I was looking forward to Patty and Robb’s wedding from the first time the bride contacted me in January. They were planning their reception at their favorite restaurant, and my very favorite venue, Mission Oak Grill in Newburyport. First, a recommendation: if anyone is planning their wedding anywhere near this gorgeous seaside town, USE THE MISSION OAK GRILL! I can’t say enough about it. The staff, the food… everything.
The planning meetings that I had with Patty were really fun. I had the sense when I first met her that she was nervous about the prospect of creating an atmosphere that was fun for all of her guests. I loved watching the change in her the closer we got to the wedding day. You could actually see the growing excitement — it was written all over her face.
The ceremony was held at Waterfront Park, just about a two minute walk from the reception site. The bride and groom had chosen a bagpiper to play at their ceremony and, immediately following the recessional, the bagpiper marched all of the guests through the streets of Newburyport to the Mission Oak Grill. It was super fun, watching this from the second floor — an Irish Pied Piper leading guests to the party.
I had been a little concerned over my own abilities for one aspect of this reception. The bride and groom are country music fans and, well, I’m not. Added to this was the fact that, just a few weeks after the wedding date had been set, tour dates for Toby Keith were announced and his appearance at the Comcast Center in Mansfield was scheduled for the same night. The bride and her sisters are self confessed “Toby FANATICS” and apparently it was a sore spot among the ladies (all in good fun, I’m certain…) As a compromise, of sorts, we mixed in quite a few of the artist’s songs among dinner hour and dancing. And they loved it.
I don’t generally have cake at a wedding. I was told by Jess (the general manager at MOG) that I HAD to have some. Hands down, the best cake I’ve ever tasted. So another flagrant endorsement would be for Eat Cake!, also operating out of Newburyport. Not sure what else there is to say, so I’ll close with a discussion of something of critical importance. Cake.