To Ilion, NY

The wedding week went by so quickly.  Isn't that always the case?  We anticipate significant events in our lives and then it seems they are over too quickly.  The day had come to move on from the wedding festivities and continue the rest of our summer journey in Pooh.

We packed up Pooh one more time, hitched up the Geo Tracker, and headed to on of our favorite spots, the Ilion Marina.    Readers of this blog last year will remember that this was the place where we rode out Hurricane Irene.  As we only had Chanda with us for two more days, we wanted to show her a bit of the Ilion area, and the Erie Canal.

So nice to be here when it is not storming

Major squinting going on here

 

We settled in, went for pizza at Sorrento's Restaurant, and enjoyed the sights and sounds along the Erie Canal for the rest of the evening.  PS, it's worth a trip to Ilion just for the pizza at Sorrento's . . . it's that good!

Wedding Week - The Day After

Saturday morning we woke up late . . . can you blame us?  We lingered over a second cup of coffee talking about the wedding day events.  The whole day had been so special and so lovely, we didn't want to let it go.  We did have to give an extra nudge or two to Chanda, though, to get her up.  Apparently the after-reception partying by the younger folk went well into the night . . .

Did Elvis find the party, or did the party find Elvis?

Eventually, we packed up the motorhome and headed back to Lake Oneida for one more night at the Dziura home.  Val and John Dzuira hosted a cook-out for the wedding party and family members on Saturday afternoon. It was a perfect way for everyone to wind down from the previous day's pace.

The revelers gather for the Saturday after-party

Perfect spot for a cookout . . . on the shore of Lake Oneida

The bride and groom . . . relaxed, at last.

Culinary central at the Dziura home

Toward the end of the afternoon, after most of the guests had left, John and Val took us out for a 2-hour ride around Lake Oneida.  They are living large in Cleveland, NY.

Pushing away from the dock

The Dziura house as seen from the water

Party boat

Frank is ready to spend all his summers on this lake.  The house next door to Val and John is for sale.  I swear, if we had that kind of money sitting in the checking account, Frank would have bought it then and there.  It is tempting, no doubt. 

Wedding Week - Wedding Day

The Wedding Day dawned bright and beautiful.  We were all relieved at this because it had rained hard for a few hours during the night.  Thankfully, the ground was dry in the morning, and Plan B did not have to be implemented.

Instead of a traditional bachelor party, Matt wanted to play a round of golf with the wedding party on Friday morning.  So the men met for an early morning breakfast and then headed on over to one of the resort courses for 9 holes.

Meanwhile, all the bridesmaids and Raelyn and her mother were getting their hair done.  Chanda had done Linda's hair the day before, so Linda was free to run last minute errands.

First on her schedule was picking up Frank's tuxedo over in Utica.  Linda's anxiety level was pretty high as she drove over there.  What if the pants had not arrived?  That scenario was just too bleak to contemplate.  Fortunately, the correct pants were indeed at the store.  Whew . . . crisis averted.

After a couple of stops to pick up last minute items, Linda headed back to the rv park to relax (yeah, right!) and get ready for The Wedding.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

The Wedding Party Gets Ready

 

 

The Ceremony

 The Reception

Wedding Week Thursday

There are advantages to being the groom's parents.  Your participation in the wedding preparation centers mainly around the rehearsal festivities, and making sure you have Dad's tuxedo and all its trimmings.  Frank had been measured for his tux back in February.  What could possibly go wrong?

Frank and Matt arrive to pick up Frank's tuxedo

Well, I'm glad you asked.  To begin with, his tuxedo did not even arrive at the store until today (the day before the wedding, for you who are counting down the days).  It would have been so nice to have it arrive maybe two days before the wedding, just in case there was a problem.

There was a problem.  The pants were 3" (yes, 3") too short, and there was a silver-dollar-sized hole in the left leg.

Discussing the problems with Frank's tux ... everyone is still smiling, tho

There was nothing we could do but trust that a new pair of pants would be delivered in time on the wedding day.  Of such things are memories made, I guess.

*     *     *     *

Soon it was time to gather for the wedding rehearsal. All went well as we learned where we were to walk, sit, stand, etc. 

The wedding party gathers for the rehearsal

The weather was perfect, and the staff at the venue are superb.  Clearly, their expertise and organization skills will ensure that the wedding ceremony will be done well.  Raelyn and her mother have done an excellent job in choosing this venue for the ceremony and reception.

The venue wedding coordinators keep everything organized

Matt getting last minute advice from his friends

Here they come

Matt waits for his bride

We're all in our places . . . 

When the rehearsal was over, we all walked over to the Pinot Restaurant in the resort for the rehearsal dinner.  Matt and Rae and Rae's mom, Lisa, have planned the whole evening, and it is fabulous!  There are even lovely gift baskets for all of the wedding party, courtesy of Lisa.  The baskets were beautiful and it is obvious Lisa put a lot of thought and care into each one.  Where she found the time to put them all together is anyone's guess.

Raelyn's Family

Bridesmaids and Groomsmen chatting with Grandma Norma

The head table enjoying the Tuscan feast

Pinot is a Tuscan Italian restaurant and we feast on amazing antipasto and caesar salads, chicken parmagiano, haddock francois, and chicken riggies.  All the food is just extraordinary.  Really. Just. Delicious.

Chanda gets sentimental with Matt and Norma

During the dinner Frank and Linda got to spend lots of time getting to know Raelyn's family.  The food and fellowship was blessed and prayed over by the minister, and the whole event was a blessing.

We must insert here our deep thanks and appreciation to Raelyn, Raelyn's family, and Matt for planning the rehearsal dinner.  Because we live so far away, it was impracticable for Frank and Linda to do any of the work involved in putting the rehearsal dinner together.   We are so grateful to them for taking on this responsibility and for making the whole rehearsal event so memorable.

Wedding Week Wednesday - Supplement

I would be remiss if I did not include pictures of the guys getting their final tuxedo fittings.  But you'll have to wait for the wedding pictures themselves to see what dashing figures they cut in their wedding finery.

Raelyn's brothers eagerly anticipate their tuxedos

Male bonding at its finest

Frank and Billy Mills, Matt's Best Man

Raelyn and Dad supervise Matt's final fitting

Wedding Week Wednesday

On Wednesday the wedding preparations began in earnest.  The guests from South Carolina (where Matt and Rae live) were flying in to Syracuse this day.  While that airport is only about 30 min away from the Dziura house, the three guests were on different flights, staggered at 3 hour intervals.

Matt and Rae came to the lake house in the morning, and then drove back and forth to pick up the guests during the day. The excitement was definitely building.  The weather was starting to warm up a bit, and the weatherman assured us that all chances of rain or gloomy weather had passed . . . nothing but warm weather and bright blue skies for at least a week.

Even the Dziura dogs were getting excited.  

Vivian . . . all girl, lol

Troy - master of his domain

We drove Pooh to the RV park at the Turning Stone resort late in the afternoon.  The majority of the wedding party -- even the locals -- will be checking into the resort on Thursday, wedding rehearsal day, but we decided to check in a day early.

The RV park is a top-rated park, and deservedly so.  All the amenities an RV traveler could possibly want are there . . . and in top-notch, luxurious glory as well.  They give door-to-door shuttle service to the main resort 24-hours a day, on call.  And the place is lovely, to boot. 

That's Pooh II ... just behind this beauty ...

Simply lovely

We would need our rest for the next 2 days.  So we settled in and tried to relax.
Yeah, right . . . there's a wedding coming up . . . who even wants to relax?