"So when its your wedding day..."
So this weekend I went up to Rhinebeck, NY for my cousin Danny’s wedding to Rose. To quote Greg and my brother Bobby, it was tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight!
We started the time off with breakfast at a diner in Middletown Friday morning. The whole gang then piled in cars and headed off. We picked up my brother’s girlfriend Cherylann at Seton Hall and made it up in good time arriving about 3ish on Friday. We were staying at The Belvedere Mansion in Staatsburg, which is also where the reception was held. Oh my god this place was just… perfect. From the rooms to the staff to the reception itself, everything was just immaculate. Anything we could have needed was provided to us. The best thing about it though, it fit my cousin and his new wife’s personality to a T.
On Friday night we headed over to the Church of the Good Shepard in Rhinebeck for the rehearsal. I had never participated in one before (I did a reading) and I have to imagine, the best part of it all must be dinner afterward :-P It wasn’t bad, just a little boring I guess. For dinner we went up to the Red Hook Inn which was really nice but apparently is no longer a restaurant so its clear that they’re still working out a few of the kinks. Mainly the drinks weren’t being served first at all then just not quick enough and the food was kind of eh, but it was alright I guess.
Afterwards we headed back to the Belvedere for after dinner drinks and whatnot. I quickly discovered that basically EVERYONE in Rose’s family are Red Sox fans. While this is not a bad thing at all, it made for an exciting experience watching the game on a big screen with them. It was so beyond fun. When they won on Friday night, Danny walks out on to the veranda and announces “Ok, the Sox won. I can get married now.”
I stayed up until about 2AM drinking with my family and then had to wake up at 8AM to shower and go get my hair and makeup done for the wedding. I went for a really simple style with a headband and just basically wearing my hair straight down. It was sweet because I didn’t have to fuss with it at all which usually helps :-P
After I got back from that I waited. And waited. And waited. Three hours never seemed to take so long to pass. I didn’t want to get dressed too early because it was WICKED hot out and I didn’t want to sweat in my pretty dress. Finally we got ready and headed over to the church. My stomach was doing flip flops, not because I was nervous for Dan and Rose, but because I was nervous about having to get up and read. Of course, my jitters were unfounded because everything went well.
Rose looked INCREDIBLE and I have never seen Danny so happy. They are just so perfect for each other. After the ceremony everyone headed back to the Belvedere and got some drinks at cocktail hour. Despite the heat, the weather was just amazing. I was so grateful for sunshine first of all, and then not having to freeze my tail off was also a plus. We all just chilled out on the veranda until it was time to eat. Dan and Rose made their entrance very low key which was perfect for them. They wanted everything just very elegant and even told the DJ that if he played the Macarena, Chicken Dance, and/or the Electric Slide he would probably get beaten up, which I just found funny and was actually grateful for.
Their first dance was to the song “Oh” by Dave Matthews which was just beautiful and could not have suited them better if it had been written for them. They danced so well together and just kept it fresh and fun, dancing faster as the song picked up and then back together slowly again. It just… fit.
The maid of honor was Rose’s sister Edith and I have to say, she gave the best speech I’ve ever heard by a maid of honor. She tied in a story of Rose when she was younger to how serious she was about Dan and ended it with the Irish Blessing which we all were invited to say with her. It was just really nice. Then my cousin Kenny was up and his was awesome as well. It was serious and you could tell how much Danny meant to him because he could barely speak as he was giving it he was so happy for his brother. It was funny because the wedding planner guy, Rick knew he was nervous and told him to just look at him and focus on him when it came time to giving the speech. Well Kenny starts to talk and looks up to see Rick zooming out the door. After the speech, Kenny found Rick and said “What the heck man? Where’d you go?” Rick goes “I’m so sorry, I was getting choked up and had to step out of the room.” It was just funny.
Dinner was incredible and just as we all sat down, it started to rain which was great because it cooled everything off and because we were already under the tent, no one got wet and it only lasted 20 minutes so, even the weather worked for them. The food was incredible and I loved seeing my entire family and friends and getting to just celebrate with everyone. Pretty much everyone danced and drank and I honestly think that everyone there had a great time. Basically, not a bad word was ever mentioned and anything ANYONE could have wanted there was made available.
I loved that we stayed there because once the reception ended my cousins and I went back and hung out drinking on the porch outside our room. We continued the party until about 2 in the morning which was just as much fun as the reception. I forget how much I love having my family around outside of our lake house in CT.
The next day we drove back home, actually going right past the EveryReady at about 11AM and then Marist to get to the Mid-Hudson over to the Thruway. Had it been the day before, I definitely would have stopped in for alumni weekend but alas, I could not. Still, I wouldn’t trade this weekend and this experience for anything.
