The Webbing Ceremony

I spend most of my days making stuff up for a living, so I’m making this up too and I’m calling it the webbing ceremony. It’s kind of the marriage ceremony of the future. Like Dippin’ Dots are supposedly the Ice Cream of The Future. But this is way better. Ever have Dippin’ Dots? You’re not missing much and if that’s the future, I want no part of it. Give me a half gallon of some real ice cream, a scooper, some chocolate syrup, peanuts and I’m a happy guy.

But anyway, back to this whole webbing ceremony thing. I mean, you have to wonder how far we are from the very first one, right? A bride, a groom, a minister, a couple people just to make sure it’s all official and the rest of the guests sitting at home in their pjs, sipping coffee and watching the whole thing unfold over a live stream. Or maybe you just can’t miss that big sale at the mall, so you’ll catch all the action on youtube when you have the time. No cost for a hall. No cost for a DJ. No cake, no dinner. Simple. Just don’t forget to send those webbing gifts to the happily married couple. They’ll probably thank you via email or skype.

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One

According to the calendar, we have exactly one week left in our journey to I do. According to the list of things yet to be done before we actually start down the aisle, we need about 3 months. But we’ll make it. I hope.

The past couple of weeks have been a blur of programs, menu cards, seating charts, meetings, fittings, throwing fits and finalizing minute little details. At this point, anything not done by next weekend won’t really matter in the grand scheme of things – at least that’s what I keep telling Lara. I was really hoping for an easy coast into the wedding weekend, but it’s looking more like it’s set to be an all out sprint. But such is life.

Next Saturday will be an incredible day of family and friends and we can’t wait to share it with everyone. Thanks for being part of our journey.

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Lara Gets Shot

On Monday, August 30, Lara finally got to meet and spend time with Sarah and Jordan – our North Carolina wedding photographers – for her long anticipated bridal shoot. The location was Bedford Springs Resort, the weather was perfect and the day was everything Lara had hoped it would be. In full gown, makeup and one of her various hair styles she was taking for a test spin, Lara, Sarah and Jordan covered the grounds of Bedford inside and out. Lara absolutely loves her picture taken and devours minutes in front of the lens, usually asking to see each shot immediately after it’s taken – something I warned both Sarah and Jordan about before they ever snapped a single frame. But from what I heard, Lara let them do their thing – and they do it very well.

The day was all about Lara and, although I’ve only seen two pictures from the hundreds taken, the shots and Lara look amazing. I haven’t seen the dress of course or much of anything else other than her red high heels, but the word is, the day was a hit and Sarah (Sadie) and Jordan (Higs) had a great time shooting, laughing and getting their first look behind the scenes of what it means to know Lara.

Soon you’ll get a chance to see all the shots from Lara’s bridal shoot day, but for now, just one.

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Weather.com

If you know Lara at all, you know she pretty much has to find something to add drama to her life on a daily basis. Or hourly. Well, with so many wedding things wrapped up – flowers, dresses, menus, photographers, djs, seating charts, veils, rings – she seemed to be dangerously close to not having much to fret about. Then she discovered weather.com and the infamous 10-day forecast.

Weather folks pretty much have a hard enough time getting tomorrow’s forecast correct let alone something 10-days down the road, but Lara has come to take the updates on weather.com as pretty much gospel. Or so I came to discover when I walked into the office the other day to find Lara sobbing about the Bedford forecast for Saturday, October 2.

Over the past 10 years I’ve gotten pretty good at deciphering her breathless way of talking when she’s sobbing about something and from what I could gather, the understandable portions of this particular conversation went something like this – “It’s…sunny…every…we…wrong…weekend…rain…leaves…rain…weather…wedding…Bedford…30%.” Without years of practice, turning this little take on the human language into some form of understandable English can actually be more difficult than figuring out coded German messages during WWII without an Enigma machine, but basically Lara’s rant breaks down to something like this – “It’s been sunny every weekend and the weather has been great but we picked the wrong weekend because it’s going to rain in Bedford and we won’t have leaves and it’s going to rain on my wedding day because the weather.com thingy says there’s a 30% chance of rain.” Roughly. Of course I laughed – I tend to do that a lot when she starts mumbling like this – and then quickly pointed out that a 30% chance of rain means a 70% chance of sunshine. But then I tend to look on the bright side of things anyway. I mean, weather predictions are pretty much that – predictions. And unless we’re talking Nostrodomus, they’re pretty much wrong. Take today for instance – the weather folks called for snow and 38 degrees. It’s 90. See? Wrong.

As of last night, Bedford weather for October 2, 2010 is now 0% chance of rain with a high of 61. So now Lara’s all smiles. I think the weather guys are still guessing. Or maybe they got my voicemail and took pity on me by fudging the numbers. Either way, I’m happy. Guess this means she’ll need to find something new to get her drama fix for the next seven days.

