As has been the case during the pandemic, the wedding we attended was not the actual marriage ceremony. Greg and Renee got married on 12/02/2021, a date which is not only a palindrome but also an ambigram because it reads the same way upside down. (Assuming you choose the right font.)
Here was the script from the ceremony, full of nerdy fun things.
And the wedding party.
The night before Greg and Renee’s wedding, Matt was asked to fill in for a reader at the wedding. They had taken sick. Matt was thrilled to read this excerpt.
I really think Renee’s and Greg’s wedding hit it out of the park with the clear expectations. When RSVPing the online form made sure that every guest knew they would (1) be required to show proof of vaccination and (2) wear a mask at the ceremony. If you didn’t say yes to those things, your only choice was to go back and change your RSVP to decline.
That said, not everyone wore their mask at all times, but most people did. And they did check our vaccination status at the door.
The table decorations were very fun. I liked the origami hearts. The wedding also came with a program that had cards for a get-to-know-people card game and a crossword puzzle.
A shot of the ceremony itself. The light was tricky in this room, so I have a lot of blurry photos.
The bridal party.
Our delightful tablemates watching the ceremony.
The person who I assume is the wedding planner. (See! Blurry!)
During the reception, there was a magician! I adore magicians.
That was my card!
The reception had an element I’d not seen before at a wedding. The bride and groom sit back to back holding one of their own shoes and one of their spouse’s shoes.
Then, questions are asked of the couple and they have to raise the shoe of the person they think was the answer. The questions were along the lines of, Who asked whom on the first date? This was a very fun activity. Greg and Renee agreed.
Obligatory self portrait, with Matt looking a little squinty.
This was a very fun wedding. There was even dancing! It’s been a long time since Matt and I shared the dance floor.
I’ll leave you to guess which decade birthday it was.
Here is the octogenarian herself, posing with which what I think was a rather marvelous chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.
We got Chinese food from Yen’s Chinese Restaurant, a family staple since the 80s, and then the birthday girl opened presents and we ate cake.
Chris and I were reminiscing about our grandfather’s 80th birthday, celebrated in 1988. We both remember exactly where the restaurant was (the Shilo Inn in Beaverton—a place we both think of as “Grandpa’s 80th birthday dinner” every time we drive by). I remember getting to skip school to attend the birthday celebration. Skipping school was a rarity with both parents being teachers.
Chris remembered more than I did. That the family with four children who lived next door to my grandparents were there. And that my grandpa gave a speech that began, “I can’t believe I’m 80. When people ask me, ‘Do you feel 80?’ I say, ‘No, I feel 90.'”
My mother remembered that one of my great aunts felt the chef should have cooked the vegetables more, because older people preferred a softer vegetable.
Neither of my aunts had any memory of this event, probably because they didn’t get to skip school to attend.
Antares, the sensitive fellow, is back at the specialty cat optometrist. He’s been having drippy eyes again.
As usual, he was a boneless kitten when it came to being examined. He will need ointment applied to his eyes multiple times a day for months, but he should be on the mend soon.
