Dancing The Night Away On Long Island

Henry and Claire, Proud Parents of the Groom

It's about 8:30 and I am sitting in my bed, drinking coffee at a hotel that used to be called the Sheraton Inn Long Island but changed it's name in the last week, and owners, to Upsky  It's a huge, older hotel, large lobby with a bar and restaurant, and full, I think since there are at least three weddings going on around her with most of the guests staying in the hotel.  We will spend the day at my sister in law Claire's house, enjoying family, and drive back to Darien tomorrow morning.

Pensive Irish Dancer

 Marisa and Her Friend Amanda

Looking back at yesterday, it seems like we did quite a bit.  It began with our packing, having breakfast, taking Cody for a walk, then driving, with Beth, to Stamford, to watch Marisa's Irish Dance class perform some of the steps they learned this summer.  It was informal, no costumes, just line after line of girls, from ages five to fourteen, strutting their stuff.  It was fun to see the little ones prancing on hard and soft shoes and, of course, Marisa was the cutest and the best.  I only wished she had danced more but they seemed to want the newest dancers to dance the most, perhaps to get them to come back during the year for lessons.  After the dance, we went back to Beth's, finished packing our car and drove to Dix Hills, Long Island, which took us about an hour and a half.  I guess we were lucky to have only one ten minute delay at a toll booth.  Traffic leaving Long Island looked horrific, as everyone seemed to be heading either north or south, for the beaches I assume.  We arrived at Claire's about 2:30 and lots of both sides of the family were there.  Fortunately, they have a large house, a great backyard replete with pool and outdoor bar, so it did not feel crowded.  We met lots of my brother in laws side of the family, many who grew up like him on Long Island and spent most of the time with Evie's three sisters.  We left for our hotel around 3:30, giving the family time to get ready for the wedding later in the night.  We checked in, relaxed and surfed the Internet, checked email and Facebook before starting to get ready for the evening wedding.

The wedding ceremony and reception took place in this amazing complex, like a large, elaborate and expensively but overdone villa in Italy, at least that seemed to be the theme, lots of dark wood and paneling and coffered ceilings everywhere.  We joked it could easily double as a funeral home. Anyways, the ceremony took place in one of the paneled rooms, which did indeed look like a small chapel.  Scott's brother, David, presided and did a great job of marrying Scott and Liz, a nice combination of humor and sentiment.  The cutest part of the ceremony was Scott and Liz's daughter who, when seeing the two, kept laughing and crying out 'Dada, Mama.'  Scott's best friend played the trumpet for the two, both coming and going, which was a nice touch.  There ceremony took all of twenty minutes, with the emphasis on bringing together two very different families, one Jewish, one catholic,  the importance of connecting and uniting that which, up to this point, had been separate and different.  The two were the picture of innocence and affection, as brides and grooms should be.  And very happy.

Liz and Scott Kartagener

We went out into the courtyard, a lovely evening to sit outside to what we, who had never been to a Long Island wedding, thought was dinner only to find out it was heavy, very heavy appetizers, seven stations worth, with meats, veggies, and seafood...you name it, they offered it.  I started with chicken, Italian sausage, and prime rib, cut in front of you, then on to calamari, shrimp, some cheese and vegetables, then back for more until I realized dinner was to come.  Also, their were waitresses walking around with trays of appetizers as well.  Music played throughout and there was a bar at at the far end where everyone seemed to tip the bartender every time they got a drink. a good gig for him.

We sat outside and schmoozed for at least an hour and then we were ushered inside to the dining room, where a stand out six piece band played just about every great dance song from the past forty or fifty years non stop the rest of the night.  They had played at Claire's step daughter's weddings so they knew how good they were.  I think it was about 8:00 when we went in to the reception and dinner hall, and we did not leave till about 12:00.  Salads were on the table to begin dinner, but we did not eat until about 9:30 as everyone was encouraged to dance, which they did, and drink which they also did, I assume, to work off the appetizers to get ready for dinner.  They had the usual promenade of the bridal party, the bride and groom dances, all of that kind of thing.  After a salad, we had sherbet, a palate refresher, before a choice of salmon, Chateaubriand, or chicken.  All were good, followed by a chocolate mousse, then cake, then coffee or tea.  Amazing night for all of us.  We got to know a couple of Claire's best friends, Monica and Susan, and their husbands, both couples outgoing and fun to be with.  We had never met them before but they knew all about Evie and me from hearing about us for the past twenty years or so.

Claire and Evie, Rockin Out

Jim, Elaine and Jean, Evie's sisters and brother in law

Evie, surprise, was the life of the party, dancing and laughing and having fun with her sisters the entire evening.  It was a great night for the bride and groom and all their families, memorable and fun.  We left about 12:30, got home around 1:00 and did not get to sleep until about 2:00.