recent doings, part 2
Three weekends ago, I was privileged to witness the conjugal oath-uttering ceremony of sigerson and sen_no_ongaku (which, of course, was also witnessed by a number of people who are reading this).
My active participation mainly involved the various festivities surrounding the rite proper. The happy couple, stealthmuffin, wavyarms, ltlbird and I departed for a small town in Western Massachusetts that Thursday afternoon, bearing part of the stuff that would needed. The nuptial location was a rustic-on-the-outside-yet-with-well-furnished-interior house called Nine Mountain, which we essentially moved in for the weekend, taking sometime to case the house and the grounds with surrounding bucolic hills and forests. That evening, we set out to Northampton for great pizza and yummy ice cream. Ironically, dinner was brought to our plates in very short order, yet we had to wait in line for something like a half hour at (the original) Herrell's for ice cream.
The next day, in between trading time on the upright piano with sen_no_ongaku, we set about the various preparations, such as obtaining pre-ordered beverages from Amherst, arranging flower globes, greeting the couple's families, the actual rehearsal, and preparing the food for that evening's dinner (pre-made by the couple and a few other friends). Later, the families withdrew and other friends arrived for happy reunions, dancing, games, use of the hot tub, and other activities that marked it for me as almost a New Year's celebration in June (and it was, in fact, midway through the year).
The day of the service (the chairs and tent for the reception having been brought in the previous day) brought the usual flurry of activity, although relatively subdued all things considered. While things were still moving slowly, I participated in the groom's last board game as a bachelor. Photographs were taken (and I participated in several along with stealthmuffin). The espousal was very beautiful; the officiant kassrachel's words were just about perfect, and most people I think had to fight back some tears as the self-composed vows were spoken. Drinks and dinner followed under and around the tent, with alternately hilarious and moving (often both) toasts by various and sundry. The music for dancing was overseen by yaoobruni, and we got to see the bride's great-aunt Sylvia dragged (willingly) out to the dance floor for "Girls Just Got to Have Fun."
Eventually, with the families off to their respective accommodations and many friends remaining, the activities in a way resumed from the previous night. A hilarious round of Oracle (write down a question or answer and pass it on, a la Telephone) was had, and most everyone talked and danced and played games until exhausted. In the morning, brunch was provided by family and friends, and the festivities slowly winded down as people began to depart in small groups. The owners of the place commented that we were among the most organized, easy-to-host groups they had seen as we cleaned up everything that was left. We were the last to depart, looking for anything left behind and assisting the married couple in transporting their own stuff home. It was a wonderful weekend, marred only by my becoming nauseous the evening we returned (which may or not have been related to an apparent stomach bug that others seemed to catch).
My active participation mainly involved the various festivities surrounding the rite proper. The happy couple, stealthmuffin, wavyarms, ltlbird and I departed for a small town in Western Massachusetts that Thursday afternoon, bearing part of the stuff that would needed. The nuptial location was a rustic-on-the-outside-yet-with-well-furnished-interior house called Nine Mountain, which we essentially moved in for the weekend, taking sometime to case the house and the grounds with surrounding bucolic hills and forests. That evening, we set out to Northampton for great pizza and yummy ice cream. Ironically, dinner was brought to our plates in very short order, yet we had to wait in line for something like a half hour at (the original) Herrell's for ice cream.
The next day, in between trading time on the upright piano with sen_no_ongaku, we set about the various preparations, such as obtaining pre-ordered beverages from Amherst, arranging flower globes, greeting the couple's families, the actual rehearsal, and preparing the food for that evening's dinner (pre-made by the couple and a few other friends). Later, the families withdrew and other friends arrived for happy reunions, dancing, games, use of the hot tub, and other activities that marked it for me as almost a New Year's celebration in June (and it was, in fact, midway through the year).
The day of the service (the chairs and tent for the reception having been brought in the previous day) brought the usual flurry of activity, although relatively subdued all things considered. While things were still moving slowly, I participated in the groom's last board game as a bachelor. Photographs were taken (and I participated in several along with stealthmuffin). The espousal was very beautiful; the officiant kassrachel's words were just about perfect, and most people I think had to fight back some tears as the self-composed vows were spoken. Drinks and dinner followed under and around the tent, with alternately hilarious and moving (often both) toasts by various and sundry. The music for dancing was overseen by yaoobruni, and we got to see the bride's great-aunt Sylvia dragged (willingly) out to the dance floor for "Girls Just Got to Have Fun."
Eventually, with the families off to their respective accommodations and many friends remaining, the activities in a way resumed from the previous night. A hilarious round of Oracle (write down a question or answer and pass it on, a la Telephone) was had, and most everyone talked and danced and played games until exhausted. In the morning, brunch was provided by family and friends, and the festivities slowly winded down as people began to depart in small groups. The owners of the place commented that we were among the most organized, easy-to-host groups they had seen as we cleaned up everything that was left. We were the last to depart, looking for anything left behind and assisting the married couple in transporting their own stuff home. It was a wonderful weekend, marred only by my becoming nauseous the evening we returned (which may or not have been related to an apparent stomach bug that others seemed to catch).