Back in September, after 86 years of being engaged, Alex and Jessie finally got married up in her hometown of Cooperstown NY. There's a whole bunch to the tale of this weekend we got to spend up there, which by the way, is like a fake little movie set town. It was colorful, flowerful, and had perfect weather. Everyone seemed to know everyone (and their business) and also, the place is on a lake. What a dream that Cooperstown is.
Anyways, Brett and I got to town on Thursday because I was the florist for this celebration and I had prep work to do. Jessie's step-Dad, Frank, picked us up from the airport in Albany and drove us the hour to Cooperstown. We've met Frank once before we he came to Charleston to visit Jessie and we really liked him. We even adopted a phrase of his, "chilly willy penguin bones!" during that visit that we still shout when we're cold. But on this hour together in the car, Frank and I fell madly in love. He's so accidentally endearing and funny while he finds me witty and engaging. Brett is also part of this love triangle, as he has no end of oddball questions that Frank always has interesting answers for. We were a happy trio all weekend and often times we would catch Frank's eyes from across the room and then we'd all twinkle at each other. What a great welcome to the wedding weekend.
There is no end to the things that went on over the next few days. Brett and I joined a family dinner on the lake, visited the town coffee shop, had the best tomatoes we've ever eaten, and also he picked me up, hung me by my ankles and then spun in circles. It made me so sick that I lost my color and had to sit extremely still for two hours. Jessie was very worried about me. Brett experienced great remorse. That's the worst I've felt in a long time.
Now back to those tomatoes. Jessie's mom, Maryann, grew them and she had no idea they were anything special at all. We were just making a quick lunch when Brett sliced and tasted a tomato and his face contorted into something I haven't seen. He looked down at the tomato and I realized he was having a religious experience. " Lue, you have to try this," he said in disbelief. He was right. It was unlike any tomato we've ever had. We looked up at Maryann.
"What is this?"
The tomatoes?" she asked, "I don't know. I got the plant at Lowes." We asked Frank and Maryann if they've ever had tomato pie. "No, what is that?"
"What is this?"
The tomatoes?" she asked, "I don't know. I got the plant at Lowes." We asked Frank and Maryann if they've ever had tomato pie. "No, what is that?"
"It's like a pizza after it does a semester in the South," I explained. So the next day, Brett whipped one up for us... I mean, them.... he and I ate most of it.
We go on to take the seeds from those tomatoes home with us. We have high hopes and low expectations for planting them this Spring.
We stayed with Jessie's folks for the back half of our long weekend, and Maryann setup a makeshift flower shop for me in the garage, so I processed and sorted flowers as soon as they were delivered on Friday so that I could go meet Alex and Jessie's friends for bonfire night at the brewery. There were a handful of events like this one before the wedding on Sunday and they were so much fun that Brett and I wound up feeling a little dejected. We wish we had people like these living close by in Charleston. Everyone was so joyful and open-minded and creative. "Maybe we need to move someplace... more alive?" Also, us bachelorette weekend gals were reunited and it was so much fun. It was very interesting to meet each of the gal's other halves and then transpose the stories we told about them onto the person before our eyes. Lydia and Brett were on the same page right away and took to some witty banter that carried on throughout the weekend. I enjoyed just listening to them play off each other.
I spent the days working on flowers and the evenings celebrating with the friends. Brett mostly stuck around to help me but he did go off to a few occasions that I didn't have time for. We had a greenery fiasco that threw an extremely stressful wrench into the ceremony decor plans. First the greenery delivery was delayed one day, then two, then I found out it wasn't coming at all. I feigned like it was no big deal in front of Jessie and Maryann, but then I'd grab groomsmen by the elbows and inform them that they were going foraging in the morning. A handful of the agreed but then the daytime proved to be too exciting and no one showed up. Brett went foraging on his own, dressed head to toe in tickproof clothing borrowed from Alex. I've never loved a man with his pants tucked into his socks more that I did that day. I was very stressed and it's awful to be the only stressed person on such a celebratory whirlwind weekend of fun.
Finally the big day rolled around, and so did some big grey clouds. Don't it figure? We watched the radar all morning - it was grey out but it wasn't raining. Even though I had some flower business to install before the ceremony, I spent the morning with all the girls getting ready at Maryann's house. Other than the weather concerns, it was a cheerful, slightly queazy vibe in the house and all the gal's took turns having their hair done. I was very excited to have my hair done. I don't know how to fix my hair but I love a little curl on the bottom and a bit pinned back on the sides - so that's what I asked for and that's what they did. I loved it and felt very pretty.
