Saturday, July 7, 2007

die katzen

Just got back from wedding number two, Shana and Niko's, which was fantastic, partially because it was like a mini-vacation. They chose a spot called Nestldown (yeah, I don't know where the extra 'E' went, either, but you can insert your own Burner/raver/doorperson joke here), which was located 30 minutes from Los Gatos.


Frankly, I had no idea where Los Gatos was before this. Turns out it's sort of near San Jose and Santa Cruz, which means it's only an hour away but feels like you're suddenly in another country. Because it's friggin' hot and there are more palm trees and when I walked into the motel to check in they were cranking AC/DC. Awesome in all ways.

So a bunch of us went a day early and bbqed by the pool for July 4. No trying to see fireworks, no fighting traffic, no awkward picnics. Just good times by -- and in -- the pool. I think Tim and I had the same reaction. We both were just glued to our chairs, happily unable to do anything besides sit in the heat and bake. The every day worries of life (when will I ever get a career, a girlfriend, dental coverage) disappear and everything slows down to a sweet, languid pace.


The wedding was on Thursday. Everyone who didn't go to the wedding seemed flabbergasted that the wedding wasn't on the weekend, for what reason I do not know.

Anyhoo, it was only about 85 degrees down in the glen where they had the ceremony. No speakers hidden in the ground playing "sexy electronica" like in Russ' sister's Mexican wedding, but they did have a fountain in a pond and a bazillion redwood trees. Shana's Jewish and Niko's German, so they threw a bunch of language and cultural stuff together and it all came out nicely. Shana's sister sang an aria in German, Niko read his vows in German and English, the moyle held the knife steady. Oh wait, that's nine months from now. Um, the rabbi had the couple each write letters about why they were getting married. Shana's was pure Shana: lengthy and sweet-natured and funny and brutally honest, more honest than you're ever likely to get in a wedding ceremony, especially about the difficulties and worries ahead. Niko listed "You're hot" as one of his reasons. Awesome!


Let's see, what else? They had a kiddie train that we all rode on. I learned that people love hothouse flowers, er, tomatoes, but I'm still not sure why. I discovered that the wedding cake they serve doesn't come from the one they cut, but rather from a bunch of sheet cakes that they've baked separately and already cut up. Also, there's no such person as the Easter Bunny.

I wish I had a picture of Jake's son Elijah getting humped from behind by a little girl. Oh the look of confusion and uncertainty on his face. Hilarious!


The wedding ran a bit late, so the DJ only had about 45 minutes, but he made the best of it, rocking "99 Luft Balloons" (Niko's request) and that Jay-Z bhangra track (Shana's). But probably my favorite moment was seeing Shana in her full-on wedding dress dancing with her mom to "Party Like a Rock Star," a recent, odd rap hit.

Afterwards, we all went back to the hotel and splashed around the pool until we got kicked out for making too much noise. Sometime after 2, I crawled into the bed I shared with Kristina. No dirty dreams about her making out with truckers this time.

No comments: