a June wedding in the Shawangunks

Ariel and Chris got married on the first Saturday of June. It could not have been more perfect.

The setting was an open-air pavilion on the Mohonk Preserve, just a few miles from New Paltz in the Hudson Valley of New York. The ceremony took place on a lawn just below the pavilion, with a backdrop of the Catskill Mountains. Ariel and Chris picked this place because they often drive here from Manhattan to climb the Gunks, as the Shawangunk Ridge, a part of the Appalachian Mountains, is known. A perfect place to begin a lifetime of adventure together.

The ceremony took place in the middle of the afternoon. A light rain fell most of the morning, but the rain stopped by noon and the sun came out from behind the clouds just as the procession began and continued to shine without any threat of rain for the rest of the day, the clouds just adding to the panoramic backdrop above the mountains, along with a spectacular sunset at the end. All weekend, there was a gentle breeze.

Chairs were arranged below the pavilion on the lawn before the Catskill range in the distance. The moms were escorted to their seats. Chris and the best man, John, were standing before the guests, along with Naomi, the minister. A blue grass band played nearby. (It was Pachelbel's Canon in D Major, as I remember.) Jackson and Rylee and Emily made their procession, and I accompanied Ariel to join Chris.

Ariel wore a beautiful dress that rolled at the hem, which she purchased in France, and carried a bouquet of flowers. She was radiant. Chris was handsome, and I noticed his eyes were focused only on Ariel.

The reception took place under the pavilion. Ariel had made most of the arrangements, and everything was perfect. Even the Preserve director thought it was the best ever. The food had a New Mexico theme, from the appetizers to the buffet, with plenty of wine and beer on tap. The blue grass band played an eclectic blend of Appalachian music and popular songs. Everyone commented on how perfect it all was. Everyone just seemed to be beaming.

There was some dancing, lots of picture taking, and even some frisbee thrown on the lawn below the pavilion. When the band took a break, the fathers of the bride and groom were asked beforehand to give toasts, followed by John, the best man, and Emily, the maid of honor. The fathers talked about Ariel and Chris as children, while John, with wonderful humor, and Emily, with wonderful grace, brought the story of Ariel and Chris up to date. I got a chance to dance with Ariel when the band played a waltz. I fumbled a few steps but we ended with a gentle twirl. Ariel was all smiles and took time to go among all the guests to chat with each. When it was time to cut the cake, Chris delicately fed Ariel a piece on a fork. Ariel followed by delicately smearing cake on Chris. Then Chris introduced Rylee as his brother-in-law and they brought out a cake for Ry, who was turning 7 the next day, and the guests sang happy birthday.

There were plenty of guests. So many of Ariel and Chris's friends were there: childhood friends, college friends, friends from New Mexico, from Alaska, from New York, from California and the Pacific Northwest, even Hawaii. There were plenty of Bleichers and Orcutts and all the new relatives to meet on the Wilson side. Uncles and aunts and cousins. The grandparents got a special mention to honor them during the ceremony. Some parents of friends came; a couple of babies. All terrific people; all equally delighted to be part of the occasion.

For many, the special weekend began with a bridal shower at midday on Friday at a tea room in an historic shop in New Paltz that Cyndi and Emily hosted. Cyndi did quite a bit to make this happen, and made turquoise bracelets for the guests. A rehearsal took place later that day, followed by a wonderful rehearsal dinner at the Elmrock Inn, a four-course dinner in a lovely dining room of the inn, preceded by a cheese platter and bread basket on the patio outside, overlooking a large lawn, where the boys played soccer. Chris's parents, David and Tricia, hosted this event, and it was a good time to meet some people for the first time or catch up with family not seen for a long time.

Chris's parents also treated Ariel and Chris with a stay at the Mohonk Mountain House, a very Conde Nast sort of resort, and on Sunday morning they were joined by others at a brunch there. There was also talk of a climbing expedition with friends. I thought I heard rain cancelled that but Ariel told me they got some climbs in Sunday and Monday. There was some partying among Ariel and Chris's friends the night before the wedding and again after the wedding itself, but I only had the slightest inkling of that. As one of their friends told me, tongue in cheek, they'd be partying in honor of the older parents and guests.

I am told that Ariel and Chris had to return to NYC for a few days of work and then would head for their honeymoon trip to France by the following Friday. You can get a sense of their trip from this registry: http://www.honeyfund.com/wedding/arielandchris.  In case the link is no longer up, it includes the Mediterranean and Provence and such adventures as canoeing in Perigord and rock climbing in the Verdon Gorge.

