John's Wedding (No Sailing)

 

Although it was a beautiful weekend, we once more had no chance to sail because it was John's wedding to Jessica.  This fun event took place at a farm complex which is managed by Joe (Jess's father, below) and he has worked tirelessly over the past year to transform this weedy patch of ground we saw last year during father's day weekend into a spectacular wedding venue.  

I don't mean to imply it was just cutting weeds... this included a transformation of the building behind them, installing stone paths, rebuilding some old rock walls - it was just an amazing demonstration of the whole family's love for Jess.

We started Friday evening with a brief rehearsal at the location.

Following that it was our turn to host the rehearsal dinner.  I held this at The Oyster Point Hotel, which overlooked the Navesink River (where we first practiced sailing 10 years ago).  I pointed out to John that 10 years ago that very evening, we had our first sunset cruise that started our sailing life together.

Saturday morning started early with us leaving to drop Vicky off to meet the bride and bridesmaids at the beauty salon, before I headed over to the wedding venue to help with the final set up.

From there, I  proceeded to Joe's house where he and Debbie hosted a place for John and the groomsmen to get ready.  Jess and the bridesmaids got ready at Jess and John's home.  (All these locations are within half a mile of each other.)

Once ready, we headed around the corner to an old stable complex with magnificent views to get the formal portraits out of the way before guests arrived.

From there we headed over to the wedding venue where Vicky and I conversed with arriving family.

All four sets of parents were part of the wedding processional, so I don't have many photos from the service.  But I did manage to capture Jim (the flower girl) who came down the aisle handing out beers and flower petals for us to throw at the lovely couple.

Following the ceremony, there was a cocktail hour in the building adjacent to the venue.  They had a really cool jazz band playing for this.  We had a chance for my brother, sister and I to take a photo with the happy couple before the main reception party started.

Then we proceeded to the main tent where the first dances were held, followed by a BBQ dinner, the toasts and even a visit by the Good Humor ice cream truck!

After the cake was cut, the party continued until 10:00 PM.

I should point out that 10:00 is when the DJ closed up shop and I left the party.  My understanding is they had bonfires w/SMORES and even overnight camping for the younger crowd.

I'm not sure who gets photo credit for which photos... a gallery with photos from Rob (my brother) & Jenn, Emma (my sister), and Vicky and I containing the whole slew of photos is here.

We arrived home on Sunday and I realized both of us are exhausted.  Monday is supposed to start our vacation on Seas The Day but there might be a bit of recovery time, since it seems to be taking us a long time to prepare.