Finally it was the big event of the summer - Greg and Jess’s wedding. Bill H. came up from Florida and stayed at the Southold house and it was so good to reconnect with him. He, Mike, Billy and I took the ferry over Fri afternoon to attend a dinner and meet Jess’s mother and father. Wedding day dawned clear and warm (but thankfully not as hot as the day before). The set up at the reception hall went smoothly and Jess and her mom had all the logistics perfectly worked out. The day had cooled a bit by the 6:00 timeframe as we all gathered outside at the wedding site. Polly and Hong were returning from a trip to China through Boston and were able to make the event - jet lagged and all! It was wonderful to see them. The justice of the peace started the ceremony and all went well until Greg realized he didn’t have the rings - lots of laughter as he rushed off to get the rings - jokes about Jess being left at the altar as she stood and waited... All was well as he returned red faced to applause from the crowd and the ceremony started again. The reception hall echoed with chatter and laughter as people ate, drank, and visited. More and more food kept coming out over the course of the evening, until the cake topped it all off. The crowd wound down as people left and we stayed to help clean up - almost half the cake went downstairs to the bar patrons who appreciated it with great enthusiasm. A lovely, lovely day.
The next morning we had arranged to meet Polly and Hong for breakfast at a nearby diner and were wonderfully surprised when the newly weds joined us. Boy, do they have big servings of food in the US!