Wedding Weekend

L and C are in town this weekend because L's dear friend from Claremont got married yesterday. The reception for the wedding was at the Garner House in Memorial Park - a lovely venue which was especially good for those of us who could walk there. 

Some Crust Cakes

Lovely tables

Father-Daughter Dance in lovely lighting

Wedding in the Yosemite Chapel

Ever since my love affair with Yosemite started, I have always wanted to attend a wedding in the Chapel in the valley.  This past weekend I got my chance. My Alexander Technique teacher got married there, and I jumped at the chance to get away to Yosemite during the off-season. Of course, a wedding in mid-March could have dicey weather, but this year's unseasonable warmth gave us a most glorious weekend with no need to wear hiking boots and heavy coats to the ceremony. 

I think my favorite part of the wedding was that at the very end, as the bride and groom walked out, the bride got to ring the chapel bell by tugging at a rope that I didn't even notice when we walked in. 

Wedding

Most of the weddings I attend these days involve my participation on some level. Usually I am playing in a string trio or something, and this summer I got to be the mother of the bride. This year I attended two weddings where I was a mere guest, and that was pretty fun. Last night was one of these two. I love how each wedding is so different and reflects the personalities of the couple. I've known Brian, the groom, since we moved to Claremont when he was just two. His wedding was at Padua Hills Theatre which is a lovely venue. Thank goodness it was inside since last night was pretty chilly.

Fleur de Lis Chapel

Yesterday Lynn and I played in a wedding at the Fleur de Lis Chapel in Upland on 18th St. I had never heard of this place, but it is a lovely venue for a wedding. From the website I learned, 

"The Chapel is recognized as a California State Historic building.  It was constructed in 1910 as the Saint Mark's Episcopal Church on the north-east corner of Euclid Avenue at "F" Street in Upland.

When the congregation eventually left for a larger home, the entire building was given to the Chaffey Communities Cultural Center and was transported to its current location in 1966 in three sections."

Wedding Tidbits

Here are a few things about the wedding that were fun. For the rehearsal dinner/picnic, the ladies from Lubbock made 11 pies.  ELEVEN.  Fresh berries and all! Not only were these pies scrumptious, but they sported dinosaur cutouts as decorations since the bride is particularly fond of dinosaurs.

My dear husband found a free app for his phone showing various ways to tie a tie. Not only are there different ways, but you can chose a certain way depending upon your height, face shape, etc. He chose the Kelvin knot which is slightly asymmetrical.

We had lots of fun shopping not only at Trader Joe's for the wine, but also at Costco.  Note the Dr. Pepper - a real must for Texans.

This might be my favorite tidbit story. Kat, the bridesmaid, made the bride and groom cards which said "bride" and "groom". This way they could play the "bride card" if they didn't want to do something, or if there was something they particularly wanted to do. I'm not sure if they actually did use their cards, but I played my hypothetical "Mother of the Bride Card" when we went to Dutch Bros. for coffee on the morning of the wedding. (Notice that it was cool enough to wear a sweater in the morning.) After we hemmed and hawed about what kind of coffee to get, the nice guy in the booth told me that it would come to $7. I looked at him and said, "What kind of discount can I get since my daughter is getting married today?" He thought a moment, and without missing a beat, he said, "That will be $3.50." Needless to say, he got a tip, and then we went back the next morning, too.

More About the Wedding

If one should get married in Oregon, and one wants an outdoor wedding, August is the perfect month for the event. Mt. Pisgah Arboretum is a lovely venue for a wedding. Next to this large pavilion stands a large oak tree under which I'm sure many couples have said their vows. After the ceremony, the pavilion is an excellent place to host the reception, the guests having a place to enjoy each other's company while the family and bridal party take photos under the great oak tree.

The ceremony was short and sweet. The bridal party, intimate. The couple chose one of their good friends to perform the ceremony.

