Annapolis part 2
Jan. 28th, 2013 08:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bloodsong1Ju, SNB and I chatted while waiting for someone to tell us it was okay to go outside in the freezing out-of-doors (where there would be heaters of some kind). Ducky ran by and waved back at me. Sildar walked by, stopped to kiss Ju and I on the cheek, shake hands briefly with SNB and followed Ducky.
After Ducky ran by I looked at Ju and said "I don't remember her being blonde."
"She's not a natural blonde," Ju said, shrugging. This jived with my Welcome to the Real World dinner, when I met Ducky, and she had been brunette. Okay, good, not going crazy.
More standing around, a little bit of wandering around, and random vocalizations about what us guests were supposed to do. I sought out a woman coming out of the staging room the happy couple had disappeared into and she said we could start seating ourselves if we wished.
"Let's go!" I told SNB, eager to be where we were supposed to be instead of standing around stupidly.
The ceremony was held in a strip of a garden beyond the ballroom where we had been waiting. There were three lamp-like heaters on the fence side, nothing on the building side. I staked out a chair under the last heater, SNB sat beside me and helped me tuck my coat around my legs. My toes in their silver open-toed strappy heels were NOT happy. I was wearing the blue dress I got last year with the asymmetrical neckline. I paired it with a necklace I had picked up at the Rose Garden that was gold coral with blue crystals and pearls and my standard gold-n-pearl hoops. It worked. SNB was in a nice black suit with a white shirt and gray and black tie.
Sildar led his groomsmen, all very smart in grey tuxedoes and peacock boutonnieres. The bridesmaids were in darker grey dresses with peacock feather hair clips, black shawls and blue/green sequined clutches.
Ducky was GORGEOUS. She looked like Marilyn Monroe in a halter top dress with a poufy full length skirt that had POCKETS. She had a simple ivory bouquet to match the dress and glitter on her face. Her dad reminded me of a maestro conductor in his tailed frock coat and loose, wavy hair.
Ju and her fiance Ash sat in front of us and poor Ash shivered the whole time, even under the heater. I kept wanting to give her my coat, never mind she was a good four inches taller then me and had to keep reminding myself I needed my coat!
The ceremony was a neat blend. They had a poem read, a quote from the Dalai Lama, and a Bible passage. Ducky's gloves were cleverly buttoned at the wrist so she could peel the fingers free for the ring exchange without having to take off the entire opera length glove. Her outfit was bloody clever all the way around. Sil had asked me about handfasting practices and they incorporated the cord tying as they said their vows, written by them, so there were lots of giggles, with a blue ribbon.
My favorite part was the recessional. They played "For the Longest Time" by Billy Joel and encouraged everyone to sing along.
We all trooped back inside to the slightly warmer ballroom and found our table. Ju and Ash, along with Br (met at the bar) and his wife (whose name escapes me) were at our table. Huzzah! Cool people to sit with!
The waitstaff immediately started circulating with hor d'euorvers. Mini beef wellingtons in phyllo dough, shrimp topped toast, crab cakes and prosciutto wrapped melon. We were surprised to discover it was an open bar and SNB promptly took advantage of it. I had a glass of Zinfandel, SNB had two beers, a glass of wine and a rum & coke over the course of the reception, along with the toasting champagne. I had my wine, the toasting champagne and a cup of coffee.
We had to wait for the Grand Entrances before dinner. More Billy Joel music, which didn't surprise me in the slightest. A few of the groomsmen looked a little tipsy. What did surprise me was when I heard "Just the Way You Are", looked around SNB and saw SILDAR singing to a kneeling Ducky. I had to blink a few times. Sil can sing! Ducky took a turn, I didn't recognize the song. One of the tipsy looking groomsmen (who looked remarkably like my favorite Nomad!) took on a Gwen Stefani song I didn't recognize and did pretty darn good. The lady I had talked to regarding what to do earlier did a lovely "Landslide" and two groomsmen did a decent "Family Tradition".
I looked over at Ju, sitting next to me, and asked if we, the guests, would be expected to karaoke.
"Only if you really want to," She said.
Dinner was opened up not long after the karaoke. It was a buffet. A buffet the likes of which I have not seen since my Buffet Attendant days at the Cheyenne Mountain Conference Resort in the Springs. Here's the menu:
Veggie trays
Cheese trays with berries!
Ranch dip/dressing
Mashed sweet potatoes
Mashed regular potatoes with skins!
Whole roasted baby red potatoes
Every topping you could ever want for potatoes!
