Congratulations to my friends Patricia and Yi-Fang on their wedding last Saturday! The consensus observation of the guests, which I shared, is that this was a great wedding, and I’m going to ruin the memory of it, of course, by analyzing why.
- For the bride and groom, the planning period was short. They started the planning around a month in advance, which means the pain was over quickly.
- Home weddings can be very comfortable and personal. Not everyone has access to a backyard that can accommodate a couple hundred guests, but, if you do, it will work well. (The lake across the street and the vineyard next door were nice, too).
- The weather was perfect — sunny and clear but not too warm — a perfect April afternoon.
- The food was distinctive, personal and delicious. Nothing fancy at the reception, just yummy comfort food prized by the bride: catered mini-cheeseburgers, mini-corn dogs, fish & chips, chicken tenders and . . . drum roll, please . . . root beer floats! And the wedding banquet included a litany of Chinese special occasion dishes, including shark’s fin soup, lobster and abalone.
- The entire occasion was filled with humor underscored by warmth and affection. I’ve never been to a more entertaining wedding. The wedding officiant was a close friend of the bride and groom and the ceremony itself was spruced with anecdotes and edgy teasing. The toasts at the wedding were riotously funny and more roast than congratulations at times.
