On Sunday morning Pooky and I awoke for our last session of cuddle-cuddle before we'd be married. We lay in the warmth of bed and pondered the day ahead of us. The cats greeted us with their usual spying on us with looks that say "feed me". There was much last minute stuff to be done, but we managed to find time for a little love since we knew after eating a four-course dinner we'd be too bloated to consummate the marriage on our wedding night. We left on time to the falls with great anticipation in our hearts. The drive felt like it took forever, that time was moving slow.
We got to the falls over an hour earlier than we had planned to meet the officiant, Steve and Maxine. The park was crowded, too, which we hadn't expected, but the day was nice and smelled strongly of spring. No wonder everyone was out to see the falls!
We checked into our room early, and since I was feeling peckish, we found our way to the cafe for a snack. Everyone wanted to know why we were wearing costumes. The usual inquiry was "Were we part of a Shakespearean play?" No, we informed, we're getting married. Then the inquirer's face would change to a big, happy smile and offer us congratulations.
At 2:30 we met with Connie, and then proceeded to wait for Steve and Maxine. By 3 o'clock we were becoming worried because no Steve or Maxine, and then it dawned on us that perhaps they had gone to the park gift shop and not the lodge gift shop! Just as we headed out the lodge, there we saw Maxine coming toward us. All was well! We quickly found a spot that wasn't occupied by anyone, but as soon as we set up the camera and began to take positions, a crowd came over to look at us. We had our impromptu audience with us for the entire ceremony, and just as quickly as they appeared, they vanished once everything was over.
Despite my best intentions not to burst into tears when I read my vows, I just couldn't keep my composure. This is why waterproof make-up was invented! Maxine was asked if she'd like to read something, and so she chose the very appropriate Salish Marriage Blessing. Finally after what felt like forever it came time to jump the broom! As requested, our pronouncement was borrowed from The Muppets: "Then because you share a love so big/ I now pronounce you frog and pig!" Then we introduced ourselves to the world as Mr. and Mrs. Pooky!
As we walked up to the lodge we had many people stop us along the way and ask if they could take their picture with us. It was very strange—something that Pooky and I hadn't anticipated. One man stopped Pooky and asked if his wife could pose with Pooky, and the way he said it, it sounded like he only wanted Pooky in the picture, so Pooky clarified, "Can my new wife join us, too?" The man said sure! Only one person asked us what the broom was for.
Since we had more than an hour to spend until our dinner reservation, we invited Steve and Maxine back to our room for conversation and the making of happy memories. Maxine and I don't get to see each other often as we'd like, and we were all once together again since many moons ago. It was a blessed afternoon!
All of us had no idea what to expect for dinner. The Salish Lodge is noted for their expensive menu prices and French style cuisine. Would we be disappointed, feel underfed, or have to eat something very bad tasting? Thankfully, our waiter was very kind to explain what each menu item contained. The mixture of French and English words left us all feeling like we had learned nothing by watching episodes of Fraiser.
Pooky and I knew that we wanted the chateaubriand. It was what we had been wanting to try for two years, ever since we first discovered the lodge's restaurant menu. Since none of us drink the champagne toast was changed to Italian sodas. Pooky and I had a salad as our first course. It was red bibb lettuce with flavorful rouquefort cheese. My second course was gnocchi with tofu while Pooky had some kind of funky clam or oyster dish.
There was no need to worry about which forks, spoons, or knives to use with each course because between each serving they would lay out the silverware before you and then take it away. There was even some crumb scrapping! None of us had any idea about fancy dining etiquette, so we all just sat there and did our best not to look silly. Each course was exquisitely prepared and presented. One thing to keep in mind about this style of eating is that there is no hurry. You relax and talk and enjoy the process.
After we had the first two courses I was started to fill a bit full, but not stuffed. Our waiter came to us to announce that the chef had taken the chateaubriands out of the oven to sit for five minutes and that he'd bring them out shortly to carve. The next thing to happen was he arrived with a very fancy cart at the table with the meat. Before our eyes he sliced up the little meat roasts and laid everything out so nicely.
Steve and Maxine also went the chateaubriand route, so there was no need to share, which was a good thing because the meat was like eating "cow clouds" as Steve dubbed it. The meat was so tender and soft you didn't need a steak knife. We had nothing more than slightly aggressive serated butter knives. The meat melted like fine choclate in your mouth. It was velvety smooth. It was the best beef I have ever eaten—far better than the best prime rib I've ever tasted. After tasting it there is no way that I'll ever become vegetarian. It's just too good!
By the time the main course was over we were all starting to feel full, but we knew that there was dessert left to experience. None of the desserts made sense to us, so we had our waiter explain once again what we would be eating. I opted for a semi-frozen dessert that was flavored with ginger and lavender. Pooky had the bananas and rum, Stever tried the chocolate trio, and Maxine went with the pear filled with creme brulee.
We left the table feeling so full, and yet not gorged. It was a happy feeling. All of us needed to use the toilet as the drinks worked their way through us. We had been dining for 3 hours.
During dinner we talked about all sorts of things, ranging from favorite movies, political opinions, and what Steve knows about his famous cousin (she's a pop star with the first name of Christina). He had some interesting stories to tell about her as a child, what is real and not real about her, and some other stuff that really doesn't matter, nor is it really all that profound in knowing, but it was fun to hear about such a well-known celebrity and to see how they live.We determined that we didn't like any of the presidential candidates and we'd all write in "Mr. Fez Doo" on our ballots come November.
We walked Steve and Maxine out to their car and called it a night. I was dying to try the fancy garden bathtub so I filled it full of hot water and took a bubbling soak for a bit. I couldn't fall asleep at all, even though we had a fluffy soft feather bed to sleep on. It may have been too much coffee at dinner, or the fact that things with my mother went so poorly, or the fact that Pooky and I finally tied the knot!
Morning came quickly and our dining experiences at the lodge were not yet through. We opted to have the country breakfast. Did you know that breakfast can have courses, too? It started off with a fruit parfait and went to oatmeal. Then we had 3 different meats with eggs prepared to our liking. Then it ended with pancakes. I was overloaded with food!
The stay and the dining at the lodge put us over budget for the wedding, but all total we spent about $2,500 on the whole she-bang. We now have four years to save up for our first anniversary!
We weren't the only couple to marry at the falls that day. On the lodge schedule were 3 or 4 other couples who were exchanging vows. We never saw any of them. It would be interesting to find out how they plan to celebrate the "off years" of their anniversary. Pooky & I will celebrate the off years by using the date we first met, which was on February 16th.
