The Reception

After the wedding ceremony, we checked into the Radisson Hotel to wait for the shuttle bus that would take us to the reception hall. We had three hours to kill while the wedding party took pictures on the grounds of the South Gate Manor. It would have been nice to take a nap, but since we were already dressed up, we strolled down to the hotel bar for a couple of drinks. There we met up with some of Colin's friends who graciously bought our round and also shared their nacho platter. I met the parents of one of my son's friends, who I used to babysit for when we were kids growing up in our old neighborhood. As I kid, four years seems a whole generation apart but here we were as peers, laughing about the antics of our own grown children. The shuttle bus driver gave us quite a ride to the reception hall, as he made funny jokes, blared disco music and drove like a bat out of hell. We pulled into the South Gate Manor to the sight of twinkling rainbow lights on the trees. Once inside, we marveled at the opulence of the hall... it was exquisite! After a quick gathering of the immediate families for group photos, we entered the cocktail hour reception and were stunned. The room was huge, with a ceiling that was covered with twinkling stars. There was the usual bar and also a separate martini and vodka bar. The waitstaff circulated trays of various hors d' ouvres and there was also a raw bar and a sushi bar along with a lavish fruit, meat, and cheese display. The room opened onto a terrace where their were lounge chairs and ashtrays for those who wished to smoke. The night was balmy and so many of us were content to enjoy the cool night air in the elegant surroundings. After about an hour of drinking and feasting we were all lead to the ballroom which was equally exquisite and sported the biggest dance floor I had ever seen... it was a good thing too as this was a big dancing crowd. The bridal party strolled in to what seemed like heavy metal music and then the newlyweds danced to a slow cool song by Sade. The father-daughter dance was to one of Gerry's favorites, "Green Mansions" by Van Morrison and the two of them shared their joy with happy laughter and a couple of fancy twirls. Once the dance floor opened to the guests, Gerry and I headed out and danced to "Unforgettable" and within minutes the floor was crowded with slow dancers from all ages. The best man's toast to the bride and groom was one of the most heartfelt and funniest speeches I had ever heard given at a wedding... but then again this wedding had a huge assortment of the" kids" that we had watched grow up together and still remained a close knit group. The DJ played nice slow music during the dinner hour, where people were invited to three different stations of food. One was a pasta station with eggplant rolatini, tortellini alfredo, and various other Italian dishes. Then in another corner was a carving station with boneless pork roast, roast beef, and turkey, along with mashed potatoes and gravy and green beans. And in the third corner there was a whole seafood display that I never got to see, as dancing is more important to me than eating, and I was full from the cocktail hour! Once an acceptable amount of time passed for dinner music and dining, the DJ cranked up the music and kept a full crowded dance floor singing and dancing right up to the very end of the night. Of course you could see some grimacing from some of the older folks as the rock and roll and club music blared. But this is the music of the young generation and it is wonderfully easy to dance to. At one point my daughter Tara's husband led the whole dance floor of guests in a choreographed dance to Thriller (after all it was mischief night) and he did a super job of both teaching the steps and keeping everyone in step. Tara, who is eight months pregnant danced most of the night in her bare feet, and my son Dale and Gerry's son Colin made sure every woman who was alone or with a non-dancing partner got their chance on the dance floor. It was so sweet of them and made Gerry and I very proud! There was the traditional feeding of the cake by the bride and groom and I think the older folks were glad of the reprieve from the loud music. I couldn't tell you what kind of cake it was (I don't eat desserts) but it was decorated for Halloween and everyone said it was delicious. At the end of the night the shuttle buses safely took the guests back to the hotel where the partying continued into the wee hours of the morning. It was quite a wedding to remember and everyone had a wonderful time!