When the time came, I slipped out of the house and dashed over to the venue to build two flower columns. I had exactly enough time to do this, jump into my dress, and then meet the bridal party for photos. Well it dumped rain on my fresh $90 hair-do while I was out there in the elements tucking in daisies. I became enraged. The ONE time I paid money to have my hair look nice. I didn't even pay for nice hair on MY wedding day. Also, I was cold and alone. Alex and the groomsmen arrived a pinch ahead of schedule so Brett came down to the lake to find me. He saw my wet rat hair and look of distain and sent me on into the venue to get dressed. He finished flowering the columns for me, and I don't think I've ever loved a man in a bow tie and rental suit more than I did that day.
I dashed up the stairs of the museum and into the "Bridal suite." It was empty in there which was nice for me except that I had no one to zip up my dress. I put my head under the hand drier and had to take out the little hair pins that had previously held up so much potential. Now they were loose and tangled. I put on my dress, changed my shoes, and then stuck my head out into the hallway. It was a medieval art exhibit.
"Hey," I said to a nearby couple, "excuse me?" They both turned their heads with raised eyebrows. "Would you mind zipping me up?" They looked at each other as if they didn't know who I was talking to. "You please, the girl." I stepped into the threshold and turned around, presenting her with my vulernabitily. "Thank you," I said. "There were supposed to be a bunch of girls in here but I guess I'm running late." Well I'll go ahead and tell you that the strange girl couldn't or wouldn't zip me up. She gave it a gentle tug and when it didn't budge she gave up.
"It's not going to zip," she told me as if I knew this already and was in denial. Frankly I was shocked. I had put the dress on many times before this day and knew that if anything, I had too much room up top.
"It will," I told her, "You just have to give it a good tug." She gently tried agin. "Just pull it!" I said.
"It won't go. I'm sorry." And then she left me there in the hallway with the back of my dress flopped open. She grabbed onto the arm of the embarrassed-for-me man she was with and they hustled down the hall as if I was a potential threat.
I stepped back into the dressing room and called Brett, but he didn't answer. When it was time to take matters into my own hands, I spun the dress around backwards, zipped it up (effortlessly, I might add) and then began the task of spinning it back around again. This is when desperation kicked in. I crouched down into a low squatting position and reached as far around myself as I could, then I yanked and yanked. I took a few breaks in there to catch my breath and I pulled a strange muscle in my neck, but eventually I got all tucked in and had too much room in the front still, thanks very much gallery girl. I dashed downstairs, looked everywhere for the bridesmaids, found no one, and then sat on the front porch for 20 minutes waiting like a damp damsel who was ditched by her prince. The girls were very late. Guests began arriving and and hiding from the rain in the museum while the groomsmen had their pictures taken. I was so amped up from the frantic flower installation and dress wrangling that sitting quietly on a bench when the wedding was supposed to start in 5 minutes had me all kinds of anxious.
Eventually, about half and hour late, Jessie trudged down the muddy aisle and our two favorite friends got married overlooking a lake in the rain.
The rain took the pressure out of the wedding ceremony. With expectations of perfection off the table, everyone relaxed and laughed and joked about the soggy mess of a day. Alex and Jessie both have ties to Scotland and went to Scotland for their honeymoon so we all found it fitting that they would have "a very Scottish day." Speaking of which, a bagpiper played us out as we all trudged back up the hill.
I just really love this picture.
The rest of the day carried on like a big celebration should. Eating, dancing, speeches, etc. So I'll just leave a handful of photos as the celebrating carried on.
Brett was harassing me to finish it so we could go join the rehearsal dinner, which was at a greenhouse full of flowers and twinkle lights. A brilliant idea.
She loved it. Alex said it looks just like her.
Please note; those are not all my drinks, and look at the water line on my dress.
It stayed damp alllll night long.
The weekend ended with a farewell brunch at Maryann's and then Frank drove us back to the airport. It was a doozie of a weekend; a real emotional roller coaster for everyone - but especially Brett who had to contend with my greenery panic. We were exhausted when we got home but also thrilled for our precious friends.
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