theBarnstorming: One Wedding, Two Dinners, and a Brunch

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October 22, 2007

One Wedding, Two Dinners, and a Brunch

We had a fine weekend in Baltimore. There was no drama, no surprises. Christian and Emily got married. End of story. But the wedding proper did not happen until Saturday evening. The journey began, as it often does, with a drive south on Maryland 213. For a while we had the bad luck to be trailing some port-a-potties.

An ill omen intensified by foul weather on the bridge.

Things got a little more promising when we stopped by to visit our afflicted friend Courtney, whose "condition" is a bit more advanced than Robbi's.

By the time we got to our friend Beth's house, where we were staying for the weekend, we were in fine spirits. Especially when we got to play with Spud, Beth's new dog.

He is a docile, tractable pug. Basically a huge ho. I love dogs like that.

We got dressed and headed downtown to Pazo, a swanky tappas restaurant.

There were incredibly big olives to be had.

And an arrangement placed in a hollowed pumpkin.

Not surprisingly, Emily attended the event.

As did Christian.

As did Christian's parent's, Deborah and Humberto.

Also present was Christian's friend John. John is all about taking care of the ladies. He does things like push in their chairs when they sit down.

I wanted to tell John that his old-fashioned notions were not appreciated, that Robbi was offended by this sort of condescending behavior.

But apparently, this was not true.

He is a sly, sassy one, that John.

The food was excellent and the service better. The place seemed like a thoroughly high-class joint, so imagine my surprise when my dinner fork was imperfect.

I was tempted to raise a major stink but got distracted when Christian started doing his patented duck imitation.

It was a nice meal with some nice toasts. Sometimes, people said amusing things.

Other people said heartwarming things.

And then John said something unprintable.

Truly, a man must have his standards.

Though Christian's sister, Amy, seemed not to mind.

After dinner, we were encouraged to take the pumpkins.

Though Christian seemed not to approve.

Thus ended day one of the wedding weekend. Sleep followed. I woke to the following sight. In addition to her many other gifts, friend Beth apparently gives a mean manicure.

See?

Try as I might, I could not convince Beth to give me a pedicure, something I have always desired. A group of friends and I were playing a Canadian game called Don't Be a Dork a few years ago. It is an interactive sort of game with periodic group participation exercises. We were charged, by the game, to think of the person in the group who had the nastiest feet and then to speak that name aloud at the count of three. Everyone thought. Everyone counted to three. Everyone spoke his choice. And I was greeted with a chorus of voices articulating in unison my besmirched name.

I must confess that I also voted for me. Still, the consensus hurt.

Beth indicated that it was enough that she was willing to be my friend in spite of my feet. Actually coming in contact with them was out of the question.

And so we got dressed, my feet as hideous as ever.

We headed for Christian and Emily's place, where pictures were underway.

Aunt Peggy was looking fabulous.

But the bride was radiant.

Her father and uncle Art were all spiffed up for the big day.

Deb and Hum seemed ready to see their boy wed.

John seemed poised to stab someone with a letter opener.

I was glad that there were no chairs for him to pull out for Robbi.

Robbi was more than ready for the "Chris and Emily get married" part of the weekend.

I was ready. (I only wear toilet ties to the weddings of those I love dearly.)

Christian and Emily wouldn't stop making out.

But apparently, they were also ready.

So we headed for the church.

There were hijinks with the veil.

But aren't there always?

We headed in to the chapel where they were to be wed.

Emily chose the space because her parents got married there, as did her aunt and uncle. It is a beautiful little room with lots of gilded paintings and not many seats. As such, it was a small, intimate wedding party of sixteen.

In spite of appearances to the contrary, Emily was really quite pleased to be getting married there.

This guy was in charge.

He performed a beautiful service, much of which was sung by a cantor. It was my first Greek wedding service, and so I was unprepared for the degree of ceremony. Throughout the 40-minute service, there were various exchanging of rings, the wearing (and unwearing) of crowns, a procession around the central table, and lots of standing up and sitting down. I wasn't really sure at what point they actually got married, but eventually they did. The whole thing was lovely and emotional. I cried recklessly. Fortunately, right when things were getting out of hand, the wedding ended.

We headed back downtown for dinner a Callie's Court.

See how different Emily looks as a married person?

Christian's and my good friend David was not able to attend the wedding on account of his being on Broadway at present, but he wrote a toast for me to read. Those of you who know David will not be surprised to hear that the toast was incredibly funny. But also incredibly heartfelt. Apparently, there are people that really love Christian and Emily in the world.

There was a toast.

Then Robbi and I presented our wedding gift, a book about Christian and Emily and their coming to know one another and falling in love. Robbi did a reading.

People laughed in the right places.

Our dinners arrived.

Mine was delicious, but since he arrived with eyes, I tried my best to empathize with him before eating him.

I'm not sure the exercise did anything to improve the taste.

We played that game with spoons and noses.

And though it was not my intention in taking this picture, I have to say that, seeing it now, I think Robbi could have a very credible career in mime.

Back at Christian and Emily's house after the meal, we decided it was high time to let down our hair. Emily took this literally.

Hairspray is a wonderful, terrible thing.

We decided to play a bit of Celebrities. Those of you familiar with the game will appreciate the fact that "Emily Vainieri" and "Mrs. Emily Vainieri" both made appearances in the pot.