Monday, August 12th - it was a wedding with a twist

It's a comfortable 16' this morning under clear skies looking for a high later of 24' that will feel like 28'. Perfect weather for those attending Old Home Week festivities. It predicted to stay that way all week - let's hope their right. On the other hand, sometimes it's not a bad thing when they get it wrong. All last week they were predicting rain for the entire day on Saturday. We did get rain on Friday, and lots of it at times, and it carried through the night and into the early morning. When we got up on Saturday it was looking pretty dismal and gray and very threatening. But by afternoon it was beautiful. The sun was shining and it was lovely and warm.

We arrived at the brides parents home promptly at 1:00 ready to get to work. I had been there a week before and the space was an old potato wharehouse that had been emptied and cleaned but that was it. You can't imagine the transformation when I saw it again a week later.

The transformation was amazing and beside the dining area they had created a kitchen of sorts. The cooking area was a fairly  rustic space but well equipped and quite functional. There were 3 full size stoves as well as a fridge and numerous tables for working on. Two other fridges nearby supplied additional chilling space.

Someone has a very keen eye for decorating and details. The entire thing was absolutely beautiful.

There were little touches all around that made it really interesting.

Because the bride and groom have traveled extensively around the world, they've met many people along the way and some where there for the event. A large map encouraged visitors from around the world to write notes and indicate where they had come from. Photos of people and friends around the world were also displayed. The old mail box was the ideal place for guests to deposit cards and envelopes.

A not so clear shot of the guest enjoying their dinner.


A friend of the couple had made buckets of pasta sauce and we're not sure who made the seafood chowder, but there were buckets of that as well.

The ceremony itself took place at the home of the bride and groom, across the road. Then everyone congregated in the parents yard for mussels and seafood chowder before sitting down to a pasta dinner. There were some challenges involved in cooking the pasta but for the most part it went very well. To avoid any of the 100 plus guests eating overcooked pasta, it was cooked in small batches so timing was key to get everyone fed in as fairly timely a manner as possible. It still took a fair bit of time but everyone seemed pleased with the final result.

I can't say thank you enough to our good friend Brenda. She was there every step of the way and was a tremendous help. It would have been very difficult without it, so thanks to you my friend.

Dessert was serve yourself from a table laden with various cakes, squares, trifle, strawberry shortcake, etc. Once the dessert table was set up, we took in upon ourselves to move it out to the bar area, where there was much more room. A good decision on our part. The original location would have been quite difficult for people to get to.

I'm constantly learning new things about my adopted home here on the island. One important thing I took away was the wedding punch. I'm used to simple punch recipes that may have a little vodka in them. That's not the case here. As the recipe was written out on a recipe card, it appears that it has been used many times and is likely an old island favorite. Gotta love any recipe that starts out with 40 ounces of 'shine'

We were finished up around 9:30 and all headed home. A short trip back on Sunday morning to retrieve the pots and various other cooking items. Again thanks to Brenda and to Bernie for the use of his truck.