Ericka, her husband Jason, and I

I was supposed to arrive in Newark at 5:20 pm on Friday, but my flight was delayed. I managed to weasel my way onto a flight to JFK that got in at 7:30 pm. Arriving in Newark at 10 pm wasn’t going to cut it. Jaime and I were meeting another college friend, Dave, for a Mets game that night. Dave was also in NYC from Chicago for a wedding. Luckily there was a rain delay on the game, and we arrived in the bottom of the second. As always, it was so great to see those guys again. It’s so rare that the three of us are together in the same place since we hail from Philli, Chicago, and Portland.

After the game Jaim and I found our hotel. He booked us at The Roosevelt right in midtown Manhattan, pretty sweet! Now, did I mention that my luggage didn’t end up following me to JFK? Yes, my bags were in Newark. Not convenient. Luckily, I brought my dress as a carryon so I wasn’t too worried. At worst I would have to find a pair of shoes somewhere. The airport delivered my bag straight to the hotel the next morning so it all worked out. Jaim and I woke up and went for a run in Central Park, which was great. He just took up running and we’re both signed up for half marathons this fall. After our run, we had about 30 minutes to shower and pack before checkout. We left out bags with the bellhop and grabbed lunch, then picked up the bags and headed about 20 miles east onto Long Island where the wedding was.

The ceremony was set to begin at 3 pm, and we only managed to get to the host hotel, the Marriott, at 2:30. To top it off, the host hotel is 5 miles from the church. Eek! While we were checking in, the thing which we joked about happening…happened. Ericka and the entire bridal party came down into the lobby as we were checking in. Jaim was like, “Look away, look away!” And we scampered out of there to our room as quickly as we could, so as not to be discovered. No time to do hair or makeup. We threw on suit/dress, and raced to the church. We arrived just as Ericka began to walk down the aisle. Phew! “I do,” “I do,” we had made it! Since we weren’t seated when Ericka walked down the aisle, she didn’t see me until the receiving line. Just seeing the look on her face as she saw me was worth the whole trip. And then her husband hugs me and says, “So this is the infamous Brow!” Infamous, eh? I can only imagine!

From the ceremony it was back to the hotel. There was a leather upholstered “party bus” that would bring guest between the hotel and the reception center. Unfortunately, by this time, I was beginning to develop a splitting headache. I tend to get weird migraines when I get to much sun/heat and activity. They don’t happen often, but they can be accompanied by horrible nausea, and this is what was starting to happen. I laid down at the hotel for about 10 minutes before the party bus was scheduled to leave. I had no choice, I got up and hopped on the bus. Jaime had given me an Excedrin for migraine, but it hadn’t had time to work. Normally I simply take a nap, drink some water, and wake up fine. I was pretty nervous, and rightfully so. Combine the migraine/nausea with the fact that public transport makes me sick, and I was doomed. I spent the last 90% of the trip in the party bus bathroom trying to suppress dry heaves, but by the time the bus arrived, the Excederin was beginning to kick in, and I was feeling a bit better. By the time I got into the nice, air conditioned cocktail room, I knew I would be fine. Phew!

The cocktail room was something else all together. There was a band playing along as guests were helped by about 20 servers to the most elaborate wedding feast I had ever seen: London broil, roast turkey, shish kabobs, fruit, cheese, pasta, stir fry, shrimp, oysters, calamari, even whole Maine lobsters and lobster tails! Not to mention an open bar, two illuminated ice sculptures, and maybe 15 elaborately carved water melons.

At this point, Jaim brings up the fact that the seating chart put us at table 17, but none of the tables in this room were numbered. He thinks this is just cocktail hour, and that there would be an even bigger feast elsewhere. I thought, “No way!” I was already stuffed to the gills, and the feast was fancier than any I had seen before. But he was right. We were then ushered into an even fancier room with table settings,3 foot tall centerpieces, and a second band. Now there were menus on the table, not with the choice of one or two entrees, but 10, including filet mignon, roast duckling, Norwegian salmon, etc.! And all that after three preceding courses of salad, pasta, and cheese!

Just when I though I might explode from eating nonstop for 2 hours (thankfully my dress is about a size too big), then the desert spectacle began. 12 people came out pussing 12 carts full of deserts. They formed a square and stood inside it to serve the guests. Tiramisu, fruit torts, crème brule, custards, pies, cakes, cannolis, chocolate covered fruit, banana flambé, mousse, and way more. Plus a popcorn cart that started popping popcorn, and, yes, a cotton candy machine!

Ericka’s response to all this was simply that it didn’t look like that much food when she was just checking off boxes on a piece of paper. Phew! I didn’t eat a single thing the entire next day. Oh course, there was more to the reception than food. It was a ton of fun. The crown was pretty young and everyone was enjoying themselves. Unlike at most weddings I’ve been to, the bride and groom actually got to go around and spend time chatting with their guests so I got to spend a lot more time wit Ericka than I was expecting to. Her husband went out of his way many times to thank me for coming all this way, and that it meant a lot to his wife. It made me really glad I came out, and really grateful that Jaim and my folks made it possible for me to do so. I couldn’t manage to take any pictures because both camera batteries I brought wouldn’t hold a charge, but Jaim took a few with his phone. When he sends them to me, I will post them.

Ryan borrowed a ladder from a friend of ours who does landscaping stuff for a living. Thanks to the ladder, we were able to pick a TON of cherries!

In just 45 minutes, Ryan and I filled 3 huge mixing bowls full of cherries. We gave a few pounds away to the ladder donor, and still had many pounds to spare. We’ve been munching on these for several days now, and they’re delicious.