Tortellini with spinach and cheese
Gnocci (oh gods, the gnocci...)
Ravioli with meat
Roast beef, carved
Turkey, carved
SNB had a little of everything, which partially explains how he wasn't tipsy after the 5 drinks. What was really funny was when the water was served. There was so much ice that every glass was sealed at the top by a glass-shaped iceberg and no one could get to the water underneath. SNB put his empty beer bottle on the ice in his glass and it held it perfectly. I have pictures, those will be their own post.
The dancing started not long after that. I looked away during the First Dance and dug my melon toothpick into my arm to prevent crying. I kept my eyes averted during the Father-Daughter dance, but I didn't need the toothpick.
After geeking out with Ash over Sailor Moon (she's in the musicals!), chatting with Br and wife, and eating, I got up, asked SNB for my phone, and bothered Sil and Ducky for pictures. I have one with each of them, Ducky's is sadly blurry. I also insisted on a dance with Sil.
I didn't dance all that much. My dress was too snug. Yay corseting! I did hit it for "Living on a Prayer", but that was only because Ducky swept through the tables saying "If you don't dance, you're not my friends! If you don't dance, then you don't love me!" (She was a perfect Italian Princess) SNB and I danced to another "Landslide" and I requested "A Matter of Trust" for my dance with Sildar. (^_^)
I admit, I did get down with my bad self for the Moulin Rouge "Lady Marmalade", but that was because the Landslide singer hopped up and she was alone. Her date/boyfriend/SO/whatever did groove with us and that was fun to watch.
Oh yes! The cake!
The cake was red velvet, topped with toy luxury sports cars. I knew Ducky's was the Lotus Elise, I didn't recognize Sil's, but I didn't look that closely. There were several pies around the square, two layer cake, as well as HUGE chocolate dipped strawberries. By cake cutting time, I was full and didn't want anything. SNB had a slice of apple and a slice of blueberry. Ju and Ash assured me the strawberries were "orgasmic". It turned out the pies came from a local bakery that only does pies and quiches. I thought it a neat idea.
Sadly, SNB and I both kept forgetting to get pictures of us. I will bug Sil to send me any copies of us in the mega fuckton of pictures that were taken.
The reception ended with "Bridge over Troubled Waters" and an a cappella "New York, New York", started by Ducky's mom. I hid in the back of the crowd.
Sil made it a point to invite us to the Pub Crawl, which was starting soon after the reception. I have never been to a Pub Crawl.
After Ducky ran by I looked at Ju and said "I don't remember her being blonde."
"She's not a natural blonde," Ju said, shrugging. This jived with my Welcome to the Real World dinner, when I met Ducky, and she had been brunette. Okay, good, not going crazy.
More standing around, a little bit of wandering around, and random vocalizations about what us guests were supposed to do. I sought out a woman coming out of the staging room the happy couple had disappeared into and she said we could start seating ourselves if we wished.
"Let's go!" I told SNB, eager to be where we were supposed to be instead of standing around stupidly.
The ceremony was held in a strip of a garden beyond the ballroom where we had been waiting. There were three lamp-like heaters on the fence side, nothing on the building side. I staked out a chair under the last heater, SNB sat beside me and helped me tuck my coat around my legs. My toes in their silver open-toed strappy heels were NOT happy. I was wearing the blue dress I got last year with the asymmetrical neckline. I paired it with a necklace I had picked up at the Rose Garden that was gold coral with blue crystals and pearls and my standard gold-n-pearl hoops. It worked. SNB was in a nice black suit with a white shirt and gray and black tie.
Sildar led his groomsmen, all very smart in grey tuxedoes and peacock boutonnieres. The bridesmaids were in darker grey dresses with peacock feather hair clips, black shawls and blue/green sequined clutches.
Ducky was GORGEOUS. She looked like Marilyn Monroe in a halter top dress with a poufy full length skirt that had POCKETS. She had a simple ivory bouquet to match the dress and glitter on her face. Her dad reminded me of a maestro conductor in his tailed frock coat and loose, wavy hair.
Ju and her fiance Ash sat in front of us and poor Ash shivered the whole time, even under the heater. I kept wanting to give her my coat, never mind she was a good four inches taller then me and had to keep reminding myself I needed my coat!
The ceremony was a neat blend. They had a poem read, a quote from the Dalai Lama, and a Bible passage. Ducky's gloves were cleverly buttoned at the wrist so she could peel the fingers free for the ring exchange without having to take off the entire opera length glove. Her outfit was bloody clever all the way around. Sil had asked me about handfasting practices and they incorporated the cord tying as they said their vows, written by them, so there were lots of giggles, with a blue ribbon.
