My nephew Tommy tied the knot with his girlfriend Mindy this weekend in West Chester, PA. We had a blast getting together with everyone right before the holidays – Ma and Pa were there, and brother Dan, Val, Bailey, Corey, Niki, Tammy and Diane, Uncle Chuck and Aunt Jeanne, Tommy’s friend Colin, etc. – it’s been a long time since that whole group has been in one place. We drove up through awful traffic on Thursday, but Tommy had a worse travel story, missing his plane and doing lots of driving just to make it to his own wedding. But we all arrived safe and sound. While the bridal party had their rehearsal dinner, Andrea and the girls and I and my folks, headed to SuTao, a completely vegan Asian restaurant that had an entire buffet including desserts. We were all in the same nice Holiday Inn hotel Friday night, Dan and I hung out with Corey and the rest of the next generation for a few drinks and an overdue tech talk. Entertaining the wait staff with our antics kept us pretty busy Saturday morning. Then the wedding – downtown West Chester has that quaint charm, and it rolls on for blocks. The Catholic church was a beautiful stone building with gorgeous stained glass windows and an old worn hardwood floor. In between the wedding and the reception, we had a chance to grab a muffin and a coffee\/tea\/hot chocolate with Uncle Chuck and Aunt Jeanne. The reception was the highlight – on the Greystone Manor grounds – an old English-style manor that is reserved for special occasions. Instead of a large generic banquet hall, the catering took place throughout the manor, in all the nooks and crannies. Hord’erves were everywhere, drinks were served in the colder lower wing, while Andrea and the girls and Bailey and I had the main course next to a massive roaring fire. The caterer made us a special pesto meal with a wonderful glaze. Later there were chocolate-covered strawberries with coffee, and of course dancing. The girls showed off their moves! We did our best swing dancing, and everything else we could think of. We were up late again, ending up at the hotel bar with the younger gang. We had more fun at another hotel breakfast. We’re finally back home now, and we’re exhausted! CONGRATS TOMMY AND MINDY! :><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"