Wonderful Prelude To A Wonderful Wedding

    On Friday Tom, Tommy and I drove from Columbus to Roanoke, Virginia.

for the wonderful, wonderful wedding of my nephew Matt and his sweet fiancee Suzie,

...senders of the memorable "Save The Date" (See post from  7/2/2015),

    Matt and Suzie had arranged superwonderful accommodations for the guests at the Cambria Suites, located on the outskirts of  downtown Roanoke.

    The lobby:

    Our rooms were beautiful and spacious and were divided into a sleeping area,

... and a sitting area,

...and had two televisions, one across from the bed and one in this cozy tv-watching nook,

...and a stylin'  bathroom.

    After we settled into our rooms we met up with a few relatives in the lobby.

Here's Tom, Tommy, and my brother Joe, father of Matt, the groom-to-be,

   ...and my brother Michael outside the hotel with Amy and Jo, the youngest of his 10 children.

      We all set out for the rehearsal dinner at Martin's, a restaurant in the  lovely historic area of downtown Roanoke known as the Market District.

    My brother Joe and my sister-in-law Debbie, parents of the groom, reserved half the restaurant for the out-of town wedding guests.

    It was a happy reunion of siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandchildren, grandparents, and old friends.

Debbie, mother of the groom

We met up at the restaurant with Claire and Miguel who flew in from Chicago, here with Suzie and Matt.

Miguel, Claire, Tommy, my brother Jim, and Tom.

The food was delicious and served as a beautifully presented buffet

   …of pulled pork with the softest, freshest buns,


…grilled chicken skewers wrapped in bacon,

…macaroni and cheese,

... .baked beans, assorted salads,  and

assorted brownies and bars. 

   But the real fun, the kind of fun portended in Matt and Suzie’s whimsical "Save-The-Date",  began after the dinner when all the guests were invited for a stroll from the restaurant through downtown Roanoke  to a special destination.

    To be continued...