My favorite part was the recessional. They played "For the Longest Time" by Billy Joel and encouraged everyone to sing along.
We all trooped back inside to the slightly warmer ballroom and found our table. Ju and Ash, along with Br (met at the bar) and his wife (whose name escapes me) were at our table. Huzzah! Cool people to sit with!
The waitstaff immediately started circulating with hor d'euorvers. Mini beef wellingtons in phyllo dough, shrimp topped toast, crab cakes and prosciutto wrapped melon. We were surprised to discover it was an open bar and SNB promptly took advantage of it. I had a glass of Zinfandel, SNB had two beers, a glass of wine and a rum & coke over the course of the reception, along with the toasting champagne. I had my wine, the toasting champagne and a cup of coffee.
We had to wait for the Grand Entrances before dinner. More Billy Joel music, which didn't surprise me in the slightest. A few of the groomsmen looked a little tipsy. What did surprise me was when I heard "Just the Way You Are", looked around SNB and saw SILDAR singing to a kneeling Ducky. I had to blink a few times. Sil can sing! Ducky took a turn, I didn't recognize the song. One of the tipsy looking groomsmen (who looked remarkably like my favorite Nomad!) took on a Gwen Stefani song I didn't recognize and did pretty darn good. The lady I had talked to regarding what to do earlier did a lovely "Landslide" and two groomsmen did a decent "Family Tradition".
I looked over at Ju, sitting next to me, and asked if we, the guests, would be expected to karaoke.
"Only if you really want to," She said.
Dinner was opened up not long after the karaoke. It was a buffet. A buffet the likes of which I have not seen since my Buffet Attendant days at the Cheyenne Mountain Conference Resort in the Springs. Here's the menu:
Veggie trays
Cheese trays with berries!
Ranch dip/dressing
Mashed sweet potatoes
Mashed regular potatoes with skins!
Whole roasted baby red potatoes
Every topping you could ever want for potatoes!
Tortellini with spinach and cheese
Gnocci (oh gods, the gnocci...)
Ravioli with meat
Roast beef, carved
Turkey, carved
SNB had a little of everything, which partially explains how he wasn't tipsy after the 5 drinks. What was really funny was when the water was served. There was so much ice that every glass was sealed at the top by a glass-shaped iceberg and no one could get to the water underneath. SNB put his empty beer bottle on the ice in his glass and it held it perfectly. I have pictures, those will be their own post.
The dancing started not long after that. I looked away during the First Dance and dug my melon toothpick into my arm to prevent crying. I kept my eyes averted during the Father-Daughter dance, but I didn't need the toothpick.
After geeking out with Ash over Sailor Moon (she's in the musicals!), chatting with Br and wife, and eating, I got up, asked SNB for my phone, and bothered Sil and Ducky for pictures. I have one with each of them, Ducky's is sadly blurry. I also insisted on a dance with Sil.
I didn't dance all that much. My dress was too snug. Yay corseting! I did hit it for "Living on a Prayer", but that was only because Ducky swept through the tables saying "If you don't dance, you're not my friends! If you don't dance, then you don't love me!" (She was a perfect Italian Princess) SNB and I danced to another "Landslide" and I requested "A Matter of Trust" for my dance with Sildar. (^_^)
I admit, I did get down with my bad self for the Moulin Rouge "Lady Marmalade", but that was because the Landslide singer hopped up and she was alone. Her date/boyfriend/SO/whatever did groove with us and that was fun to watch.
Oh yes! The cake!
The cake was red velvet, topped with toy luxury sports cars. I knew Ducky's was the Lotus Elise, I didn't recognize Sil's, but I didn't look that closely. There were several pies around the square, two layer cake, as well as HUGE chocolate dipped strawberries. By cake cutting time, I was full and didn't want anything. SNB had a slice of apple and a slice of blueberry. Ju and Ash assured me the strawberries were "orgasmic". It turned out the pies came from a local bakery that only does pies and quiches. I thought it a neat idea.
Sadly, SNB and I both kept forgetting to get pictures of us. I will bug Sil to send me any copies of us in the mega fuckton of pictures that were taken.
The reception ended with "Bridge over Troubled Waters" and an a cappella "New York, New York", started by Ducky's mom. I hid in the back of the crowd.
Sil made it a point to invite us to the Pub Crawl, which was starting soon after the reception. I have never been to a Pub Crawl.
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Date: 2013-01-29 02:04 am (UTC)