Amber gets married!
Apr. 14th, 2011 05:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dreamsharkThe wedding was perfect. I'm so proud of my daughter for keeping things scaled down to just what she could handle without undue stress and still managing to include everything that was important. What seemed to matter the most to her was that everyone have a good time. And because Amber and Olin have awesome friends, what mattered most to them was that everything was perfect for Amber and Olin. And that's why it worked out that way for everybody. We all agreed that it was the Best Wedding Evah!
The idea was to have a simple, informal ceremony in a beautiful location and then have a great party. Things got a little more complex as the plans evolved, but that was mostly because everybody was so eager to pitch in and help. One friend made the wedding dress, another made the cake, another took the wedding pictures, another did Amber's hair and makeup, another played guitar for the service. My brother Dan contributed a supply of craft beer from his microbrewery. Our dear friends![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
vgqn and magscanner contributed the flowers (most from their own garden), shopped for the wine, and put up the bride's family for a couple of nights to boot. A volunteer crew brought in and served lasagna and salad from a local deli with just one paid kitchen helper. But the most amazing thing was the cleanup. At 10pm Amber stood up and announced that it was time to clean up the hall and move the party back to the hotel. "We can come back tomorrow morning if we need to, but I'd like to be out of here by 11 if we could." There was an instant fluctuation in The Force as the wedding crowd shifted from party mode to cleanup mode. Within what seemed like seconds, the entire scene packed itself up into boxes and disappeared. Literally it took 45 minutes from party in full swing with food and flowers and music to all the tables folded up in the back and the lights off. I didn't hear anybody giving orders or assigning tasks - they just DID it. Truly, Amber and Olin have awesome friends!
They found a marvelous location - the Muirwoods Park Community Association Clubhouse. It's a small, rather rustic hall with a full kitchen at one end and a friendly fireplace at the other. As you can see, the view is spectacular. The service was performed by one of those ubiquitous Universal Life ministers (a college friend, I think), who did a wonderful job. For our part we chipped in a modest amount of cash for the event itself and hosted a rollicking hotel room party the night before the wedding (much more fun than a Rehearsal Dinner). The Larkspur Hotel was more than accommodating - I'm still amazed they didn't shut us down at 10 pm. Or midnight. Or ever, as a matter of fact.
The only problem with the location was the necessity to drive down a series of hairpin curves to get from the reception hall to the hotel. Considering the amount of celebrating that went on prior to the drive, I was more than a little worried that some of the guests were going to end up at the bottom of a cliff. But amazingly, everyone made it! We were about partied out by that time, but the amazingalierajean and Gillian (Not on LJ?) stepped up to host yet another room party which lasted into the wee hours again.
In short, a fine time was had by all. The happy couple is now honeymooning in Catalina.
The idea was to have a simple, informal ceremony in a beautiful location and then have a great party. Things got a little more complex as the plans evolved, but that was mostly because everybody was so eager to pitch in and help. One friend made the wedding dress, another made the cake, another took the wedding pictures, another did Amber's hair and makeup, another played guitar for the service. My brother Dan contributed a supply of craft beer from his microbrewery. Our dear friends
vgqn and magscanner contributed the flowers (most from their own garden), shopped for the wine, and put up the bride's family for a couple of nights to boot. A volunteer crew brought in and served lasagna and salad from a local deli with just one paid kitchen helper. But the most amazing thing was the cleanup. At 10pm Amber stood up and announced that it was time to clean up the hall and move the party back to the hotel. "We can come back tomorrow morning if we need to, but I'd like to be out of here by 11 if we could." There was an instant fluctuation in The Force as the wedding crowd shifted from party mode to cleanup mode. Within what seemed like seconds, the entire scene packed itself up into boxes and disappeared. Literally it took 45 minutes from party in full swing with food and flowers and music to all the tables folded up in the back and the lights off. I didn't hear anybody giving orders or assigning tasks - they just DID it. Truly, Amber and Olin have awesome friends!They found a marvelous location - the Muirwoods Park Community Association Clubhouse. It's a small, rather rustic hall with a full kitchen at one end and a friendly fireplace at the other. As you can see, the view is spectacular. The service was performed by one of those ubiquitous Universal Life ministers (a college friend, I think), who did a wonderful job. For our part we chipped in a modest amount of cash for the event itself and hosted a rollicking hotel room party the night before the wedding (much more fun than a Rehearsal Dinner). The Larkspur Hotel was more than accommodating - I'm still amazed they didn't shut us down at 10 pm. Or midnight. Or ever, as a matter of fact.
The only problem with the location was the necessity to drive down a series of hairpin curves to get from the reception hall to the hotel. Considering the amount of celebrating that went on prior to the drive, I was more than a little worried that some of the guests were going to end up at the bottom of a cliff. But amazingly, everyone made it! We were about partied out by that time, but the amazing
alierajean and Gillian (Not on LJ?) stepped up to host yet another room party which lasted into the wee hours again. In short, a fine time was had by all. The happy couple is now honeymooning in Catalina.
 | Amber and Olin Awww. More pictures will follow in a subsequent post. |
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no subject
Date: 2011-04-15 12:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 05:07 pm (UTC)Seriously, no harm done. I didn't even know she knew that word. Always the master of appropriateness, little Amber knew enough NEVER to use bad language around adults. In fact, she used to reprimand me for saying things like "damn." She's stopped doing that, but I still don't think I've ever heard her say anything that could possibly be classified as a bad word - certainly not THAT one.
no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 10:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-18 03:30 pm (UTC)My main memory of you and Amber at that age was the time we did a role play with coke bottles and candles on the kitchen table, trying to find a way to explain to a 3-year-old what "don't talk to strangers" means. It was a total failure. She was able to respond correctly only to scenarios that were EXACTLY the same as the one we just did. All the stranger (the coke bottle) had to do to get the votive candle (Amber) into the car was make up a new excuse.
The only thing she got out of that was a deep attachment to the votive candle, which she carried around for several weeks until it started to melt.
no subject
Date: 2011-04-15 02:49 am (UTC)Congratulations to everyone, especially the happy couple!
no subject
Date: 2011-04-15 04:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-15 04:41 am (UTC)But to be precise, it was only the flowers in the bouquet that came mostly from our garden. The masses of alstromeria that we used for flowers on the tables were purchased.
no subject
Date: 2011-04-15 06:10 am (UTC)K.
no subject
Date: 2011-04-15 06:46 pm (UTC)K.
no subject
Date: 2011-04-15 07:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-15 07:54 pm (UTC)K.