June 12-15, 2019 Wednesday to Saturday Days 24-27
Wednesday
Now the real festivities start. The last of the guests arrived. They came from other points in Europe and late arrivals from the US. My son is getting his goal as many guests appear to be adding on a vacation to their trip before or after the wedding. There were cousins and other relatives that I had not seen for years.
Unfortunately it was very overcast and intermittent rain during the day. More unfortunately, my cold was at its height and my major activities during the standard daylight hours were to help set up for the evening barbeque and to move our stuff to the wedding residence complex. I did not do well with either of them and spent a good part of the day in bed. I really had no idea what most of the others did during the day, although while I was moving to the wedding residence complex it appeared that many were just hanging out there.
The evening was also overcast, but that was just an excuse for having a barbeque at Summer's place. Bruno and Karen did lots of shopping during the afternoon including 4 types of meat, the goose was the most exotic. There were about 40 people there and notwithstanding the weather I think all had a very good time. Bruno handled the barbeque under the gazebo and most people ate indoors. Lots of French wine that flowed freely.
Thursday
I was still feeling the lingering effects of the cold, but I was able to go to the store to buy snacks for the people hanging out at the residence complex. The weather was good and many guests fanned out to visit local attractions. One son had hand carried a piñata that a friend of his had made in Argentina. It was battered by the kids and grandkids.
The big daily event was a catered dinner at the residential complex. Part was outside, but part of the festivities were in a cave that extended 50 feet into the rockface. Fun dinner with lots of social interaction. I got to interact with relatives that I had not spoken with in years. Good food and drink.
Friday
This was the day, the wedding ceremony. Started off by the male cousins and siblings and myself making a chuppah at the wedding venue. The activity was held at the private home of one of Summer's friends. We cut down bamboo shoots on the grounds and bound them together into a chuppah structure It took us about 2..5 hours to complete the construction, place it in position and decorate it. Then we went off to lunch.
Invitees began to gather on the house grounds in the mid-afternoon for the ceremony. I engaged in a 15 minute or so conversation with my ex-spouse. Nothing earth shattering, just a, civil, superficial conversation catching up on what we had been doing the past half dozen years. I was told that some of our offspring were agog that we could have such a conversation and had been assuming for years that we could not be in the same room. Fooled them.
The ceremony was light hearted and memorialized by several speakers, including myself and my ex-spouse. Again no fireworks. Dinner was good and the entertainment that followed was fun. We ended up going well past 11:00 pm and were finally shooed out of the cave by 12:30 am by our host.
Saturday
Recovery day. Many people left in the morning and I did not see them to say goodbye.
A number of us took a trip to Chombord Castle. For a few hours we just lay around and had an ongoing picnic. Then most went into and walked around the castle. Elliot ad I and Freddy got some bikes and rode around the grounds.
We ate leftovers for dinner and packed up to leave the next morning.
Wednesday
Now the real festivities start. The last of the guests arrived. They came from other points in Europe and late arrivals from the US. My son is getting his goal as many guests appear to be adding on a vacation to their trip before or after the wedding. There were cousins and other relatives that I had not seen for years.
Unfortunately it was very overcast and intermittent rain during the day. More unfortunately, my cold was at its height and my major activities during the standard daylight hours were to help set up for the evening barbeque and to move our stuff to the wedding residence complex. I did not do well with either of them and spent a good part of the day in bed. I really had no idea what most of the others did during the day, although while I was moving to the wedding residence complex it appeared that many were just hanging out there.
The evening was also overcast, but that was just an excuse for having a barbeque at Summer's place. Bruno and Karen did lots of shopping during the afternoon including 4 types of meat, the goose was the most exotic. There were about 40 people there and notwithstanding the weather I think all had a very good time. Bruno handled the barbeque under the gazebo and most people ate indoors. Lots of French wine that flowed freely.
Thursday
I was still feeling the lingering effects of the cold, but I was able to go to the store to buy snacks for the people hanging out at the residence complex. The weather was good and many guests fanned out to visit local attractions. One son had hand carried a piñata that a friend of his had made in Argentina. It was battered by the kids and grandkids.
The big daily event was a catered dinner at the residential complex. Part was outside, but part of the festivities were in a cave that extended 50 feet into the rockface. Fun dinner with lots of social interaction. I got to interact with relatives that I had not spoken with in years. Good food and drink.
Friday
This was the day, the wedding ceremony. Started off by the male cousins and siblings and myself making a chuppah at the wedding venue. The activity was held at the private home of one of Summer's friends. We cut down bamboo shoots on the grounds and bound them together into a chuppah structure It took us about 2..5 hours to complete the construction, place it in position and decorate it. Then we went off to lunch.
Invitees began to gather on the house grounds in the mid-afternoon for the ceremony. I engaged in a 15 minute or so conversation with my ex-spouse. Nothing earth shattering, just a, civil, superficial conversation catching up on what we had been doing the past half dozen years. I was told that some of our offspring were agog that we could have such a conversation and had been assuming for years that we could not be in the same room. Fooled them.
The ceremony was light hearted and memorialized by several speakers, including myself and my ex-spouse. Again no fireworks. Dinner was good and the entertainment that followed was fun. We ended up going well past 11:00 pm and were finally shooed out of the cave by 12:30 am by our host.
Saturday
Recovery day. Many people left in the morning and I did not see them to say goodbye.
A number of us took a trip to Chombord Castle. For a few hours we just lay around and had an ongoing picnic. Then most went into and walked around the castle. Elliot ad I and Freddy got some bikes and rode around the grounds.
We ate leftovers for dinner and packed up to leave the next morning.
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