Jessica's Wedding
This Memorial Day weekend we made the 700 mile road trip to Delaware for my cousin's wedding. After driving through some horrible rain we finally made it to our half-way mark (Pittsburgh) and crashed at our hotel. We were able to relax once we got there, check it out…
We finished our drive on Friday and arrived at Grandma’s shortly after 2. After spending a few hours there helping out with wedding stuff and baking goods for the brunch, we headed to Pop-Pop and Lilly’s with Steph and ate dinner (which was DELISH) with them… Lilly made her famous zucchino provolone casserole dish and man is it good! We talked with them, showed them some pictures, and eventually retired for the night.
Saturday was the wedding day, and it started early. The wedding began at 10 but we arrived early to help with some last minute details. It was a Catholic wedding, and though long, was quite meaningful. They made many things personable, including having her mom play the flute, brother play the guitar and sing, and sisters read prayers. The church was beautifully decorated, and overall it was a good time. After the service we made the drive to the reception hall which was at the Stone Barn… and that’s exactly what it was. It was set among some of the largest blooming rhododendron I have ever seen, and a small pond with blooming flowers all around. The “barn” (although it was really a nice room with wood floors and wooden beams) was decorated simply with candles and window treatments that added touches of intimacy/personability. Jessica’s father is from Italy, and the family lived there for many years. A dozen or so Italians flew over for the wedding, and there was definitely an Italian flair to everything. They had both a “One man band” and a DJ. The soloist played his accordion and serenaded us during dinner with Italian ballads and folk songs. It was really quite nice! The food was fabulous; Aunt Linda made lasagna’s for each table that were so yummy. There was enough wine and other alcohol to make us all dance ourselves silly! The reception ended around 5, and then the clean-up began. After that we showered and changed and headed back over to the Chicco’s to continue the celebration. One of the highlights of the trip was spending time with family, many of whom Lisa hasn’t met (or only met on our wedding day). My cousin Adam got married last year, and we had not met his wife Becka yet, and we got along with them great! We ate some dinner there, and then went back to relax at grandma’s until we finally headed back to Pop-Pop’s to sleep.
Sunday was the day of the brunch, although we did get to sleep in a little. We went to grandma’s and tried to help ease the chaos over there, cutting up fruit, making runs to the neighbor’s oven (since grandma’s DOUBLE OVEN was not sufficient!). Honestly, there was food for 50, easily, when only about 30 were invited! But it was all so yummy: ham and party potatoes, sausage quiche, broccoli quiche, pineapple casserole, 7 layer salads, fruit cup, 3 kinds of specialty breads, coffee cake, Kahlua brownies, nuts, cookies… I'm sure the list goes on! Anyway, that was fabulous! David and I scooted out after a few hours. We had been invited to visit Grandpa and Cathy’s, and went over and chatted with them for a few hours. We had a good time- shared pictures, talked about our jobs, etc. Whenever we go there it always seems like a rushed time, and we are always with family, so it was nice to have some time to actually talk and have normal conversations! After a minor fiasco about our evening plans, we headed back to Pop-Pop and Lilly’s and ate subs and shrimp and played some pool and relaxed.
Monday we got up early and packed up the car. We headed to Grandma’s for a little bit to eat some leftovers from the brunch, and also to spend some time with her. Since she was so busy with all the wedding planning and brunch cooking, we hadn’t really been able to sit and talk with her much. So we did for about an hour or so, and then were on the road by 9. We made it home in 11 hours with no traffic to speak of… we really couldn’t have asked for better travels.
Overall it was a whirlwind trip (as they always are), but really wonderful. It is so hard to be so far away from family. As mentioned before, we really enjoyed spending time with David’s extended family; catching up with them and getting to know them better. In some ways I feel like I learned a lot about David though meeting them all. Even more we enjoyed the time with Mom and Dad, Steph and “the kids.” It was a pretty crazy weekend, but we managed to find time to chat and have fun together! It really is too bad we live so far away because we love them so much and really enjoy spending time with them. Steph, Brian and Laura are growing up so fast and it’s hard to miss out on that… Here are some pictures from the trip. Enjoy!
