I started Saturday morning by trying to drag my exhausted, PDT, hungover ass out of bed. I hadn't been on a bender in a long time and that was a lot of fun. But wow was it hard to get up the next morning.
The parents and I toured the renovated town square, which was perfectly charming (if not bustling). I am impressed with Gainesville. Sure, Atlanta just keeps on sprawling and I suppose they anticipate the sprawl will eventually encroach on their town. They have been working for ten years on their Gainesville 2030 plan—now that is strategic planning. They have added lanes to the Interstate, added exchanges, and just generally pumped up the infrastructure. There is all sorts of new development, from local business and retail areas to large residential "expensive homes on the lake" developments.
The town square, while actually centuries old, looks spankin' new as the historic buildings have just undergone preservation/renovation, all of the shops and restaurants are new, and the brickwork and concrete is all freshly laid.
But for a Saturday, it was not exactly the center of the town's activity.
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(So that's what the Mo Barr looks like in the daylight...)
We took lunch at a little crêperie, which is something foreign and fancy in these here parts. They were very savory and traditional, even if the venue was trying a bit too hard to have a French vibe—too many craft store/inauthentic "French" accents for my taste.
But the illy coffee was an especially nice surprise.
As part of the new millennium design, the town square featured a scale model of the solar system. At one corner of the square was a scale model of the sun,
and at the opposite corner was a plaque with a pea-sized earth (and pin-sized moon) in relative distance and size away from the sun. The other planets extended through the town and made for a nice science walking tour.
We, those who had flown in for the wedding but were not necessarily in the wedding party, had planned on a pool party for Saturday afternoon. I had particularly fixated on a poolside fantasy and brought pool gear and a sense of desperation one can only get from living in the fog of a San Franciscan summer.
And what could be better for a hangover and recharge in the oppressive heat and humidity of the deep South than a day in the pool?
The local Holiday Inn, keeping their weekend track record of deplorable service, had no water in their pool.
So we spent the day drinking beer by an empty pool before brief naps and the wedding.
I want to say this again, especially if any of these guys are reading the blog, thank you for making me feel so welcome in your group. I had an awesome time and left the weekend feeling I couldn't be happier.
Clark and Tom made a trip to the super sketchy booze joint nearby and brought back 90 beers. Avoiding what carbs I can I have pretty much stopped drinking beer and am behind on beer can technology. I was introduced to the wide-mouth-for faster-drinking Coors can, as well as the new "vented" pop top design to ease your drinking pleasure.
I was grateful for an ice cold beer in the share. As were they, as they offered me a taste of what they were drinking before the beer run:
The Cabernet Spritzer: Born of Desperation
This may be when I began to fall in love with Laura.
There was not much in the way of food shopping nearby, and they brought back what they could. Unfortunately, that amounted to Wheat Thins and kielbasa.
But it was on a cloth napkin (don't ask me where they found that), so that made it classy.
Of course, as it always does, this led to a round of "kielbasa quarters."
(I know I posted this before but it so bears repeating.)
Tom and Justin are my heroes.
Jay and Bradley made it in form Nashville in time for the wedding. The wedding service was beautiful, and I left my family to accompany Liz, enjoying our time together but feeling somewhat like I was ditching my family.
The reception, back at the CCC, was off the hook.
When we arrived after the service, drinks and nibbly bits were being served on the lawn with a classical string trio. It was initially sparse and sedate. Having been here for a day already I knew several people. Brother Jay knew no one. I offered, "well, let me introduce you to my new best friends Wil and Christian."
"Can we get a drink first."
"Funny you should say that: Wil and Christian and the bartenders. We're close."
For the seated dinner, I again chose to spend some quality time with my new friends rather than site with my kin. For heaven's sakes I was just home last weekend and am going back next. These guys I might not see again. And our table was much more fun.
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One of the better stories of the night came from Umberto, Grace's (bridesmaid) boyfriend.
After Grace went to be all bridesmaidy, he spent the afternoon chilling in the hotel. After he showered and "did his hair," he was getting dressed only to discover he had forgotten that his suit pants were not in the suit bag. He called Grace, who was in the limo (and had packed her cell phone between her amples) who promptly lost it on him and vetoed any possibility of wearing his jeans no matter how nice they were. Umberto missed the ceremony by searching all over Gainesville for a pair of black pants that could blend with his suit. He did a great job of finding a suitable pair, but it was an effort. He got nothing but grief from locals when he asked is there was a Macy's or a Bloomingdale's nearby. He ultimately found success at a Marshalls.
One guest, Jason I believe, a lithe, limber absolutely 'licious little closet case, brought a large picture frame and explained it was a German custom to take snapshots of the guests in the frame and give a collage to the bride and groom later. This proved to be much fun.
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Of course, I tend to talk a lot and gesture even more, and at one point I flailed my arm just at the right time to spill Stacey's red wine all down her left boob and dress. Luckily for me/her, it was a black dress and I managed to miss all of the white stitching. But still.
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Later I learned that someone else spilled wine down her other side.
While I'm at it, a shout out to Christian who is clearly the best bartender in the county.
(The handsome didn't hurt either.)
With the Latins in full force, the music and the dancing were salsa hot hot hot. The dancing was fun, and even Fran the Man, celebrated dancer herself, shone on the dance floor. Mom and Dad were super troupers and stayed until the end.
Then again, I was their ride home.
As wedding party favors, guests received wooded Columbia shot glasses. These are designed to be worn around the neck and some strong, annis-flavored Columbian liquor was freely pouring into the shot glasses.
Amy Amidei
I think that was the beginning of the end.
Speaking of the end, it's time I wrapped this up.
All in all, this was a weekend full of happy.
A final shout out to my new buddies across the country. Thanks for the fun.
And of course love and thanks to the all the Amideis!
Photos!
All photos are up in my DotMac Web galleries (Friday and Saturday shots and the Reception) and on Flickr (Rehearsal Dinner, Saturday Afternoon, and Wedding Reception sets).
Adding your own photos:
You can download individual photos or the entire gallery by using the links on the page. You can also upload your photos to these galleries using the "Upload" feature at the top of the page. If it's easier, you can upload photos to these galleries by sending your photos in e-mails addressed to:
Friday and Saturday gallery: wilsonh-3mrx@post.mac.com
Wedding Reception gallery: wilsonh-k348@post.mac.com
Alternatively, upload your photos to your own flickr account and join this group: Jeff and Carolina's Wedding
From your own account, use the batch operations to send your photos to this pool. It's public so you should able to join it without any approval process.
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