It was twenty-one years ago today, on a snow-dusted Sunday, that H. and I married at St. Mary's Church in Dumont. My six lovely bridesmaids wore fuchsia with long-sleeved, black velvet bodices and a big sash in the back; our three young nieces had matching pink flower-girl dresses. Since it was February 17, we halfheartedly attempted a Valentine's theme [my idea], but the heart-shaped bouquet I had seen in Bride's did not turn out very heart-shaped at the hands of the local florist, and somehow, the silver-wrapped Hershey's Kisses in tiny heart bags seemed a little silly, then and now. Now I'm more sophisticated. [Back then, too, I wanted Godiva for the bags but the price was steep.]
Too much to report on, to compress 21 years into this one blog post. But tonight H. and I went out for an Italian dinner. He ordered eggplant rollatini and we smiled, remembering that the catering hall made him eggplant parmigiana for his wedding meal, since he doesn't eat beef or chicken. He happily ate it, sitting on the dias. And then we laughed about Herb, the man who ran the hall, who blanched when we suggested early on that we eliminate the sit-down appetizer or just give our guests one entree, with no choices, in an effort to trim the plump bill. Don't do that to your people, he said. Don't take away their choice. We like to quote those lines to each other from time to time. They make us laugh.
We also remembered the mahi-mahi offered us at almost every restaurant we visited on our honeymoon in Hawaii...and we agreed that we were two young naive people who fell in love. We talked about the date at the Italian restaurant on Ninth Avenue when we were deeply drawn to each other....H. in that long-sleeved green Gap polo shirt....about the conversation we had, about some signals given and perhaps missed, about the road we took.
Good night.
TCOY
Too much to report on, to compress 21 years into this one blog post. But tonight H. and I went out for an Italian dinner. He ordered eggplant rollatini and we smiled, remembering that the catering hall made him eggplant parmigiana for his wedding meal, since he doesn't eat beef or chicken. He happily ate it, sitting on the dias. And then we laughed about Herb, the man who ran the hall, who blanched when we suggested early on that we eliminate the sit-down appetizer or just give our guests one entree, with no choices, in an effort to trim the plump bill. Don't do that to your people, he said. Don't take away their choice. We like to quote those lines to each other from time to time. They make us laugh.
We also remembered the mahi-mahi offered us at almost every restaurant we visited on our honeymoon in Hawaii...and we agreed that we were two young naive people who fell in love. We talked about the date at the Italian restaurant on Ninth Avenue when we were deeply drawn to each other....H. in that long-sleeved green Gap polo shirt....about the conversation we had, about some signals given and perhaps missed, about the road we took.
Good night.
TCOY
- Boot camp in the park!
- Long walk on pretty day with Sug, down to Hobbit house.
- Chicken and roast carrots for lunch.
- Good tooth care.
Posts
What a nice post. And congratulations to two of the nicest people...ever! Love, Linny
ReplyDeleteAw, Alice, wow, you opened a floodgate of memories!
ReplyDeleteThe wedding was lovely, no doubt, and your people enjoyed their choices! But, I remember two young women in line at a company picnic for an intriguing fellow who wrote something called 60-second novels. He was adorable in an old-fashioned, Norman Rockwell way, what with his bow tie and hat. You told me how cute he was in line and he wrote you a prescient piece about finding your next love by the sea. Of course, we were perched then and there on a body of water (bay? sound?), if not the sea.
A few months (?) later, you ran into him in a writing class and I remember you reporting that quirky coincidence to me at my desk at Woman's Day. Fated from the start! I always felt privileged to bear witness.
Happy anniversary, my friends!
Alice,so sweet reading of your wedding day.Happy Anniversary and many more.
ReplyDeleteLove Aunt Ann
Hi Lin and Aunt Ann....thank you for the sweet notes......and Kim, yes, I will always remember that company picnic, the stories H. wrote for us....whenever anyone asks how I met H., part of my story is, "My friend Kim and I lined up to get our stories...."...and yes, we were by the water....love alice
ReplyDeleteI just love that your love story had foundations in writing and words. So so romantic for two writers!
ReplyDelete