The Party's Over....

Whew. What a weekend! In case you missed some of the previous entries, this weekend was my daughter's wedding. To recap...

Thursday and Friday were spent picking up various people at train stations and airports and shuttling them to hotels, inns, or our home.

Friday evening was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. The weather was perfect (it was an outdoor wedding) and the rehearsal went quickly and well. Then we went to a nearby town for the dinner - which I understand was delicious. Unfortunately, my crab stuffed flounder was liberally sprinkled with paprika - which I am allergic to. They were very careful not to put any peppers in the stuffing, but forgot about the paprika. Also unfortunately, it led to a major asthma attack and my husband ended up taking me home early - which still meant 10 p.m. Which was not a bad thing, according to my oldest son who accompanied us home. The party was so loud, you had to shout to the person sitting next to you just to be heard. Our other two sons didn't arrive home until the wee hours of the morning. From the restaurant, the revelers headed to a bar and got even louder.

Saturday morning, I got a call from my daughter wanting to know if I could bring stomach relief supplies with me when I came as several of the party goers from the night before were not feeling so well. :)

I picked up my d-i-l around lunch time and we headed for the inn where the wedding was to be held. Though the weathermen were calling for storms, the sky was beautiful. A perfect day. We got our hair done and d-i-l and I headed off to our room to change. The bridesmaids were taking care of my daughter and, except for ironing her dress, I wasn't needed... so off I went. Our room was incredible. The inn is an old mansion filled with antiques. The bed in our room needed a three tier step stool just to climb up to it! And the bathroom - I wish I'd come an hour earlier as there was a deep whirlpool tub there just begging for a good soak. Oh well.

We spent the next couple of hours dressing ourselves, each other, the bride.... getting corsages or boutineers on. The only glitch was when the bride spilled some face powder on her dress. After brushing it off, the coloring could not be seen by anyone - except the bride who declared it ruined. It took several of us to talk her down, but we did. Around three, the family headed out for photos - which was not fun. The heat had risen and standing in the sun in black tuxes and other finery was less than enjoyable. Plus trying to keep the bride hidden from the other guests.

The wedding was at 4:30 - and came off without a hitch. I even managed not to cry. Then more photos and cocktail hour until the reception.

The reception was beautiful with good food, good friends and an excellent (if somewhat loud) DJ who kept us all laughing and having fun. Two parts stick out in my mind - the ring bearer (our 4-yr-old grandson) nearly falling asleep in his mashed potatoes (he was sent home with his other grandparents shortly thereafter), and a special dance our daughter requested. The DJ called all the married couples up onto the dance floor where we swayed our way around the floor while he called out years - those married five years or less, move off. Ten years... and so on. At 20 years, there were four couples left on the floor. 25 - two - my youngest brother and his wife, and my husband and myself. At 30, we were left alone. Come August, my husband and I will celebrate 35 years together. My daughter presented me with a small bouquet of roses and everyone cheered. No, she hadn't set it up. It just came out that way as hubby and I were the longest married couple there. Note, I did *not* say "oldest" - just longest married. :)

Wow.

By 9:30, I was dead on my feet so we loaded the gifts into the car, said our goodbyes to the younger crowd and headed home. From what I understand, the party broke up shortly thereafter anyway.

Sunday was spent up in the mountains at a family reunion - way too much food, but a lot of fun - and even an impromptu booksigning as my relatives had actually brought their copies of my books for me to sign. :)

And now it's time to clean up, pack up, get relatives back to their respective states and return to normal.