Our Final Wedding of the Year: Craig & Elizabeth

Wedding 8 of 8: Craig Noyes and Elizabeth Borge

Immaculate Conception Church, Portsmouth, NH
Portsmouth Harbor Events
November 15, 2014

Craig and Liz's wedding was a wonderful way to end our year of weddings. Not only do Joe and I love Portsmouth, they had a beautiful ceremony and a great reception full of good food and great dancing. I usually have pretty low expectation for wedding food (you just can't expect perfection when feeding 100+ people at the exact same time), but the food at this wedding was good and I was part of the clean plate club.

Lovely bride and father walking down the aisle.

Exchanging vows.

Ryan & Jess

Amanda and Laura looking stunning!

BC Couple #1!

BC Couple #2 (and obligatory wedding photo)

BC Couple #3

Beautiful and festive centerpiece. Very well done.

A romantic first dance.

With the bride and groom (aka BC Couple #4)!

I always try to get a roommate shot.

I present to you the RubyStreet Boys. or N'Ruby, or Ruby8 Degrees. [Insert boy band pun here.]

That's a wrap for weddings this year. Congratulations to all of our wonderful friends for getting hitched in 2014.

Now, back to your normal programming of food.

The Summer of Weddings Continues!

Wedding 3 of 8: Samantha Marcoux & Michael Gagnon
Brookstone Park, Derry, NH
August 17, 2014

Our 3rd wedding was Joe's cousin, Mike's, wedding, which a sweet little ceremony out in Derry, NH.

Ten cuidado con el fuego! Their love is on fire!

My lovely sister and brother in-law who are newly residents of NH again!

Obligatory wedding photo. Get ready to see these outfits again, soon!

The boys! Kind of looks like an odd version of the Backstreet Boys?

My wonderful in-laws enjoying the wedding ceremony.

Joe and I drove there and back on Sunday (since I had the Sangeet the past Saturday), so we were pretty beat during the week. That didn't stop us from going all-out during our second wedding of the week in NY.

Wedding 4 of 8: Neha Khanna & Sameer Batta
Hilton Pearl River, Pearl River, NY
August 23rd, 2014

Neha is my neighbor back in the 609 and was my first friend when I moved to WWP. Our neighborhood was just starting to grow when we first moved in, so we became friends over our love for roller blading, as we went around the neighborhood on our unpaved roads, bumping along. The funny thing was that back then, neither of us really wanted to make friends, she was plotting how to get back to NY and I was plotting how to get back to Hamilton. We've stayed friends over the years, mostly because we would run into each other during the holidays (because we literally live across the street from one another), and I couldn't have been happier to celebrate her wedding this past weekend.

I'd like to throw out there that Neha's family not only knows how to throw a party, but they know how to party hard. Joe and I have never danced that much at a wedding! The only downside to dancing at Neha's wedding is that everyone had moves, and I mean everyone. From the younger kids to older aunties, everyone knew how to get down - so Joe and I looked like a couple of spazzes on the dance floor, but everyone was having too good of a time to notice.

I'm not going to lie, despite not knowing exactly what was happening - the ceremony was beautiful.

Neha looks so happy here!

Taking a moment to reflect

Our obligatory couple picture.

High school buddies!

With the bride and groom. Neha looked stunning!

One of the many plates of appetizers I ate from the various stations. This one had falafel, tikka shrimp, chili chicken and delicious veg noodles.

We took a lot of WWP photos.

Great seeing Amanda and Winnie whom I haven't seen for years!

Us with our dates!

Amy and Zach, our Giant buddies!

Lizzie and JE looking great as always.

Pre-dancing photo. The post-dancing photos were a lot less pretty.

First dance!

They got the cake cutting done early in the reception- we needed the space on the dance floor to boogie.

A father/daughter and mother/son dance simultaneously.

DJ Amrit (who I hear is the best Bollywood DJ) and the hip-hop violin player from AGT (I think his name was Svet?) holding it down while the bride and groom showed off their dance moves.

I took a little bit of everything and it was all amazing. The cauliflower was so good I actually got more.

The mango pudding in the middle of the plate was a party in my mouth. I could've eaten a tub of it.

We ended the night with a WWP picture. A great way to wrap up the evening.

Two very different but both wonderful weddings this past  week. We have two more coming up! We're continuing along our Summer of Weddings!

Sangeet 101 for Non-Indian People

I had the honor of attending my first Sangeet this weekend, as my friend and neighbor, Neha, is getting married next weekend. This was a great new experience, but I wish I had been more prepared.

Being the nerd I am, I tried to do a little research before I went to the event. Most of what I found lead me to believe that I was going to a bridal shower with singing and dancing, so I left Joe at home.

Woohoo! Girls night!...Except Not.

That was my first mistake.

While they are traditionally for the women - nowadays both men and women are invited.

I decided to wear a black dress, since the event was at 7, I thought cocktail attire would be appropriate. The actual appropriate wear is a Sahri. If you can, try and get your hands on one - and you should try because everyone else will be wearing one. If you can't, then you should wear bright colors, not black.

Amy wearing a lovely bright colored dress and her handsome date, Zach.

Lizzy and John looking great!

Lizzy, Amy, and I with the beautiful bride.

The event started with a cocktail hour with some great hors d'oeuvres of lentil pancakes, tikka chicken, and marsala chickpeas. Before the main event even started I had already stuffed myself.

Giant plate of chicken!

