Eve took a nap while I watched part of the men's semifinal (Roddick/Youzhny) on tv. We got ourselves all made up and headed out. We, again, took the crosstown bus and then headed down 5th ave. We joked that our earlier trip had been a dress rehearsal. The wedding didn't start until 8 pm and we got there on time. I hate being late so this was important. The wedding was at the Pierre Hotel. Not a big hotel but very elegant. The wedding took place in many, many rooms and the first was an entry room. It was round with a dome ceiling and 2 sweeping staircases painted in light blue with a cupid like theme. In the middle of the room was a small round table with an enormous, gorgeous flower display. There were intricate long flower garlands that went up both sides of the sweeping staircase. On the table were envelops set in brass holders with everyones name on it. The envelop had a dinner table assignment number in it. Eve kept the brass holders as a keepsake. From here it was a few steps up to the wedding room. It was absolutely beautiful. There were flowers everywhere. Garlands draped over everything that would hold them. The walkway down the aisle had these giant palmtree looking creations that were at least 15 ft tall and made entirely out of flowers. They also had small oil lamps hanging from them. Since it was a Jewish wedding the ceremony was short and sweet. Everyone looked terrific. There was a small orchestra playing classical music throughout. The glass was broken and it was time to go into the next room.
It was actually a series of 3 rooms. The orchestra broke up into trios and quartets and spaced themselves throughout the 3 rooms. Each room had a separate full bar and a ton of food - all appetizers. Veuve Cliquot was served throughout the evening - with a strawberry. There was a guy schucking oysters, a whole wall with sushi chefs making sushi to order, a wall of italian dishes, rack of lamb, lobster tails, king crab, mussels and, of course, tons of veggies. There were people walking around with more fancy looking tidbits. Again, the flower displays were absolutely amazing. They were intricate and hugenormous. I met Jackies' kids in line for sushi - so sweet. Shawn is 14 and Elana is 12. I hadn't seen Shawn since his bris. Ralph treated me like we had just seen each other. He is such a nice guy and so handsome. It felt really good to be here seeing some of the family.
About an hour of eating appetizers the doors to the wedding hall opened. It was truly an amazing sight. Again, the flowers were just stunning. The room was huge and completely covered with flowers. Every table had a display of flowers that was atleast 8 ft tall. There were enormous flower balls hanging from the ceiling too. We all starting dancing right away. A different band was playing in here. They had the usual band musicians with a whole horn section and 5 singers. The music was really fun. I probably danced for a full hour before sitting down. Dinner was served sometime around midnight. I had a beef dish and they also served sea bass. Sea bass must be making a come back. It seemed every restaurant we went to throughout our visit was serving it. The mashed potato thing served in the hashbrown cup was amazing too. Our waiter made sure everyone's Veuve glass was constantly full. The room was so beautiful that it was actually a bit overwhelming. It became very clear that this was no ordinary wedding. The bill for the flowers alone had to be a few hundred thousand dollars. I'm surprised there are any roses left in the city. People at my table pulled out roses from our display. Everyone took 1/2 a dozen each and you couldn't see that the display was missing anything.
These pictures are the best I could do - it was really dark in there. So much of the light was from the little hanging oil lamps. Are these flowers amazing or what? Doesn't Eve look elegant?
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