ALEXANDRA'S WEDDING

Saturday, July 3rd, was my father’s 82nd birthday. In order to insure his availability for her wedding, my niece Alexandra, scheduled the festivities to coordinate with his annual trek to Chicago from Florida to celebrate his birthday. To make the double event even more fun, my sister Christine and her husband Tom, agreed to have the wedding reception at their not- very-big house. Thankfully the weather cooperated which made the outdoor event a success. We all held our collective breath, hoping that some freakish storm like those we have had recently, would not drive all 120 people into my sister’s house.

The day started with a lovely ceremony at the home church of Danny, the groom in this story. Our Lady of the Woods Catholic Church is 26 yrs. old and one of the most beautifully constructed churches I have ever seen. In keeping with my niece’s unconventional style, we left the bridal party to their photo session, dispensing with the traditional rice or bird seed or bubbles, and the guests proceeded to my sister’s backyard complete with two tents, tables, chairs, and a large above-ground pool. There was also a baby pool for all of Richard Moran’s great-grandchildren who had made the trip with their families from Iowa and Rockford, Illinois.

I am not sure what the deciding factor was for having this wedding in a backyard instead of a hall with all of the special formalities, but I think it may become a tradition amongst some of the Moran grandchildren. It may have its root in the wedding my parents gave my sister Christine all the way back in 1981. This was before weddings were large productions for overindulged daddy’s girls. Christine, like Alexandra, had an afternoon ceremony at St. Denis Catholic Church in our old neighborhood. The small group of relatives and close friends made their way to a restaurant for a dignified luncheon. And then the fun began. From the luncheon we all proceeded to our house where the entire backyard was set up with tables, chairs and a keg. The real party began when more friends and neighbors joined us for the celebration. My dad’s buddy, Nick Perino, owner of Home Run Inn Pizza, sent us several giant lasagnas. These were doled out to neighbors’ ovens to be cooked and kept warm. My mom oven fried a boat load of Italian sausage (probably from Sarli’s) and assembled loaves of garlic bread and a giant salad. The beer was in the backyard and the food was set out in the basement for the 100 or so well-wishers to help themselves. And that was the most fun we had ever had at a wedding.

I didn’t think my MS stricken sister should put herself through the aggravation of readying her house for such a large gathering, but she charged full speed ahead in her scooter to make it happen. I loved sitting outside with the freedom to move about as opposed to being captive at one table trying to talk to folks you don’t know while shouting over the very loud music. I certainly didn’t miss the over enthusiastic introductions of the families, the bridal party, and the newlyweds to the roar of the Chicago Bull’s lineup intro music. The obligatory speeches were short. One sweet and one not-so-sweet, but we won’t get into that. The DJ, a neighbor and friend of my niece, played tasteful and moderate music so that the predominate sounds were of the younger kids having fun in the pool. The only disturbance came when I tried to line up all of Richard Moran’s great-grandchildren for a photo, causing MY 3 grandkids to break down into tears thereby ruining the process. My brother’s 3 grandchildren were perfectly patient, though they were more interested in staring at the screaming cousins than taking a picture. I’ll never do that again.

As for the food - It was catered by Buca di Beppo’s and consisted of marinara pasta, meatballs, Italian sausage, Chicken Limone, a cream sauce pasta, 2 types of salad and bread. Desserts included cannoli from Buca’s, macaroon cookies made by a friend of Alex’s which were so outstanding I ate close to a dozen. I am not a sweet eater so that says something about how lip-smackin’ good they were. I never even made it to the wedding cakes. These were works of art from a bakery in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago. I wish I could tell you how they tasted, but I took a pass on them. Alex treats us to this bakery’s outstanding cakes at family gatherings, so I know they were special. The garage contained the coolers with beer, pop, water, and my recommendation - San Pellegrino Limonata or lemon soda. It’s the best. There was also an assortment of wine. To make this all easier on the family, my sister hired two women who run a business for just such an occasion. They continually clean up, make sure there is enough ice in the coolers and served the wine.

All in all it was a great wedding, for a fraction of the cost these days, and none of us missed the ambiance of a large hall with covered chairs sporting big bows in the back. Being barefoot was worth the trade off.