Chana Dal aka Indian pancakes!

Then we moved into a dining hall where the bride and groom to-be sat on top of a stage on a "throne" while their family and friends performed dances for them. In the middle of the dance that the nieces choreographed for Neha and Sameer, one of the older uncles danced his way into the middle of their dance and started showering the dancers with dollar bills.

Bride and Groom on the throne ready for performances!

Friends dance for the bride and groom.

I know, I was confused/shocked as well. Turns out though, that is the guests' way of showing their appreciation for a wonderful performance! All the Aunties and Uncles soon joined in as well to shower the dancers with appreciation - they deserved it as they were all very good, especially Neha's sister who performed a special solo number for Neha.

Then all the women were asked to join Neha in the center of the dance floor for some clapping and singing by one of the older ladies. All of sudden, some of the Aunties got very into the rhythm and stood up and started dancing. Since I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do or if I was supposed to join, I just held my seat at the outer edge of the circle and continued to clap along. (Side bar: Neha's family can really dance!)

Finally it was time for dinner - I thought I was full, but it seems I can always stomach more Indian food. Though, I learned to beware of the "pickles" - they're not meant to be eaten alone, but more as a sauce for other food (they're very salty).

Delicious dinner, but beware those pickles on the left side of my plate.

I had to head out early, but when I was leaving the party was in full swing! Can't wait for the big show next weekend.

Mosquito Buffet: Sarah & Josh

Before I return to the usual programming of food, food, and more food (reviews of Maui and Oahu coming to a blog post near you) - I have to dedicate a blog post to one of my best friends: Sarah Huang (or actually Sarah Fan now!)

Wedding 2 of 8: Sarah Huang & Josh Fan
Kualoa Ranch - Paliku Gardens
June 28, 2014

I've known Sarah for about 9 years now and she has become, over the years, one of my best friends and a second sister to me (don't worry Liz, no one could ever replace you). My parents have thought of her as a third daughter and she's been there through thick and thin. Always checking in to see how I'm doing and always there when I need someone to listen. Josh is really one "lucky dog" (which is what Mr. Huang told him when he gave Josh his bride) as Sarah is one of the most beautiful people I know both inside and out.

Get ready for my longest blog post EVER.

Right across from Kualoa Ranch before the rehearsal - we took in the sight.

The beginning of us constantly saying, "Hawaii is so beautiful".

Our fearless leader and bride directing wedding traffic.

Bridesmaids selfie (so many more to come).

Charlotte wants to be part of the gang, too.

Obviously, I take everything very seriously.

I imagine in this photo Mr. Huang is saying, "Hold on, let me take a photo of where I need to stand."

Groomsmen looking dapper. They were so much more well behaved.

Wedding party + Groom!

Uncle Bo's for the Rehearsal Dinner (review to come with Oahu post).

Oh HEY.

Bride with the Maid of Honor.

Goodies from Nene (pronounced NAY-NAY) Goose. Can't start someone else's wedding day without some FOOD.

Big Bro dishing out some last minute advice.

Laura apparently secretly runs a nail salon. Look at Jordan getting pampered. Free watermelon! The service is good here!

Maid of Honor, Jordan, getting her hair done - which I totally copied for mine.

Sarah becoming even more beautiful!

Nice rock, dude. Good job Josh!

And the couple of the year award goes to... Laura & Phil!

Now that we're no longer ugly - let's take a selfie.

Obviously gotta get Mama Huang in on the action!

Charlotte- always ready for a selfie and always armed with cardboard-like cereal (she hesitated before finally offering me one, baby food is terrible).

I kind of love this photo.

"Mirror, mirror in my hand, who is the fairest in the land? Damn right it's me!"

BC '09 Ladies

Bridesmaid selfie #305

Emergency bouquet fixing. Might of lost a couple flowers when we tossed them into the air.

Good thing Jeremy has long arms or we would've never all got into this one. Bridesmaids and Groomsmen!

Fan family looking "Fan"tastic!

Mama Huang looking good escorted by Peter!

Boys looking really serious! Did I miss something?

Yours truly.

Sumin

Laura

Jordan aka MOH

First adorable ring bearer!

Here comes his brother - a little less focused on the task at hand...

The adorable Charlotte with her flower and her pom pom.

Everyone stand for the bride please! Looking amazing!

No photos from the ceremony because I was standing at the front and Joe wanted to enjoy the ceremony vs. be paparazzi (like I asked him to be).

Just married! Congrats guys! Now let's party!

Off we go! To the party!

Let's get this party started!

J Lin and I totally rocked that fishing dance.

Laura and J Chou showing off the lawn mower!

Sarah catching her Pokemon: Joshmander!

Couple's first dance.

Looking so happy and beautiful.

Any break obviously needed a group photo.

Bridesmaid + Bride selfie.
Fun fact - at this point we all smelled like bug spray. Heavy heavy bug spray.

A beautiful sunset with the hubby.

Edmonds 321 love.

Married BC couples! What can I say, we '09 ladies are amazing.

Edmonds 321 + Josh

Love you guys :)

Well I guess nothing has changed in the last 8 years. Dance parties all day every day.

Looking lovely with the ladies.

What a fantastic day and a fun party. The weather was great, and despite getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, I had an amazing time celebrating my best friend's special day.

Love you both Sarah and Josh, wishing you all the happiness in the world (and for J Lin to come play on the east coast so that we can hang out all the time).