Sunday, July 24, 2016

The wedding tree

It's not quite Bilbo Baggins' party tree, but it did the trick. Four years ago, in May, Ken and I were married under this tree in Washington Park. It was a little fuller then; the weeping branches and leaves stretched all the way to the ground, and there was a picnic table nestled under the canopy. The park's groundskeepers have pruned it back quite a lot since. The picnic table is gone, and now there are ropes around the tree.
 
The wedding tree today. It's been pruned back, and the picnic table is gone.

I don't remember this little sign, either, but I'm glad it's there now.

It's a European Beech! Who knew?

Here's what the tree looked like back in May 2012.

Me, Pat, and Ken, under the wedding tree in 2012. It was much more leafed out then.

I got to see Pat, the woman who performed our ceremony, and her husband Richard, again on this trip. We got together with my friends L&L for dinner at a great little Italian restaurant called Café Calabria. We shared fried calamari (a recurring theme on this trip) and then I had chicken piccata with angel hair pasta for my main course. It was great to see Pat and Richard again!

Richard and Pat on the left. My dear friends L&L on the right, who were at our ceremony in 2012.


11 comments:

  1. You can tell the Americans with white wine and the Frenchified with red wine!

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    1. It's funny that French people never drink Vouvray, Chablis, Mâcon, Monbazillac, Touraine Sauvignon, Sancerre, Pinot Gris, Champagne, Riesling, Sylvaner, or Gewurztraminer wines!

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    2. Whenever I ordered wine in restaurants in the States, the waiter or waitress always brought a glass of white wine even though I said red wine. Maybe they didn't understand me because of my accent?

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  2. I wonder how old the tree actually is. I love the way it "travels."

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  3. Not much more to say than it is just a nice memory of yours for us to see.

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  4. That wedding picture brings back beautiful memories- the present state of the tree would have made it impossible for a wedding site now. So glad it was possible in 2012 since it was the perfect spot and protected from the slight breeze on that day.

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  5. Lovely photos :)
    I'm curious about the request that no one paint the tree? Are they afraid that someone will walk up to it and "tag" it? or do they want no one to sit nearby with an easel and canvas? ;)

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  6. Senior citizen tree! LOL. So happy you were able to get married in your hometown. Perhaps next year you and Ken will find a nice pet sitter, and be able to take a trip together somewhere to celebrate your 5th anniversary.

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  7. chm, this was still the appetizer course, so some of us had both white and red wine!

    mitch, I wondered the same thing, but they didn't say on the sign. Well, I'll bet it's older than us!

    gosia, I think it is!

    andrew, thanks!

    evelyn, I'm glad that you and Lewis could be there. It's a wonderful memory!

    judy, ha! It's a good thing that they didn't prohibit photographing it. :)

    kiwi, thanks! The 5th anniversary kind of pales next to the 34th anniversary of our actually living together. Still...

    anne marie, and getting cuter by the day! ;)

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