t
o
n
y
a
n
g
'
s
 
w
e
b
l
o
g


i woke up at 9am and started coding. i made good progress but i still wasn't done. 3 hours later i ran out of time and had to get ready for alex & april's wedding down in providence. after a shower and some lunch, i tried figuring out what to wear, which was actually quite simple, considering i only have one suit. i left at 1pm, figuring 2 hours would be long enough to drive down to rhode island on this picture perfect day, blue sky and not a cloud in sight, an auspicious day for a wedding. because i don't drive very much (not owning a car helps), everytime i do is a special occasion that warrants a mix cd. unfortunately, the one i'd burned ("rhode island driving music") wouldn't play in the stereo so i had to listen to the radio instead, hearing a lot of NPR. somewhere at the intersection of 93 and 95 i suddenly panicked and veered off-course (towards cape cod) when i thought i was driving down the wrong high way. one long u-turn later i was back on track, and finally arrived in providence (funny, seems like i was just here yesterday!) around 2:30pm.

the wedding was at the bella vista restaurant, located on top of a hill directly next to a river. i left the car key with the valet and headed down. people were still setting up for the wedding, photographers and videographers figuring out the best spots to take their shots. while wedding organizers were decorating the chuppah for this jew-talian matrimonial service. i ran into nick bundy, best man, and he told me where to go to get drinks. soon everyone arrived, including dana and elle, james and jaime, and adam and zella and michelle. we were all ushered to an amphtheatre-like court area for the ceremony. decked out in my black suit i got pretty hot, but it was a dry heat, and there was occasionally a gentle breeze. i wore my complimentary red yarmulka, custom-imprinted with the names of the bride and groom.

after the ceremony came the hours of refreshments. i chatted with the old squid crew, including carly and her husband. i hit the open bar for 3 cokes as the live musicians played on. at one point i wandered off to take some photos of the firewood baskets for the waterfire display, and when i looked back to the restaurant most of the people had already gone in for the reception dinner.

i found my table from the small bottle of complimentary olive oil what my name and table number printed on it. i sat with the other squid folks upstairs. the bride and groom had a little exclusive alcove reserved for them in the corner of the restaurant downstairs, which we could see over the balcony. the best man gave a speech (nick talked about how alex helped him out when his house burned down), followed by katrinka (alex's business partner for almost the past decade, she said something about how april and alex are like family), then the parents of the bride and groom added a few words. there was some good eating, including some lobster-stuffed ravioli and a large piece of filet mignon. on the table everyone had a glass of wine, a flute of champagne, and a glass of water. waiters kept on appearing asking us if we wanted generous refills.


insalata mista

lobster stuffed ravioli

filet mignon & grilled chicken breast

eventually alex and april made it upstairs to greet everyone. we were the last table they saw, and was surprised when they sat in the small empty table directly behind us, apparently a secret place for the bride and groom to grab some dinner and a bit of privacy. alex, a strict atkins follower, indulged in some carbohydrates on his wedding day. april informed us of the catfight that was happening between her cousin and alex's cousins. her cousin, who bore a resemblance to donatella versace, thought that alex's cousins were trying to steal her fiancee, so she spread some rumor about how the two girl cousins flashed one of april's younger cousins. it was very scandalous, montagues versus the capulets, but made for good entertainment. jaime had also heard some girls in the bathroom bad-mouthing another girl.

with dinner nearly over, it was time to dance. family and friends gathered downstairs along with the happy couple and lifted them up in the air on chairs. it seemed like a spontaneous outpouring of celebration, ending in a conga line that snaked through the restaurant. at least one of the waiters even joined in the fun.

an announcement was made that waterfire had begun outside, so i ate a few more bites of my food before going out to take a look. now i'd heard good things about waterfire, but after seeing it for myself, it really isn't anything that spectacular. i thought maybe there'd be water shooting up in the air and smoke machines and laser beams, but all it was were baskets of wood burning fires with speakers playing forlorn classical music. nevertheless, i left the restaurant to walk the perimeter of the river to take some snapshots. the embers made for nice photos.

when i came back in minutes later, some of the guests had already left. i caught adam and michelle leaving with zella, and said good bye to them. inside was a giant chocolate fountain with various food used for dipping. a swarm of children crowded the sweet structure, poking at the brown syrup with marshmellows stuck on skewers. after i said good bye to alex and april, i went to claim the car and drove back home. after getting changed into my riding gear, i left cambridge and went to belmont to return the car and to ride the bike back.