DAY ONE

Meet & Greet

It was the first day of an unbelievable wedding extravaganza. ….

What the heck were we doing there?

Now California souls, the two of us were originally from Riverview, a small town in Michigan; a factory workers blue collar community. 

So, again I asked myself, what were we doing in Park City, Utah attending this three-day affair?

……….

You know how sometimes you get invited to a wedding because you know the parents and not really the bride or groom? 

Well, that’s where our invite came from.

We’d been friends of the bride’s parents for almost ever.

 

We’d met each other’s kids a few times over the years and shared updates on their journeys as they went from grade school, to junior high, then high school, romances, college, jobs and now a wedding….in Utah.

At first, we didn’t even give it a thought about going.

We lived in San Diego.

That’s not a ride to the church……that’s a couple day trip to the church!

The bride’s mom gave nothing away but each time we met for dinner after the planning began, she’d tell us we HAD to attend this wedding.

Always with a big smile, she’d promise it was gonna be full of surprises, stuff we’d never seen, and we just HAD to go.

My curiosity eventually got the best of me.  

It was gonna be a September wedding so we had plenty of time to plan and what the heck? 

We were retired!

And while we were at it…..why just go to Utah and back?

We decided to take a few weeks and make a kind of wedding trip/ vacation out of it.

So, there we were in Park City, Utah, the evening before the wedding.

The invite said “meet & greet.”

The directions took us to a restaurant called “ZOOM”, owned by Robert Redford.

A huge sign out front stopped anyone from entering that evening other than guests of this wedding.

 

We were greeted at the door by happy smiling faces who checked the guest list and yep, no mistake, there we were. 

It was real.  

And there he was, just inside the door on the lobby wall.  

A great portrait of Mr Redford himself and as I looked at it I thought, no matter what your taste in men…..he fits the bill! 

Our coats were taken and we were escorted into the main room where at least 200 happy, people were milling around, drinks in hand….meeting and greeting.  

The first floor was a combination of two large open areas, each with a bar, and not small bars.

We could see up the open staircase to the second floor and another huge area.  

Tables, covered with linen tablecloths, napkins, crystal wine glasses and shined silverware saved a spot for the fine china plates that would join them. 

Centered on each table were big, beautiful live floral arrangements.

The kind of arrangements I see in the home magazines in the waiting-rooms of doctors offices.

The stuff I look at, wander away in my thoughts for a few moments and wonder what would it be like? 

We were both still standing side by side gawking, trying to take it all in.  I had to tell my eyes to go back into their sockets and my mouth to shut.   

A smiling waiter approached and asked what he could bring us to drink.

While we were deciding, he mentioned that every kind of drink imaginable was available and it was an open bar all night long.

And he added, the bartenders were the best!

Well, I’d see about that.

I ordered a Cosmo, he was right …..it was the taste of perfection!!! 

  

Quarry Road, Reno Street, Riverview Michigan…..what the heck were we doing there?

So many hors d’oeuvre’s that I can’t list them. 

Tables and tables full of amazing looking food, every tray different, plus servers walking around with even more finger foods; little delicious looking pieces of artwork on skewers. 

There I was with the love of my life, standing in the midst of a crowd of beautiful looking, happy people sipping on drinks prepared by exceptionally talented bartenders and wallowing in tastes I’d never tasted before. 

Slap me awake!

Halfway through the evening, another smiling waiter approached us and we were invited to a sit-down meal being served banquet style in an adjoining room. 

We’d been enjoying the open bar and fabulous food so I wondered…..did we look hungry?

But, into the next room we went.

If you’ve ever eaten in one of those all-you-can-eat restaurants in one of the big casinos…..well, it was like that.

I’d been tryin’ to cool it with the hors d’oeuvre’s and drinks.

I could have easily eaten myself into a size too big to fit into my dress for the wedding happening the next day.

However, I only have so much wonderful-food-self-control and when I saw what was goin’ on in the banquet room, self-control took a dive.

 

Shrimp cocktail…crab cocktail…lobster cocktail! 

Prime rib, roasted turkey, fried chicken, salmon, halibut, ahi tuna, pork roasts and more. 

Huge salads and four or five different potato presentations.

Platters of fresh raw and cooked vegetables creatively presented that even made the celery look good. 

Asparagus, piled sky-high and oozing with a sauce. 

Italian dishes including the most amazing gnocchi I’d ever tasted. 

An assortment of cooked mushrooms (my weakness) that caused my pulse to pick up speed and more, much more.

The display….beautiful and the taste…..heavenly.

Servers were continually walking around filling wine glass. 

We did meet, we did greet and wow did we EAT!

WHERE THE HECK WERE WE AND HOW THE HECK DID WE GET THERE?