One Enchanted Evening

    ...Continued from yesterday:
    Early Saturday evening the shuttle arrived at the hotel to transport the guests to the venue of 
Vince and Kathleen's wedding, the beautiful Vista On Seward Hill.

     At the entrance was a gazebo,

...where we were greeted and handed our programs by sweet Addison, niece of the groom,

...and directed to fill out a small slip of paper with a message to the newly-weds to be read by them on either their first, fifth, or tenth anniversary, then to roll the message up and slip it into the appropriate bottle.

    I opted to give them a message to be read on their 10th anniversary (VINCE AND KATHLEEN:  SPOILER ALERT IF YOU ARE READING THIS!), written with a little help from Rodgers and Hammerstein:  If you are the same beautiful couple today that you were ten years ago, you'll pardon my saying, "I told you so!"

     Stepping onto the other side of the gazebo one had the impression of stepping out of Austin,Texas and  into an enchanted Grecian garden,

...hung with lights,

...and arrayed with fountains,

...statues,

...archways,

---

...floral arrangements,

...and elegant stonework.

      The guests were invited to sit wherever we wished,

...while a harp-viola duo played lovely prelude music,

...enjoyed by all.

      When all the guests were seated began the arrival of the minister, the groom and his groomsmen,

...the ring bearer, (here after his duties were finished),

...the bridesmaids,

...the flower girls,

...and, at last, the lovely bride.

    It was a beautiful and moving ceremony, during which Vince and Kathleen held each others' hands while the minister reminded them that with these hands they would hold each other, comfort each other, and dry each others' tears, whether they be tears of sorrow or happiness,

      After the ceremony  the guests moved to the veranda,

...for tasty hors d'oeuvres,

...and to give our congratulations and good wishes to the parents of the the bride and groom.

Birdie and Greg, parents of the groom.

      When  it was time for the guests to enter the dining room we found our table assignments from lists  posted on the glass panes of a window.

The dining room

     Each place was set with a sprig of rosemary, the herb of remembrance.

     Dinner was a delicious buffet,

..which included among the offerings chicken stuffed with spinach and cheese, fork-tender brisket in gravy, roasted potatoes and a wonderful salad with arugula and strawberries.

    

      Though Kathleen and Vince had eaten their first dinner as a married couple at a sweetheart table outside on the veranda,

...they returned to the dining room to greet their guests, Kathleen having changed from her bridal gown into a lovely reception dress.

     After dinner we proceeded to the dance hall, all the guests who wished joining in a  processional dance known as The Wedding March,

...a Czech tradition, I was told,

...or maybe a German tradition, as I was also told.

     Well, nobody seemed to know what the provenance of The Wedding March was,

...but it was fun,

     ...and the garden looked magical.

      So we danced our way into the beautiful dance hall,

,,,where the happy bride and groom danced their first dances,

Daniel and Roxanne, parents of the bride, watching Kathleen and Vince's first dance.

....after which we all joined in.

     In a side-room were set out yummy snacks for us to munch on all evening,

...and instead of wedding cake there were wedding ice-cream sundaes, which I thought was a awesome idea, a much-welcomed  cooling-off after  dancing,

...and greatly enjoyed by all,

....as was the whole beautiful, enchanted evening.