West side story

As I mentioned, the big event took place exactly two Fridays ago: Diana and Ben’s wedding!

The wedding was held after work on Friday at Studio 450, a gorgeous sunny, white-washed space …

… on the 12th floor of a building overlooking the Hudson River, practically on the West Side Highway:

I noticed one of the best touches almost immediately upon entry. The seating chart was written on a giant mirror:

Here we are!

A handsome man with a tray came by to offer lemonade, and I accepted:

Quite refreshing!

Gradually, the whole crew started to arrive. The boys posed:

(Chris, Erik, and Ted)

The girls posed:

(me, Wife, Gina, and Kate)

And we all mingled in our gender-specific (weird how that happens) groups:

Throughout this whole mingling time, a lovely string quartet was providing the background music with all sorts of excellently selected contemporary songs set to classical arrangement:

We got the cue to sit, and the important people made their entrance

Groom:

Bride:

Diana’s wedding march was “Kissing You” from the Romeo + Juliet movie, played by the string quartet. I loooove that song, and I haven’t heard it since I was 13. I was so excited to hear it again … and in this context!

Post-ceremony, we encountered the Feld, who had arrived mid-ceremony and had to seat herself on the complete other side of the room. She was very excited to have arrived at all!

We left the ceremony room and were gently herded up the stairs …

… and to the ROOF!!!

In addition to stunning views, the roof also held hors d’oeuvres:

Tuna with wasabi cream on a rice cracker:

Steak nachos:

(Definitely in the top two bites of the night!)

Mushroom puff:

Chilled cantaloupe soup:

View:

Unlimited red wine:

More view:

Sliders!

I chose crab cake:

Spicy black bean:

and pulled pork:

More drinks please:

Some ate, while others posed:

Fig and goat cheese crostini:

(the partner to steak nachos in the top two bites of the night)

Shrimp:

Chicken satay:

Sunset!

I like to call this our sitcom series promotional photo shoot. I told everyone to act natural:

And then, we went downstairs for dinner. DINNER???!!! Yes, dinner. All of that food pictured above was just the beginning!

The ceremony room had been transformed for the evening dining and dancing:

The first thing I noticed (obviously):

A cupcake tower! Flavors included salted chocolate (yayyyyyy!), red velvet, carrot cake, and lemon drop. Along with the city skyline and an adorable fondant couple!

We studied our Zagat-inspired menu cards …

… and sampled the cornbread muffins with their topping trio — something spicy, something buttery, and something jammy:

The dance floor lit up, and it seemed something was about to happen …

And it was! The bride and groom danced their first dance to Christina Aguilera’s “Ain’t No Other Man” … with a fully choreographed, attitude-rich routine:

After the dance, the first course arrived: arugula, jicama, and watermelon salad! OMGGGGGGG:

I ordered the light BBQ snapper with apple salsa for my main meal:

This was AMAZING as well. The light fish with the apple salsa was soooo refreshing! My only sadness was that it came with regular potatoes instead of the promised sweet potatoes Just as well though — it’s not like I was way overstuffed at this point anyway. Ummmm …

We knew the dessert buffet was coming, and we all hit the dance floor to make room!

NYU Communications Girls (aka wine & cheese club!):

The official royal couple eating of the cupcakes signified the start of the dessert buffet!

Chocolate mousse:

Key lime pie:

Salted chocolate cupcake (the winner!):

Warm cherry cobbler with vanilla ice cream:

Lemon drop cupcake:

Yes, I ate them all!!! (With a bit of help, thank goodness.)

Photobooth!

The party finished up around 12:30 am, and this sight upon departure almost made me wish I’d been the one to get married:

I love weddings! Speaking of which, I’ll be attending one tomorrow …

This wedding made me so happy. Congratulations to Diana & Ben!