It was a special day on a cloudy Sunday afternoon in
August. Our son, Jonathan, was married
to the love of his life, Tracie.
I have cobbled together iPhone photographs and even a
couple of videos which capture the spirit of the event and that will be the
bulk of this entry. Let the pictures do
the talking.
My own personal journey for this big moment in my life
began with a visit to Felice, my long standing barber of my adult years, a
couple of days before the wedding. I
make a point of this because his partner Tommy, who is now ill, gave Jonathan
his first haircut. That’s how far back
we go. I’ve watched them age as they’ve
watched me.
The night before the wedding, we hosted a very informal,
casual dinner at our hotel with a few of our out of town friends. Ann is pictured here with Sydelle, Art and
Marge with Chris in the background.
We’ve been to many weddings, but this one was the best of
them all. Yes, easy for a parent to
say. Each child’s wedding is usually the
best (although we’ve been to ones where there was open warfare between the
bride and groom’s family), but I say this as objectively as possible.
There are special reasons.
First, since we are boaters, as is Jonathan, and, now,
his bride, Tracie, they chose a venue on the water. For this reason the bride and groom specified casual/boating dress, no suits, ties, or formal dresses. It had to be one of the more comfortable
weddings we’ve ever been to.
One photograph captures all who were at our own wedding,
Ann’s long time friend, Arlene, and then our son Chris, and Ann’s niece,
Regina, who were both little kiddies at the time. Absent from the photograph was Melissa, Ann’s
cousin’s daughter, as she was taking her own photograph of the group.
But here she is with the bride and groom, and I have to
thank her for the two videos she took, the links to which are below.
I was able to get together with three of my oldest
friends, Bruce from my college days, Ron, a close colleague from my publishing
days, and Ray from my boating days. That
may never happen again so it is good to have this photograph marking the
occasion.
The entire ceremony bespoke of informality.
We first walked down the aisle with our son, Ann beaming as was I.
Then finally, the lovely bride Tracie and her parents
showing their special pride and love as well.
Ed, a close friend of Tracie’s, who is an ordained
minister as well, officiated. Vows they
wrote to one another were exchanged as the maid of honor, Katie, and the best
man, Alec, looked on
The bride and groom were radiant after becoming man and
wife.
Immediately following the wedding, the guests enjoyed an
outdoor raw bar of clams and oysters plus shrimp, Champagne, wine, and
cocktails, a fabulous Bloody Mary Bar and other hors d'oeuvres as well as
passed platters of delectable appetizers.
Alec, Jonathan’s Best Man, announced the newlyweds as they entered the dining room where a delicious
luncheon was served. Ann and I felt such
joy and happiness for them both.
Alec delivered the first toast, many funny anecdotes
about their days in college and many tender moments as well. He enabled me to see my son from a different
perspective further lifting my sense of delight on this special day. Alec can be seen here on the left with
Jonathan’s brother, Chris.
Tracie’s Maid of Honor
described their special relationship and dwelled on what a warm, caring person
Jonathan married. Here’s Katie on the
left with June, another dear friend and one of Tracie’s bride’s maids.
Tracie’s father, Alan, delivered a moving toast describing
the importance of water symbolizing harmony in Asian culture, marking this occasion
on the water with two very harmonious people.
Clearly, Alan and his wife, Patricia, feel the same way about Jonathan
as we do about their daughter, Tracie.
Then for our turn, we decided to do something
different. Ann and I wrote a brief
speech which she delivered, except for the toast. The essence of our preliminary words is how we
look at our beautiful Tracie as the daughter we always dreamed of having,
welcoming her and her parents into our family.
It included the lyrics to a song, Two
for the Road, that we thought captures Jonathan and Tracie’s relationship. I followed the lyrics with the melody on the
piano. Here is a link to our“performance”.
After a delightful, fun-filled meal, the bride and groom
cut the requisite cake (my favorite, carrot!).
Soon we were all outside to wish them goodbye as they departed. It was a walk down a
bubble filled path, a video of which can be seen here.
A wonderful wedding, two sets of very happy parents, and
why not, their “kids” in love and dedicated to each other!
