Yiddish dictionary again.. 

you already looked up “ verklempt” so let me now add a vociferous “ “Mazel Tov!” to everyone in attendance at that Big, Fat, Greek, Italian  Unforgettable  Wedding !