Wedding weekend, day 2
It was the day before the wedding and more guests were arriving. For the immediate family, we had a full schedule of activities.
Yes, the groom is a professional fireman. We met him at the firehouse in the morning for a tour. Well, it wasn't an organized tour. We were given free access to climb and explore all around the trucks with a stern warning not to push any buttons (this was directed at the "big boys"). Junior climbed into the driver's seat of the large ladder truck and absolutely nothing or no one could get him to budge. Snurf and I went for a joyride around the UNH campus with my brother-in-law to be. It was really cool. I was most impressed by the ease with which he backed the truck into the garage.
We had to rush from the firehouse back to the hotel to get changed and then we were off to rehearsal. Luckily they are within minutes of each other, so we were only about 20 minutes late to the church. The church was a beautiful colonial New England church, dating to the early 1700s. Marc said the minister reminded him of Ellen Degeneres, very friendly, laid back, with a good sense of humor. I watched Snurf practice walking down the aisle as I chased Junior around the pews in the balcony, keeping him out of everyone else's way. Once we were all satisfied with the ceremony details, we drove out to the groom's parents' house to eat.
The groom's dad is a civil engineer specializing in buildings, and their house was a showpiece. They finished the basement just in time for the wedding. The main room was set with one long row of tables where at least 25 of us could eat. There was also a bedroom adjacent to the main room where Kathy put in a mattress, her son's old table and chairs, and some toys. It was great having a refuge for the kids away from the main party.
Dinner, by popular request, was lobster, steak, and clams. The local lobsterman set up a tent (in the pouring rain) on their patio and cooked right there for us. I was stuffed, but I couldn't resist the sideboard of desserts afterward. All the ladies in the wedding party were given pieces of locally made pottery. I received a "storm jar." It's a tall vessel with a lid that's a candle holder. Inside the crock, you store everything you need when the power goes out - candles, matches, a deck of cards, a flashlight, whatever. Mine came with locally made Lindt truffles, so I was quite happy. The guys got all sorts of neat camping gadgets along with chocolate.
The rest of the afternoon / evening was spent with a quick run to Kittery, Maine, to shop at a few specific outlet stores. Then we met everyone again at the bride & groom's house for pizza and dessert empenadas (I think that's the spelling). I will get the recipe for that from my older brother-in-law. We were all kicked out of the house by 9pm so everyone could get some sleep before the Big Day. I didn't sleep because of nerves. Other people were kept awake by either the previous day's wedding revelers or people celebrating Homecoming Weekend.
Yes, the groom is a professional fireman. We met him at the firehouse in the morning for a tour. Well, it wasn't an organized tour. We were given free access to climb and explore all around the trucks with a stern warning not to push any buttons (this was directed at the "big boys"). Junior climbed into the driver's seat of the large ladder truck and absolutely nothing or no one could get him to budge. Snurf and I went for a joyride around the UNH campus with my brother-in-law to be. It was really cool. I was most impressed by the ease with which he backed the truck into the garage.
We had to rush from the firehouse back to the hotel to get changed and then we were off to rehearsal. Luckily they are within minutes of each other, so we were only about 20 minutes late to the church. The church was a beautiful colonial New England church, dating to the early 1700s. Marc said the minister reminded him of Ellen Degeneres, very friendly, laid back, with a good sense of humor. I watched Snurf practice walking down the aisle as I chased Junior around the pews in the balcony, keeping him out of everyone else's way. Once we were all satisfied with the ceremony details, we drove out to the groom's parents' house to eat.
The groom's dad is a civil engineer specializing in buildings, and their house was a showpiece. They finished the basement just in time for the wedding. The main room was set with one long row of tables where at least 25 of us could eat. There was also a bedroom adjacent to the main room where Kathy put in a mattress, her son's old table and chairs, and some toys. It was great having a refuge for the kids away from the main party.
Dinner, by popular request, was lobster, steak, and clams. The local lobsterman set up a tent (in the pouring rain) on their patio and cooked right there for us. I was stuffed, but I couldn't resist the sideboard of desserts afterward. All the ladies in the wedding party were given pieces of locally made pottery. I received a "storm jar." It's a tall vessel with a lid that's a candle holder. Inside the crock, you store everything you need when the power goes out - candles, matches, a deck of cards, a flashlight, whatever. Mine came with locally made Lindt truffles, so I was quite happy. The guys got all sorts of neat camping gadgets along with chocolate.
The rest of the afternoon / evening was spent with a quick run to Kittery, Maine, to shop at a few specific outlet stores. Then we met everyone again at the bride & groom's house for pizza and dessert empenadas (I think that's the spelling). I will get the recipe for that from my older brother-in-law. We were all kicked out of the house by 9pm so everyone could get some sleep before the Big Day. I didn't sleep because of nerves. Other people were kept awake by either the previous day's wedding revelers or people celebrating Homecoming Weekend.