Congratulations, Violet and Dillon Jacobs!
Mrs. Violet Jacobs – now that’s something I
didn’t think much about before today, and while that might be considered
old-fashioned elsewhere; it is still the norm here for our brides to take their
husband’s last name – a tradition that I plan on following when Michael and I
get married in the not-so-distant future! ;^)
Before I get to the rest of the wedding-day
news; I’ll give a big thank-you and shout-out to Mother Nature. Yes, we’ve had a fair bit of rain and some
spectacular thunderstorms roll through here today, but when it really counted
most today; she gave us sunny skies and a complete break from the rain for
about three hours this afternoon – enough time for us to get Violet to the
wedding without getting wet; see her happily married off to Dillon; and even
have a short blast of wedding photos done at the park before getting our
newlyweds to the Inn where they could stay dry through until they headed off on
their honeymoon after the reception.
Okay, with that said; let’s try to do the
rest of this update in some kind of order – starting with my early-morning
wake-up call.
That came too-soon after starting my nap; I
used some self-healing to make up for the lack of sleep; and then got ready
quickly and met up with Michael for the walk to the Inn. We were there early too so we’d have time to
get the prep work done for the holiday weekend breakfast buffet, and while that
was more work for us; working the dining room for breakfast buffets is a bit
easier for the servers while we just need to deal with drinks, refills, and
clearing away dirty dinnerware and cutlery.
Yes, there is the occasional rebel diner that doesn’t want to get in on
the buffet, but I just feel sorry for most of those poor, deluded souls that
miss out on the great food that Jacob puts together for his special meals. That meal was very popular, and while we didn’t
sell out the main dining room; we did have a big crowd; and I was kept busy
helping Miranda through until nine-thirty.
Michael and I had an extended break then,
but we didn’t really stop working – we instead helped out with getting the
combined small dining rooms set up and decorated for the wedding
reception. While a lot of that was planned
out, we were also winging it in a lot of ways today because it is a holiday
weekend; and we couldn’t just close the Inn and give Violet and Dillon all of
the dining rooms for their wedding. They
did want to have more than one hundred and fifty guests for the reception,
though; so we settled for having some overflow into the main dining room – even
though they wouldn’t be able to be in the same room for parts of the
reception. As much as was possible,
Miranda made that a kids and teens kind of overflow with some supervision for
those kids, but there were also some extended cousins and local friends that
ended up in the main dining room too.
That’s getting the story a bit out of order
already; so let’s get back on track.
Michael and I helped with the decorating
until eleven; returned to the kitchen to help with the lunch prep work; and
worked there until twelve-thirty when we were set free to go home and get ready
for the wedding. While he went home to
do that; I was on the edges of controlled wedding chaos when I got home –
partly because the thunderstorm going on at the time was a bit worrying for
some of the parents and girls in the bridal party. Back-up plans were already being used for the
bridal party photos by then, but I wasn’t involved in that while I used the
shower in Mom and Dad’s room to get cleaned up; Mom helped me with my hair; and
I got dressed there too while my room was bridal party central for Violet.
This is likely a good time to actually
mention the wedding party; since I haven’t really done that in my
journals. I have mentioned that Jake and
Stephanie were best man and matron of honor for Violet and Dillon; and it
should be no surprise that Dawn, Isabelle, and Andrew all stood with their
sister and brother. Dillon didn’t
include Chris or Martin in the wedding party, but only because he and Violet
set limits on the size of their wedding party; and he chose to have Josiah and
his best college friend, Ray, for his final two groomsmen while Violet only had
room for her best college friend, Heidi for her third bridesmaid. Rounding out their wedding party was Ethan
and Ehlana as their ring bearer and flower girl, and yes; twins are absolutely
adorable for that particularly-special wedding job!
As I mentioned, the skies cleared in time
to get Violet to the church on-time and without getting more than the soles of
her shoes wet, but there wasn’t time for many outdoor bridal party photos. I left for the church fifteen minutes before
they did; and Michael picked me up for that little hop so that I didn’t try
walking there in my heels. Walking would
have been as fast by the time he found a parking spot, but his parents wanted
the van at the Inn for later anyway; and it gave us extra options for seating
if needed after the ceremony. Michael
and I didn’t need to be seated in the sanctuary because we were part of the
music for the wedding; and we needed to rush a bit to get his guitar tuned and
then into the sanctuary to our ‘reserved spots’ in the seating that’s normally
used for the praise team. That did give
us one of the best views in the house for the ceremony, though; so that was a
great bonus for us!
Our new, expanded sanctuary hasn’t been
filled to capacity for any weddings since the expansion, but Violet and Dillon
did have a big turnout for their wedding – particularly for the Jacobs’ side of
their new, combined families. That might
sound a bit strange, since the Proctor family is one of the best-known and
connected in town too, but Dillon’s Mom has taught at the school since college;
so she has a close relationship with nearly every family in the area through
the school and the kids she’s taught over the years. From my perspective, Dillon was a perfect
combination of nerves and joy when he lined up at the front of the sanctuary
with Jake and the other guys a few minutes before the bridal party was invited
to begin the processional. He also looked
great, but at the risk of insulting our happy newlyweds; Jake was gorgeous in
his tux!
