September 2008

The breezes taste

Of apple peel.

The air is full

Of smells to feel-

Ripe fruit, old footballs,

Burning brush,

New books, erasers

Chalk, and such.

The bee, his hive

Well-honeyed hum,

And Mother cuts

Chrysanthemums.

Like plates washed clean

With suds, the days

Are polished with

A morning haze.

~John Updike, September

I have been cleaning out desk drawers and computer files as part of my new year's resolution, and have discovered many weddings from 2008 that never made it onto this blog. Since many perspective brides, and brides already planning a wedding at Stillwater Public Library have told me that any and all pictures are extremely helpful to them, I am trying to get all of them posted. Pictured, is a mid-September wedding from 2008. The entire event - ceremony and reception - took place mid-day on a Saturday. The ceremony was held in the Southeast corner of Johnson Terrace where Stillwater Public Library has a beautiful view of the St. Croix River & downtown Stillwater.

The bouquet carried by the bridewas created by an acquaintance of the bride. The roses varied from copper to salmon and were as big as cabbages. Heather, if you are reading this; I need the contact info for your florist!

A picture of the set-up. Chairs were angled into the corner to form 2 triangles.

Lake Elmo Inn provided a buffet under the library's pergola. This was the first time we experimented with a buffet-line in that location. A word of caution, although it was beautiful, an hour into the meal the cheese platters looked a bit worse for the wear. I would not recommend this location for any buffet taking place during the heat of the day. The library does not allow self-service for alcohol, so the Inn also provided a table of champagne for the cocktail hour. This too provided a valuable lesson about wasps in September. Kegs and/or open glasses of sweet alcoholic beverages do not mix. The highly professional staff from the Inn made sure that all beverages were bee-free, but it was a struggle. Stick to bottled beverages for September weddings.

Lake Elmo Inn also provided the wedding cupcakes; white angelfood cake with raspberry filling. I will always remember these cupcakes because the bride and groom left me an entire box as a thank you. The next day, my 2 year old daughter bit the frosted top off 1 dozen of them; and sucked out all the raspberry filling while I was putting away furniture from the wedding. She gave the frosting a five-star rating. I threw away her stained shirt. The sugar buzz lasted 2 hours, and concluded with a tantrum of epic proportions.