monkeymom's Diaryland Diary
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Goin' to the courthouse and we're gonna get married.
I wanted to do an entry last night, after three days off, but all the thunderstorms and wind have caused power outages in the area, leading to computer problems here at work. Billy No-mates was here all night last night, working with a repairperson on one of the servers, and waiting for delivery of parts, and he kept popping in and out of my office, so I didn't dare write my journal because I don't want him to know I have one.
As a result of the power problems, the Pepsi machine closest to my office is out of order, so I had to get a Diet Coke tonight, ugh. As a consolation, the Coke machine gave me two bottles, though, so I should be grateful.
It's been storming off and on for the last few days. A big branch fell in our yard, so Rich got to go out on Saturday morning and play with his chain saw.
Saturday was the wedding reception for Ruthann's daughter Patti, so Rachel and I made many trips back and forth from our house to theirs to carry food, Pepsi, Advil, etc and then we made Kim cute with a hairdo and some lipstick and eyelining and took her over an hour early to set up with her harp.
The concert harp she is using this summer weighs 80 lbs and is 6 feet tall, so it takes two people to put it in the mini-van, after removing the passenger seats, which is also a two-person operation.
So we drove two vehicles to the reception, one containing Rich ("I'm not going to wear a suit! It's hot out there and I have to carry the harp!"), Kim and the harp, and the other with me, Rachel, two plates of sushi and a big bowl of pasta salad.
The deck was decorated with purple draped fabric, strings of 'pearl' beads, and silver cardboard stars, and there were small tables covered with the same purple fabric set up in the yard. Each table had as a centerpiece, a silver tray full of M&Ms in lavender, purple and a gray that was supposed to look silver. A dozen burning tiki torches were set up around the perimeter of the yard to keep away misquitoes and it worked very well!
The buffet was set up in the dining room with sliding glass doors to the deck and there was seating in the house where it was cool. The bride and groom were standing on the deck in front of a white trellis/screen covered with artistically draped ivy and Kim was in the opposite corner of the deck with the harp. The traffic flowed nicely up the steps to the bridal couple, into the house to get food, and back down to the yard by way of the handicapped ramp they had built when Ruthann's mother lived with them and used a wheelchair.
It was so hot and humid that none of us could stand to be outside for very long, so when guests arrived, the bride and groom would go back to the deck with Kim, who would play a couple of songs until they were done talking with the new guests and then they would all go back inside for a cold drink and some air-conditioning. By the end of the evening the weather was cooler and the shadow of the house was across the lawn, so we were all outside then.
There wasn't much of a crowd, but I think that was because it was a holiday weekend and a lot of people were out of town. Attendance was pretty sparse at church the next morning, too, and it was pretty much the same crowd.
The bride was wearing a strapless gown that made her look a little chubby, partly because she is, but also just because it wasn't the most flattering style. Chubby girls should wear princess lines, it's more slimming. Rachel wears the same size as the bride but she has better taste.
I also don't think white is a good color for everybody, but I understand that choice - it's traditional. She would have been okay with the white had she not also had her hair, a natural light brown (sometimes known as Dishwater Blonde), dyed to the color known as Trailer Trash Yellow. That really doesn't look good on anybody.
Rachel took pictures all night with several disposable cameras that were provided for her, and she said it was really fun to have a reason to mingle with everyone and something specific to do.
I ran up and down the stairs of the deck, doing errands and making sure people were having fun, because I wanted Ruthann to have a good party. I was as tired afterward as if I had been the hostess. I was also the one to bring cold drinks to the harpist and to remind her to get back out there and play when she had been taking a long break. Kim played most of the time time for the first two hours, and after that she sat at a table with a couple of her friends. We were all tired when it was over!
I know Diana likes a good review of a reception, and I hope I can live up to her expectations as I attend more of them. I passed up the wedding reception the weekend before because my family was out of town and I don't really like the groom, but now I'm sorry that I didn't go, just to check things out.
11:05 p.m. - 2003-07-07
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