Gillian and Matt
Since Arcteryx and Patagonia's catalogs did not sell formal wear, I went to Nordstrom a few months ago to get a tuxedo. Why? Well, we were attending the wedding of Matt Nardella and Gillian Reny at an estate venue in Brookline, Massachusetts, a few miles from downtown Boson, where we were staying.
Once we left the chartered bus, I entered a world of grass, flowers, and serenity. With three hundred people watching, the ceremony featured meaningful words by the bride, groom, and family members. Then, there was a lengthy cocktail hour with plates of handcrafted appetizers.
When the band from New York began playing, we guests walked to a large permanent tent with dinner seating and a spacious dance floor. The lead singer looked like Tina Turner, and the group played non-stop rock and roll for the next few hours. Was their chair lifting, Conga dances, and crowd surfing? Of course. I emailed Rob Schannon: the party made a Taylor Swift concert look like a wake. It was beyond my energy level!
Rock on
An after-party started at ten o’clock, but we took one of the shuttle buses back to Boston. We had a terrific time but were ready for sleep. There is a brunch at another hotel this morning, and then the festivities end.
Both the Bride and Groom are outstanding people. They are intelligent, gracious, social, and athletic. Matt works in finance in New York City, and Gillian is a graduate student in organizational psychology at Columbia. Will they go to Niagara Falls on their honeymoon? No, they’ll spend time in the Azores as a warm-up to their major trip, a skiing excursion to Japan later in the year.
In my mind, the wedding had a special meaning since Gillian was a victim of the Boston Marathon bombing some years ago. She survived severe injuries and has remained a positive, joyous person. Her family raised money to fund a trauma unit at a nearby hospital. She and they looked into the face of evil and moved on, scarred but triumphant.