For us the trip began on Wednesday, and it became quite a travel adventure. We caught a 6 am flight from Albuquerque, with four bags that we checked in. The boys each had a rolling carry-on, and so did Cyndi. My bag swung from a shoulder strap. Each of the boys and Cyndi had a backpack. The boys' were filled with a computer, toys and books. I carried my suit and our wedding gift (a setting of dishes set aside for Ariel and a frame and scrapbook a friend of Cyndi's made). We changed planes in Chicago and ate hot dogs and ice cream between the flights. We arrived in Newark (which we now think beats La Guardia in so many ways), retrieved our bags, bought tickets for the train to (NY) Penn Station, and found the monorail from the airport.

You must imagine that every move we made meant lugging all of our backpacks and carry-ons around, up and down escalators, elevators and even some stairs, along moving and concrete sidewalks, over curbs, and around people, with me often in the lead, Ry and Jack pulling their bags behind them, and Cyndi making sure she never lost eye contact on the boys. The hotel we stayed at in NYC, which Beth and Gary arranged for us, was only about 5 blocks from Penn Station, so we walked down 7th to 28th and found our hotel in the Flower District. Jackson noticed how friendly the hotel staff were. We had a nice room on the 22nd floor and enjoyed two cold beers and some chips, which Cyndi found next to the front desk, when we arrived. We called Ariel and arranged to meet her and Chris about 6:30 at an Indian restaurant near their apartment, less than a mile from our hotel. We hadn't made any plans, so we walked to the Empire State Building and then back down to Madison Square, where we stopped at a toddler park and then in the median in front of the Flat Iron building, before meeting Ariel and Chris for dinner. The food was delicious; I'm a convert. Jackson fell asleep, but Rylee shoveled in the rice and bread.

I made sure to make it a point to the boys that they should take advantage of the hotel breakfasts, and we had a great one that first morning. We walked to Rockefeller Plaza, after first going through Times Square, so the boys could go to the Lego store, where Rylee got his birthday present and Jackson found something for himself, too. We walked back to Times Square and took the subway back to the hotel.

After packing up, we came down into the lobby with all our gear again (plus additional bags from Lego and Anthropologie), headed for Grand Central Station. The doorman loaded up a cart and led us to 6th, where he could quickly hail a cab for us. The traffic was heavy at midday but it was a perfect way to go. We went up 6th to 42nd and drove by Bryant Park and the Public Library. We entered Grand Central from the street into the grand concourse, where we bought our train tickets to Poughkeepsie. The next train did not leave for a while, so we found a table in the lower level and Cyndi found thick turkey sandwiches and I found a piece of cheesecake.

We found the track for our train and rode up the Hudson Valley for the next 1 1/2 hours. The track goes along the bank of the river, with wonderful views of the boats and hills and towns. We went past West Point. At Poughkeepsie, the end of the line, we took a taxi to our hotel. We bumped into Caroline and Bud at the hotel. Ry and I scoped out the area and played some catch in the parking lot. We ordered pizza.

The next day was busy as everyone came in. The boys and I were just on our way to play catch in some grass in the front when all the Bleichers arrived. As they checked in, I saw Chris's parents and Caroline's sister, Nan. Cyndi and the women then went to the bridal shower, while David, Dad, Gary, Eric and I chatted in the dining room off the lobby. Some later headed to the FDR Presidential Library while Cyndi, the boys and I headed off to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, following Chris's parents. Saturday morning went by fast. Cyndi and I went for a walk. The boys, especially Ry, played catch with Eric. Jackson was loving his independent time in the hotel room. More family arrived and more people to meet at the hotel. Before two, we boarded a bus to the wedding. We returned by the bus that evening, after dropping off some of Ariel and Chris's friends and the keg at a New Paltz motel.

Sunday was fun. We walked the bridge over the Hudson, ate at a very good nearby diner (which was about the time the rain started up again), and then drove to West Point, just in time for the canon to boom at five, a bugle playing retreat, as the flag was lowered on the campus. That night we ended up all eating at a Chile's near the hotel.

Monday was an all-day travel day but not hurried. After breakfast and goodbyes, David took us to the train station and we returned to Grand Central. With some time on our hands, Rylee got a frisbee from the sports store next door to Grand Central and we walked over to Rockefeller Center again for the Lego and Nintendo stores, bathroom breaks, and a Starbucks in the subway station. We walked to 7th and grabbed a taxi to Penn Station, got tickets for Newark airport, hopped on the next train, transferred to the monorail, checked our bags in and easily got through security. The plane was delayed for departure. We had a nice dinner in the terminal while waiting, and saw some friends on their way back home, too. With the delayed departure, we ended up with about two minutes in Denver to get across the terminal to our gate. We arrived in Albuquerque, along with all of our bags, about 11 p.m., grabbed the shuttle to the parking lot and got home close to midnight. I went to bed. The boys stayed up to play with their new Legos, and games, and the new skateboard Wii game Ry got from Ariel and Chris. It was a perfect birthday gift slash wedding gift. Ry and Jack each carried a ring during the wedding procession and presented them when it was time to exchange rings during the ceremony.

Then back to work. Cyndi is off on a business trip today. I hope I get some pictures to publish here.