Celebrating Love And Laughter

...Continued from yesterday:

       Matt and Suzie's wedding celebration was held at the Virginia Museum of Transportation in downtown Roanoke.

     The festivities began at 5:00, at which time we were invited to tour the museum,

...converse,

​...nosh on the delicious hors d'oeuvres, shrimp, roasted potatoes in aioli sauce and sausages in puff pastry,

...and, of course, fuss over the happy, soon-to-be-married couple.

​      It was during this time I learned that  flaming doughnut holes really were on the dessert menu (see post from 7/2/2015), and I chatted a with  the chef,

...who showed me the ingredients and explained how the doughnut holes would be coated in a brown-sugar-butter sauce then set aflame with rum. Yum!

​     The dining room was set  amidst the classic car display.

    Perhaps as a reference to Suzie's job as book editor for the The Roanoke Times, the table decorations were books:  romance novels with all the faces on the covers replaced with photos of  Suzie and Matt.

    And the favors were book marks.

    When the moment arrived all the guests were called into the  wedding hall where we gathered around Suzie and Matt, attended by their parents and brothers.

    Matt's parents Joe and Debbie, his brother Joseph, Matt, Suzie, Suzie's brother Antony, and her parents Peter and Amy.

    The ceremony was only a few minutes, but it was beautiful, heartfelt, and moving. 
    At one point the minister explained that Matt and Suzie had opted not to exchange rings, that they would instead continue to exchange inside jokes, laughter, and love.
    The ceremony ended with the simple words, "Matt and Suzie are now married."

     And it was clear that here were two youngsters who had given their hearts to each other long ago.

    Their joy filled the room and love - and laughter - was in the air.

    And it was contagious.  Claire and Miguel, moved by the wedding and discovering the museum display of railroad tracks, felt inspired to recreate one of their own wedding photos taken on a railroad track in Arizona.

      Then began the feast.

    The out-of-this world food was served at food stations.
    Sliders and shoe string fries:

        Shrimp and grits with all the fixings:

        Asian noodle & steamed bun station:

    Yummy lemonades:

    And drinks:

   
    And, of course, the piece de la resistance:

​    The resulting doughnut holes were hot and unbelievably delicious, and were served with sides of ice cream,  flan, and mini fruit tarts. 
Those were some heavenly holes! And joy of joys, the doughnut hole bar stayed open all evening,

...while we danced,

...and danced,

...and got silly in the photo booth:

...and danced some more:

       It was one beautiful wedding.