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Happy Hjunottsmanathr

There are a couple different takes on the whole honeymoon tradition, but one thing seems certain, the word has its origins in the Norse word “Hjunottsmanathr.” Say that three times fast. Heck, say it once and see what happens. Or go shop at Ikea and you’ll probably find it’s a bookcase or a lamp.

Some say the honeymoon tradition started with the Northern Europeans who would kidnap a bride from a neighboring village, steal her away to a secret hiding place and stay there until the family gave up the search. Then go back to his village like nothing happened and start a life together. Romantic, isn’t it? Others say it comes from the custom of newlyweds who would drink a cup of mead (a brew made from honey) each day for a month (assuring a new moon would rise during that time) after their wedding ceremony. I’ve had mead. I like it. Well, Lara and I won’t be drinking a bunch of mead and we’ll be gone a little less than a month, but our version of the honeymoon plans are set and we can’t wait to take off for a couple weeks of us time.

When we started talking about honeymoon destinations, we began in New Hampshire – it just sounded like a great place to be in the fall. Then it was the islands of the Caribbean, St. John, St. Thomas and a few other saints I’m sure I’m forgetting – but vacationing on an island during hurricane season didn’t sound like a very good idea. Then it was Paris – but it gets cold over there in October. Plus they talk funny. Than it was Bora Bora – which was fun to say and cool to think about, but I guess October is the rainy season. Then Northern California – Lara’s been, Lara loves it, but it just didn’t stay on the top of the list for long. It’s California after all and it’s going to be falling into the ocean one of these days – I just don’t want to be there when it does. Finally we chose Kauai – the smallest and most remote of the Hawaiian Islands. Home of movie and television hits like Blue Hawaii, Fantasy Island, Gilligan’s Island (Pilot Episode), Jurassic Park, Man With The Golden Gun, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, South Pacific, Mighty Joe Young and, of course, She Gods of Shark Reef. (I think that won Best Picture in ’56. But feel free to check me on that).

So on Tuesday, October 5th, Lara and I will rent a small UHaul to ensure Lara’s complete collection of bags all fit easily (she thinks she can do this with three suitcases, but I’m betting against that) and head for the airport. The next 10 days will be spent at the Ko’a Kea Resort & Spa at Poipu Beach. We’ll be saying words like Maluhia, ‘Olu ‘Olu, Lokomaika’i and Po’okela with absolutely no idea what we’re saying, sunning ourselves on beaches, exploring the island, eating great food, kayaking, zip lining, horseback riding, golfing and doing a whole bunch of nothing in between. We can’t wait.

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Pass This, Pass That

In my family, you couldn’t sit down to a big meal without hearing dad say “Alright, pass this, pass that.” It was a phrase that usually followed an overly long prayer by Granddad who didn’t seem to care much that food was getting cold while he rambled on about all the many reasons in life he had, we had, the neighbors had and the dog had to be thankful. It was just part of the celebration. A table full of food, great people to share it with and lots of laughs as we filled and emptied plates. And you had better leave room for dessert or Grandma and the rest of the aunts and uncles who baked pies, cookies and cakes weren’t going to be overly happy with you. That was never a problem in my family. So, what’s going to be passed around the tables tonight?

We’re going to start right after the ceremony with a Cocktail Reception featuring Steven Vance on the strolling violin, an open bar and a great selection of Passed Hors d’oeuvres. (I think that’s French for “good stuff.”)

Sesame Crusted Tuna Skewers with Wasabi Soy Vinaigrette. (Wasabi!)
Scallops Wrapped in Bacon with Vermont Maple Glaze. (I swear you could wrap a used sock in bacon and it would be good.)
Asparagus Wrapped in Smoked Salmon with Boursin. (No idea what Boursin is, but you’re gonna eat it.)
Mushroom Profiterole. (Not sure what that is either, but it has the word “profit” in it, so I’m guessing it costs nothing but they charge a lot for it.)
Raspberry & Almond Brie Crisp.
Crab Louis on Cucumber Coins. (Just a guess, but Crab Louis must be better than Crab Lenny or Crab Ted.)
Gourmet Cheese and Berries Crudite. (Served on the Veranda only.)

Dinner
Traditional Italian Wedding Soup. (Is there Scottish Wedding Soup? Or German Wedding Soup? Why is it all Italian?)
Salad of Mixed Baby Lettuce (the only baby at the reception I think) with Gorgonzola, Candied Pecans, Dried Figs and Tarragon Vinaigrette.
Paired Entree of Maryland Lump Crab Cake and Filet with Red Wine Demi Glaze Served with Butternut Squash Risotto.
Wedding Cake – White Cake with Pumpkin & Cream Cheese Filling covered in White Buttercream icing.

There’s also a Vegetarian Entree option for our non-meat loving friends. I’m not sure exactly what it is, but it’s probably something without meat in it. No meat. No meat flavoring. No meat smell. No meat anything.

So come hungry and get ready to celebrate as we Pass This, Pass That and share some great food, good friends and family, laughs and good times. (And be sure to save room for dessert – you don’t want one of my grandmas coming back to haunt you. Believe me.)

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