Bridal Party

The happy couple with the celebrant and his wife

The food came from two places that are special for the bride and groom. I did not get photos of the pizza, but the delicious pie came from Mezza Luna Pizza and the cakes (five of them! each a different flavor), came from Sweet Life Patisserie. The couple chose a cake called Cloud 9, and each of the bridal party chose their own favorite type.

To make this wedding unique, since L and C are such great gamers and love Mario Kart, instead of having a first father/daughter and first dance, they played Mario Kart instead. Here the bride is explaining the controls to her dad, although he wasn't very chivalrous and ended up winning that race. The bride was kinder to her new husband by waiting at the finish line for him before she crossed over.

A Wedding in the Family

We arrived home late, late last night after a two-week vacation which culminated in the marriage of our daughter on Thursday. I'll certainly have more to blog about in the coming days, but today is reserved for all that stuff that needs to be done upon returning home. 

Here is a photo of the happy couple for the meantime.

Wedding Shower

We're just winding down from a fun weekend having flown L down to Claremont from Oregon to throw her a bridal shower yesterday. With 20 people in attendance, we really only had room for everyone outside, and we were thankful that the weather was not nearly as hot and muggy as it had been the two previous days. The borrowed E-Z Up helped keep us shady.

What fun to have worlds collide as we gathered people who have known our daughter since she was one and have watched her grow up, to softball friends, to besties from jr high and high school to a friend from grad school. It's times like these that help us pause and reflect on the bounty that we have in our friends - our community.  We are very blessed.

I don't really enjoy silly games at showers, so we only played one game - How Well Do You Know the Bride? People filled out the questionnaire which had choices such as - Does she prefer Mountains or Beach? Pizza or Burritos? Christmas or the 4th of July? We had 20 such questions, and the two top winners were the friends she walked to school with nearly every day at El Roble and CHS (one of whom who was even a college roommate!). Mom and sister did not play - it wouldn't have been fair.

One of the tricks was figuring out how to get her lovely presents back to Eugene on the plane, but I somehow had an old suitcase (so old it doesn't have wheels) that I kept meaning to give away, so it was perfect (and big enough) to handle the bulk of the loot gifts. We have a little time to figure out how to get the rest of it up the road.

People have been asking me if I am frenetic with wedding plans, as mother-of-the-bride, but since the wedding is in Oregon, L has been making all the plans herself, so this shower was my biggest job, and I am so glad that it was such a lovely event.

Santa Barbara Wedding

Wedding season is in full swing. Yesterday I was happy to attend the marriage of someone I've known since he was 3 when his family moved to Claremont. Peter has a sentimental attachment to the beach in Goleta since he spent countless hours there when he visited his grandparents, so it was natural that when he met his love in grad school he decided to marry her in that special place.

The weather was perfect, the company delightful, and it was clear to me that this couple is very, very happy.

Wedding in the Garden

It's been a whirlwind weekend with many events!  Undoubtedly the most elegant event was the wedding we attended Saturday at Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden.  I've been to one other wedding there (blog post about that one here), and I'll have to say it makes a fabulous venue.  The catering by Gourmet Gourmet was delicious, the staff of the garden friendly and helpful, and the beauty of the gardens agreed so well with the perfect weather.

I got to reconnect with friends, some of whom I have not seen in a long time and came home quite content.

Appetizers

Table setting for dinner

Need a Place for a Wedding?

On Saturday my string trio played a wedding held at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden, a place I've strolled through many times. It had never occurred to me that one could have a wedding here, but it was a beautiful setting. The Garden has staff on hand to bring people up from the parking lot on trolleys. This particular ceremony took place in the California Natives Container Garden. Upon chatting with some staff, I found out that information on rentals are on the RSABG website.

Summer Wedding Music

Here is the Pink/Purple String Trio performing for an outdoor wedding yesterday. We had the shadiest spot, but it was still hot!

Cousin Pat's Wedding

Last weekend my cousin, Pat, in Canada, got married - the last of the Sawatzky cousins to tie the knot! His sister, Lisa, put these photos on her Facebook page, but I'll put some here.