For the record, Michael is not jealous if I
tell him things like that about his brother; and there’s a big difference
between the love we share and my appreciation for Jake’s hotness! ;^)
Now where was I? Oh right – the wedding ceremony!
Ethan and Ehlana didn’t steal the show as
they led off the processional, but they were awesome; and certainly had
everyone in the sanctuary smiling as they walked side-by-side to the front of
the room and then sat with Violet’s mother and brothers – and with Uncle Rick
once he’d escorted Violet. Heidi,
Isabelle, and Dawn followed them; Stephanie was stunning in her matron-of-honor
dress; and then Violet lit up the room with her beauty and brilliant smile as
she happily walked with her father toward her future. That’s a bit melodramatic, but I was probably
just a bit whimsical by then; and it is how I was feeling at the time. Dillon looked a bit dazzled by then too, but
he held it together pretty well; and Jake only teased him a bit while they
watched their amazing girls complete the processional.
The father-husband hand-off was of the
traditional style; and Violet and Dillon went with a mostly-traditional
ceremony too. That might have been
obvious to anyone based on the tuxes and Violet’s amazing, flowing wedding
dress, but traditional in our church does not mean the ceremony is much longer;
since the additions only add maybe five or ten minutes to the shortest version
that would come in at about fifteen minutes not including the intermission for
signing the marriage documents. All of
that was a bit of a blur for me, but it was special to watch my cousin and
Dillon getting married while holding Michael’s hand and sharing all of that joy
with him. Their wedding vows were simple
and heart-felt; Ethan had fun delivering the rings to Stephanie and Jake; and then
it was time for Michael and I to add our contribution to the ceremony during
the papers-signing intermission.
I am not going to say much of anything
about the wedding song we picked out and sang for Violet and Dillon. This day is supposed to be all about them,
and while the wedding guests loved our music; I only want to add that doing
that duet with Michael was another one of those moments of pure joy for me that
makes me glad to have such a great memory so I can remember it forever. While we only had the one song to sing; we
continued to play the piano and guitar for the rest of the intermission; and
then I gave up the keyboard to one of our regular church pianists for the
recessional music. Violet and Dillon
were introduced by Pastor John, but before I miss mentioning it; his parents
were both involved in the ceremony too – just as they are for nearly every kid
that they’ve also baptized.
One thing that’s helpful for weddings when
thunderstorms are a risk is that everyone is encouraged to rush around a bit;
so the meet and greet after the ceremony was short and sweet; Violet and Dillon
were whisked off to the park for the wedding photos; and Michael and I went
over there and were put into the first batch of pictures so that we could move
on and get back to the Inn to help out with the major dinner rush and reception
dinner that was going to keep us busy for the rest of the night. We brought clothes along; changed at the Inn;
and were working hard by a quarter-to-four.
That meant missing out on most of the wedding fun at the park and the
rest of the action going on before the doors ‘opened’ at five-thirty for the
reception, but I was too busy to think about that at all – and that’s something
that Miranda and Jacob are used to dealing with; since they didn’t even get to
take the day off for Jake and Stephanie’s wedding.
What is new, though, is their ability to
host weddings at the Inn without closing it to the public, and while that will normally
still be restricted to using the small dining rooms; there will be off-season
times when they could use the large dining room for the wedding reception and
the small ones for normal Saturday night business. We do get some fall weddings around here that
are booked for after harvest; so that might work out great for some families
that have needed to have their receptions in barns or houses in the past – or in
the fellowship hall at the church. I
guess they have the occasional reception at Sheldon’s, but that’s usually for
family or close friends; since they don’t have space for large parties.
Rebecca, Jenny, and I were all put on the
server crew for the wedding reception, but we worked the main dining room until
we needed to switch out and begin taking drink orders for the wedding guests. I’m glad that we got to at least have that
small part in the reception, but we were also very busy; and my fun came in the
form of hundreds of little cameo moments that came along with the work as I
helped to serve the Head table and the ‘VIP’ tables closest to the bride and
groom – including the parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. There was a reception line and a social hour
before we began serving dinner; and then I had two hours of non-stop action as
I delivered each course of the meal and kept up with everything else – like drink
refills and clearing away dirty dishes.
Buffets are fairly-normal for weddings or
parties at the Inn, but Violet and Dillon had opted for plated meals with four
options that were pre-selected. That
makes for a bit more work for the servers; but it is less work for the
kitchen. That’s relative when we’re also
pushing capacity while still expanding the staff to accommodate the extra
dining space, but it did work out tonight; and it is easier for the guests too
when they don’t have to try and fill plates for kids at a buffet when those
kids are also dressed up in their best clothes.
