Last weekend the girls and I drove to Calgary for my cousin’s wedding. We drove through the mountains, staying the night at Lake Louise and then in Invermere on the way back. (Jason, in the meanwhile, spent the weekend in Las Vegas studying about eye surgery. He hit the poker tables, too, I am told.)
The wedding itself was absolutely lovely. P and S got married in the River Café, on an island in the middle of the Bow River. The little restaurant is rustic, but has delectable food. I learned that my cousin married a fellow foodie! I was so pleased to see the menu, because I knew they would enjoy all the home canning and organic small vineyard wine that we brought from British Columbia as their wedding gift.
The ceremony was outside overlooking the river, with many of us wrapped up in blankets to watch. S’s dress was absolutely lovely, and the ceremony was personal and touching. It was the first wedding the girls have ever been to, and the bar was set high. At the end of the ceremony, they toasted with champagne and the girls enjoyed their sparkling lemonade.
The girls were the only children at the wedding… But they behaved amazing well. Both of them went a little bananas with the appetizers post-ceremony. But children do get hungry by 7 o’clock in the evening. Spice had multiple plates from the charcuterie platter, while Sugar could not be extracted from the oyster bar. Sugar told me that she had five oysters… And yes, she likes them raw and without sauce!
Then there was a lovely four course meal, come followed by a dance. The girls got up in between courses to visit with family, and make the rounds. We also got a chance to sit with our own little clan, and catch up and enjoy each other’s company. It’s not very often that all of us get together and nobody is cooking or doing dishes! We were only missing my brother’s girlfriend and my dear husband.
The dance was fun! And the girls had an amazing time. I told them that they could stay up as late as they wanted, and they made it all the way until 11 o’clock at night. The funny thing was, that they were so awestruck by “the bride,” that they did not show off the regular moves! instead, they danced with the 30 something single women, and took turns dancing with grandpa, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I could tell that they were a little nervous and very excited, because they were so subdued. Finally around 11 o’clock, they started almost falling over from exhaustion. So we bundled them up and took them off to my aunt’s for the night.
Big thanks to my cousin and his new bride for their wonderful hospitality, and for including our children as well as the rest of the family. We all had such a lovely time, and the girls will be talking for quite a while about “the bride’s dress” and the oysters.
