Pictures of Ricki's Daughter's Wedding

September 1st was a gorgeous day for Ricki's oldest daughter, Jennifer to marry her handsome beau, Jason Novak in an outdoor wedding.  There were 150 guests of all ages and one dog, Hadley, who belongs to the bride and groom. 

The wedding took place at a restored barn on a working farm and orchard in Whately, MA (Quonquont Farm).

The barn above is the view when you first drive into the farm.

The event barn looks relatively plain on the parking side, because the outdoor patio is on the other side.

When I took these pictures, the floral centerpieces hadn't yet arrived, so you will have to imagine how gorgeous the room looked a few hours later.

This bar included a few fancy coffee drinks, so along with the bartenders, there was a Barista for much of the evening.

This is the view from the patio.  Jason made the birch bark canopy (chuppa) and Ricki's sister Marcy wove grape vines into it.

The tables were numbered and each party had an envelope with their number on it.  (This system worked well because some of the tables had crayons for the children and others were set to accommodate the special needs of the guests.)

Ricki arrived four hours early to finish some of the food preparation work she had done the day before - specifically, she and Marcy dipped about a thousand strawberries in chocolate for the hors d'oeuvres trays.  The day before, Ricki had already made about a million mascarpone stuffed dates and four huge cheese platters with grapes and figs.

At the last minute she changed into her wedding clothes, then she danced and cavorted until late evening.  (That kind of energy must come from the Cheese Queen's magic wand because mere mortals can only aspire to have it!)

Speaking of energy, these handsome young men who work together as teachers at their day jobs, managed to set up and run the bar, serve hors d'oeuvres, fill glasses, light candles, clear the tables, and clean everything up for nine straight hours (with smiles on their faces the whole time).  From left, Matt, Rob and Ryan - we salute you!

Before the Ceremony

At left, one of the servers from the nearby Whately Inn passed hors d'oeuvres.  The inn catered this event and both the food and service were perfect.

When guests first arrived, they were availed themselves of Ricki's hors d'oeuvres and flutes of champagne.

A few also found the biscotti at the coffee bar, including Ricki's brother, Peter (at left, wearing one of the dress-up hats from the photo booth) and Ricki's sister's husband, Hans.

This dashing guest is what we call a "friend in deed." The day before the wedding, he ironed all the tablecloths in the room with a hopelessly inadequate iron, which took hours of time and the will of a saint.  At the actual wedding, he even passed out a few hors d'oeuvres when we asked him to.

Ricki's youngest daughter, Sarah enjoyed a romantic moment with her husband, Mark.

The Ceremony

This is as close as I could come to taking a picture of the actual ceremony.  (I just don't have the nerve to hold up a camera during special occasions like this.)  However, I will post another article  when the official pictures are released.

After the Ceremony

When she came inside, right after the ceremony, Jen looked about as happy and beautiful as any bride could look!  Then she was immediately whisked away to have her pictures taken.

The guests mingled while they waited for the couple to emerge ...

and, finally, they appeared in the room for their first dance ...

At this point, I had tears in my eyes so it was hard to hold the camera.  My undoing was the look of complete adoration in Jason's eyes as he held Jen.  

The cake was cut ...

the newlyweds danced again ...

Jen danced with her father ...

Sarah and her mother chatted ...

and the dancing went on for hours.  Toward the end of the evening, this lovely family demonstrated the Macarena.

It was a fabulous wedding and I know all of you join me in wishing Jenny and Jason a lifetime of happiness together.