I should move this along; since this could
take all night to write if I include all of the little details.
Dinner started at six-thirty; we cleared
away the desserts by eight-thirty; and then there was a break so that everyone
could mingle while we got set up for the entertainment. The weather again helped us with that; and
Miranda and Stephanie made a quick change in plans and set up the big screen
and everything else they needed in the main dining room so they’d have more
room for that part of the reception fun.
That was possible because the dinner rush was pretty much done with by
then while everyone wanted to get home or back to campsites during a break in
the thunderstorms; and the bigger room allowed Violet and Dillon to have
everyone in the same room for the speeches and roasting without crowding an extra
fifty or so people into the smaller dining rooms for that.
Again, that was more work for us, but we
got it done; and then I still kept busy delivering drinks or helping out in
other ways while Violet and Dillon enjoyed the show that included trips down
memory lane in multi-media forms that included childhood and teen photos and
videos to go along with the stories that were offered by their friends and
relatives. Violet’s Woodvale friends had
a particularly-great presentation about her life in Woodvale before Dillon
stole her away from them, and I was really happy that they could get involved
with that when there was no way for Violet to include all of her friends in her
wedding party. I won’t cover all of the
details for that either, but that was a really awesome hour and a half of fun
for everyone – even for those of us who were working.
Violet and Dillon had another little break
then to get changed before heading for their airport hotel and honeymoon; so
that was also a chance for the guests to take washroom breaks and get drink
refills and snacks. We weren’t doing a
midnight buffet or anything, but there was a desserts and snacks table set up
for anyone needing another hit of food.
Violet and Dillon returned to do a round of visits to all of the tables;
dropped off thank-you gifts; and then they only had their immediate family and
wedding party with them when they went outside and hopped into their car. They hadn’t wanted a limo because they wanted
their car at the airport for when they get back next weekend; though they would
have had one if they’d wanted it.
That did mean that Dillon needed to put in
that driving time, but since we still had hours of work to do after they left;
I won’t feel too bad for him – especially when they have a week off while I’ll
be working and then getting ready for exams while they’re away having fun in
the sunny south.
The reception did wind down then, but I was
busy and didn’t get involved much in the goodbyes and the rest of the fun. I was on the clean-up crew for the small
dining rooms first; moved on to the main dining room after that; and then
wrapped up by work day at around one-thirty by the time Michael and I stocked ‘the
library’ with everything our guests will need for the rest of the night and
their self-serve breakfast. Some people
might think that wouldn’t be a selling point for staying at the Inn, but Olde
Bakery treats are involved, and it is a complimentary meal; so I actually think
it’s an awesome bonus for the Saturday night guests.
By then, I was really tempted to bring
Michael home with me for the rest of the night, but we do already have a house
full of guests; and we weren’t quite done for the night then because Jacob and
Miranda had a van load of gifts to drop off at my house for Violet and
Dillon. They’d helped out with that
because my parents and a few other volunteers were booked as designated drivers,
so Mom and Dad didn’t get home much before we got there and unloaded the
minivan with help from Chris, Martin, and Dawn.
Now that’s something I nearly-missed
mentioning – Dawn’s date for the wedding!
Don’t get scared, because she invited Jillian to be her ‘date’; and
Jillian came here today with her parents.
They’re spending the night in town too, but Jillian’s the only extra
guest we have here; and she’s bunking with Dawn for the night. Chris and Martin didn’t bring dates, but they
could have; and just decided not to do that when it also meant that those dates
would have needed to be here for five days on a holiday weekend.
Michael went home with his parents, and if
you’re wondering why I didn’t include Rebecca in that; it’s because Lucas
picked her up and she’s out at the farm for the night. I had a bedtime visit with my family after he
left; some bonus girl chat time with Dawn and Jillian after that; and then they
went to bed and I grabbed a shower because I needed to have another one after
all of the work. My day could have been
over then, but I did my bedtime computer checks; dealt with some family
business work; and then got started on this update. Since all of that was in ‘normal’ time; you
can guess how late it is now – and I’ll only have time for yet another nap
before we’ll be up and going again for Tai Chi and a major family and friends
breakfast. We’ll also have the holiday
weekend service at the church, and the teen praise team is leading the music
for that; so Michael and I will be even busier with that too before we’ll then
spend the rest of the day helping out with three holiday weekend buffets at
noon, three, and six o’clock tomorrow afternoon.
Why and I not sleeping right now? I have no idea; which means that I probably
should be doing that instead of this!
Even with all of the work, this has been an
awesome day; and I am glad that I’ve been able to help make it so special for
Violet and Dillon – even if I couldn’t share as much of the fun with them as I’d
have liked. The holiday weekend busy is
going to resume in a couple of hours, though, and I have pretty much covered
the highlights for my day; so, until next time...
...May the Magi Force be with you!
