Paul claims that I was worried about attending my first Irish wedding... no nerves here, just lots of curiosity. What would the bride wear? Would I have to dance a jig? Would Guiness be the only beverage served? I'm happy to say that the bride wore a lovely, traditional dress and no and no.
At first it looked like I might have gotten my hopes up for nothing. Someone who won't be named forgot to bring the invitation which was posted on the fridge and we weren't sure what time the wedding was. We both thought it was a 1pm so decided to go for that. When at 12:15 we were still finishing breakfast and chatting to Paul's mom, it looked like there was no way we'd make it to the church on time. Surprisingly, I was ready well in time and someone, who also won't be named, held us up by insisting he needed to iron his shirt. Lucky for us, we both have questionable memories and when we arrived at the church at 1:20pm, there were still others arriving and people milling around the front of the church. At 1:35pm, as we tried not to slide off the narrowest pews I've ever sat on, the music started and the wedding began. Perfect timing as usual.
The ceremony was like most Catholic wedding masses with the exchanging of the vows and rings, readings from the Bible, and Communion. But you don't really want to know about the ceremony do you? Thought not!
After a quick stop off for a few drinks in town, the party moved to a hotel just down the road from Paul's parents house, the Park Hotel, where guess what, more drinks! The hotel bar was packed with wedding revelers and there was a great buzz... especially from those crowded around the big screen tvs... no, not the World Cup - that was still a week away. No, it was a Gaelic Football match of Mayo (Paul's home county) vs. Sligo. If you've never seen Gaelic Football here's a link to an match from 2006 between Mayo and Kerry. It's quickly becoming a sport I quite enjoy watching... how could you not like a game that is basketball, soccer, and rugby all rolled into one?! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ke_fS_o3TE&feature=fvw
Sadly, to the disappointment of the majority of the wedding guests, Mayo lost and so we all made our way to the dining room to drown our sorrows in a plate of thick cut beef, a mountain of mashed potatoes, and fresh veg. One of the interesting things about the dinner was that as we went through from the bar to the dining room, wait staff were there taking our order for starters and main courses. I realized earlier in the day that we hadn't had to send in our meal selection with the RSVP. I assumed that meant it was a buffet so I was surprised to be asked for my choice just before the meal. The starter options were chicken and bacon salad or a mushroom vol u vent which I could not pronounce for the life of me and kept having to have Paul request for me. It was basically puffed pastry with mushrooms and a creamy sauce. It was lovely and warm and very saucy - just how I like anything that comes with sauce. Following the starter, everyone was given soup. It's been over a week now but I think it was leek and potato soup. I very rarely get soup as a starter - for me soup is good enough to make a meal of. But this soup was quite a nice interlude between the starter and the entree. It was light and flavorful and I would have gladly eaten only that for the main dish. There was a shortage of rolls at our table and I was glad that for once, I wasn't the only one speaking up for more bread.
Then came the most enormous plate of food I've ever seen at a wedding. You would have thought we were down the pub for a Sunday roast! It was so hearty and homey - it was a big difference to the neat and sometimes fussy meals you often get at weddings. The staff came around and served everyone individually which seems a bit silly to me... especially when there are 200 people who need to eat! It seemed like every course, ours was the last table to be served. Before the entree fixings came out, we were giving piping hot plates and by the time the platters made their way to us, they were luke warm at best. For me, this is not a big deal but for Paul, a warm plate is an essential part of every meal. Paul grew up in a house where the plates are warmed up in the oven. I know this is common in alot of homes but not ours. For me, it is just not a part of my meal prep and I have yet to make it a part of my routine. This leads to a complaint or two at just about every meal I cook - one of these days... I'll get those plates in the oven.
The main course was so large that no one at the table came close to cleaning their plate. And before long, another plate appeared in front of each of us. Now normally, you would expect such a plate to arrive with a piece of wedding cake (pictured above - what do you think Brian?). But no, we were treated to a medley of desserts. According to Paul, the wedding cake is often not served to the guests but instead taken home by the family. Dessert is one of my favorite parts of a meal and getting to have four different desserts at once is pretty close to heaven. I can't say that these four were quite my cup of tea. The profiteroles were the best of the medley, followed by the meringue nest with fruit and whipped cream. I can't say I love mint ice cream so I let Paul dig into that. The final dessert was I think supposed to be a sort of cheesecake but was far from anything you'd find in Boston's North End.
With dessert served and the speeches done, it was time to take a break in the bar and enjoy some traditional Irish music and a few more drinks while the dining room was changed over into the dance floor. Now if you think that dessert was the end of the eating, you are very wrong. After some good music from the cover band, a good bit of dancing, and a few more pints, out came the platters of sandwiches and mini sausages. It's such a great idea and nice to have some nibbles after a good stretch of drink and dance. Not surprisingly though, we were all still so full from dinner that not too many went for a snack. And I have to say, if the mini sausages were wrapped in a biscuit, I'd have eaten alot more of them!
It was not long after that the DJ took over and a new round of dancing began. At 2 am, the party was still going strong and Paul and I had had our fill. So it was back to the farm and into bed to dream of more plates piled high with meat, potatoes, and veg smothered in gravy.
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