My date Anthony and I
My brother Bobby, Aunt Darling, Kenny, Rose, Danny, Me, Uncle Bob, Mom and Dad
We started the time off with breakfast at a diner in Middletown Friday morning. The whole gang then piled in cars and headed off. We picked up my brother’s girlfriend Cherylann at Seton Hall and made it up in good time arriving about 3ish on Friday. We were staying at The Belvedere Mansion in Staatsburg, which is also where the reception was held. Oh my god this place was just… perfect. From the rooms to the staff to the reception itself, everything was just immaculate. Anything we could have needed was provided to us. The best thing about it though, it fit my cousin and his new wife’s personality to a T.
On Friday night we headed over to the Church of the Good Shepard in Rhinebeck for the rehearsal. I had never participated in one before (I did a reading) and I have to imagine, the best part of it all must be dinner afterward :-P It wasn’t bad, just a little boring I guess. For dinner we went up to the Red Hook Inn which was really nice but apparently is no longer a restaurant so its clear that they’re still working out a few of the kinks. Mainly the drinks weren’t being served first at all then just not quick enough and the food was kind of eh, but it was alright I guess.
Afterwards we headed back to the Belvedere for after dinner drinks and whatnot. I quickly discovered that basically EVERYONE in Rose’s family are Red Sox fans. While this is not a bad thing at all, it made for an exciting experience watching the game on a big screen with them. It was so beyond fun. When they won on Friday night, Danny walks out on to the veranda and announces “Ok, the Sox won. I can get married now.”
I stayed up until about 2AM drinking with my family and then had to wake up at 8AM to shower and go get my hair and makeup done for the wedding. I went for a really simple style with a headband and just basically wearing my hair straight down. It was sweet because I didn’t have to fuss with it at all which usually helps :-P
After I got back from that I waited. And waited. And waited. Three hours never seemed to take so long to pass. I didn’t want to get dressed too early because it was WICKED hot out and I didn’t want to sweat in my pretty dress. Finally we got ready and headed over to the church. My stomach was doing flip flops, not because I was nervous for Dan and Rose, but because I was nervous about having to get up and read. Of course, my jitters were unfounded because everything went well.
Rose looked INCREDIBLE and I have never seen Danny so happy. They are just so perfect for each other. After the ceremony everyone headed back to the Belvedere and got some drinks at cocktail hour. Despite the heat, the weather was just amazing. I was so grateful for sunshine first of all, and then not having to freeze my tail off was also a plus. We all just chilled out on the veranda until it was time to eat. Dan and Rose made their entrance very low key which was perfect for them. They wanted everything just very elegant and even told the DJ that if he played the Macarena, Chicken Dance, and/or the Electric Slide he would probably get beaten up, which I just found funny and was actually grateful for.
Their first dance was to the song “Oh” by Dave Matthews which was just beautiful and could not have suited them better if it had been written for them. They danced so well together and just kept it fresh and fun, dancing faster as the song picked up and then back together slowly again. It just… fit.
The maid of honor was Rose’s sister Edith and I have to say, she gave the best speech I’ve ever heard by a maid of honor. She tied in a story of Rose when she was younger to how serious she was about Dan and ended it with the Irish Blessing which we all were invited to say with her. It was just really nice. Then my cousin Kenny was up and his was awesome as well. It was serious and you could tell how much Danny meant to him because he could barely speak as he was giving it he was so happy for his brother. It was funny because the wedding planner guy, Rick knew he was nervous and told him to just look at him and focus on him when it came time to giving the speech. Well Kenny starts to talk and looks up to see Rick zooming out the door. After the speech, Kenny found Rick and said “What the heck man? Where’d you go?” Rick goes “I’m so sorry, I was getting choked up and had to step out of the room.” It was just funny.
Dinner was incredible and just as we all sat down, it started to rain which was great because it cooled everything off and because we were already under the tent, no one got wet and it only lasted 20 minutes so, even the weather worked for them. The food was incredible and I loved seeing my entire family and friends and getting to just celebrate with everyone. Pretty much everyone danced and drank and I honestly think that everyone there had a great time. Basically, not a bad word was ever mentioned and anything ANYONE could have wanted there was made available.
I loved that we stayed there because once the reception ended my cousins and I went back and hung out drinking on the porch outside our room. We continued the party until about 2 in the morning which was just as much fun as the reception. I forget how much I love having my family around outside of our lake house in CT.
The next day we drove back home, actually going right past the EveryReady at about 11AM and then Marist to get to the Mid-Hudson over to the Thruway. Had it been the day before, I definitely would have stopped in for alumni weekend but alas, I could not. Still, I wouldn’t trade this weekend and this experience for anything.
My date Anthony and I
My brother Bobby, Aunt Darling, Kenny, Rose, Danny, Me, Uncle Bob, Mom and Dad