Happy New Marriage

Christmas has gone by and now we are staring at a whole new year. This time of year always reminds me fondly of a job we did a couple of years ago.

We were still relatively young in our new business when a lady contacted us to cater her wedding reception. Weddings themselves weren't all that new to us, but this would be our first wedding reception/new years eve party. We weren't sure what to expect, but I seriously doubt anything could prepare us for the amazing experience we had that night! On top of this being our first new years eve party, it was also our first Catholic wedding. As I have stated before, we are mostly pentecostal with a pentebaptist thrown in to keep us straight. Up until then, we had only catered non-catholic weddings.

This wedding was out of town so we left rather early in the day to get there on time. The menu consisted of beef brisket, chicken fingers, fruit, veggies, spinach dip, punch, a specialty dish that was a family recipe and a whopping 50 (yes fifty) pounds of shrimp.

The reception hall was beautifully decorated with lots of Christmas lights strung everywhere along with about a hundred candles. The kitchen was large and very well laid out and it was a joy to work in there.

Fast forward to almost go time and the groom and his attendants have set up a dressing room in the back of the reception hall to get dressed. We begin to take all the food out to the tables as the grooms party disappears. The band has arrived by now and set up. The computer is on and running a continuous stream of photos from the bride and groom's lives. Everything is looking good.

People began to come in and immediately head to the bar. Yes, a bar - at the church. The line gets longer by the moment until it reaches all the way across the room. One gentleman walks up, looks at the line then picks a cup up and goes for the lighted punch bowl. He takes a big sip and smiles, gets another cup full and goes to sit down. People in the line look at each other then they start getting some punch as well. A little boy picks up a cup and starts to drink it and his mom takes it out of his hand. "No, you can't have that. It's champagne."

I laughed.

Seriously. These guys can't tell champagne from sparkling white grape punch?

We let her know that it's ok for him to drink it - it's non alcoholic. She gives me the stink eye but still makes her son put the glass down. "Do you have anything for children to drink?"

I pointed again to the punch fountain. "Seriously, there's not a single drop of alcohol in it. We don't handle alcohol."

She gives me another stink eye and looks at the bartender at the end of the line. "Who is he then?"

"Not one of mine."

She picks up the glass and takes a sip then hands it to her son, reluctantly.

The evening is going well. Me and my crew of mostly Pentecostals are watching the show with a certain amount of amusement as the wedding party, guests, clergy and friends are liberally imbibing in the spirits of the evening. We're told to make sure we come and dance and enjoy the party as well, so the younger crew heads out and goes to dance for a while as the older ones watch the floor.

Finally, the food consumption is slowing down and I order my crew to the kitchen to get onto cleanup duty. At some time during the evening, a member of the clergy has come into the kitchen and praised our culinary prowess. However, the longer he has sat there the more... lopsided... he has become until he is at about 45 degrees to the floor, at which time he gets up and goes back to the party area.

We are working at clean and pack when about 11 pm, theres a boom from the party room. "ALEX, PLEASE COME TO THE FLOOR"

I looked at my Alex - surely its not he that has been summoned. I crack open the door and see the bartender grinning and moving away from the bar. Oh - did I mention his name was Alex?

So I closed the door and then hear again over the loudspeaker "ALEX, PLEASE COME FROM THE KITCHEN TO THE DANCE FLOOR. YOUR PRESENCE HAS BEEN REQUESTED" He is starting to back up. Slowly, he is pushed out onto the floor and thats when we realize that Alex has been requested by the sister of the groom for a dance.... the twelve year old sister that is.

He obliged her with a dance amid several rounds of applause and then we return to the kitchen. At just before midnight, one of the family members comes and gets us to come and usher in the new year with them. Glasses of real champagne is pressed into hands (which we discretely replace with the punch) and we join the throngs as the new year arrives. We toast, we hug and then go out to watch the bride and groom leave on their honeymoon amid a shower of sparklers and fireworks. We packed up our few items, get in the SUV and turn our very tired selves towards home, arriving around 2 am.

Happy New Marriage!!!!