How many times have you attended a wedding, filled with calamities and reported that it was a "real zoo"? I know what you mean. But attending a wedding in the San Francisco Zoo last Sunday was a delightful experience. Early entrance to the zoo allowed us time to check out the animals before the wedding began at 5:30 p.m. We were some of the early arrivals and enjoyed the zebra prancing around from the view from our seats. Several storks were perched along the wedding site and one wondered if they were waiting to be called into service!
Once the wedding began, the animals did not compete for attention and all went well. The groomsmen wore black slacks and black bowling shirts with white verticle stripes while the bride's attendants wore black and white strapless polka dot dresses, iced with what I have been told were shruggers? You know, the little bolero type wraps that just cover what the dress leaves bare? Their full skirts were lifted with bright red crenoline slips and red shoes covered their feet. The marriage performer wore high heels and nylons with seams. When was the last time I saw those? I think one could say this wedding was "Retro" or 50's".
A new twist was observed. It was the blessing of the rings. The attendants formed a circle around the bride and groom and after putting the rings on a ribbon, they passed the rings along to the next attendant after silently thinking words of wisdom or good wishes for the couple. At the end, Tom and Jennifer kissed long enough for me to take four pictures (a long kiss or was my camera set on sports speed?).
The cocktail hour was held outside the "Great Hall". The couples likeness had been drawn on large pieces of paper (probably by Tom, the artist) and a new type of guest book would be created after guests took their turn coloring in the picture of Tom and Jennifer, as they looked in their wedding clothes. Cars from the 50's surrounded their image and at the bottom of the page, one could write their name, where they were from and what they wished for the newlyweds. The child in all of us enjoyed talking to the docents who visited the cocktail hour. They held various animals from the zoo: an armadillo, oppossum, lizzard, baby allegator and a hawk.
The Grand Hall was beautifully decorated and once we picked up our name card, the servers knew what to serve us by the cow, chicken or fish drawn on our name card. The food was wonderful with plenty of wine and champagne to toast the couple. Dancing followed with the bride singing every song to Tom. I don't know when I have seen a happier couple. We stayed for a piece of the unusual cake - bottom layer bore flames and polka dots like their outfits, next layer was striped like a zebra, then came a layer like that of the skin of a giraffe and finally, leopard spots, I believe. By now you get the idea that the animal kingdom is important to this couple. In fact, each table at the reception was labeled with the name of a pet they now or have had. We sat at the "Snowflake" table. The favor for the guests was a small jar of honey with a white label with pink polka dots on the lid and printed with "Jennifer & Tom (with a picture of a bee) Meant to Bee 9-6-09".
We got home via the Golden Gate Bridge since the Oakland Bay Bridge was closed for the weekend and made it home by the bewitching hour. They'll be heading out for Hawaii! Thanks for including us in your delightful and memorable wedding. Congratulations.
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I'd like to add a few notes to my first "blog". First of all, Tom and Jennifer are members of my family. Tom, the groom, is the son of my cousin Linda Gracy and was a frequent guest in our home when he'd come to Sacramento to show his art at the Soloman-Dubnick gallery. And how could I forget to include a description of the ushers shoes. Loved those patent leather black and white shoes! And then there were the flames. Yes, Tom created flames on his shoes to match the ones on the front of his bowling shirt. Very original. When I figure out how to add some photos, I will.
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