A Religious Experience - St. Louis Edition

Although the purpose of my "A Religious Experience" series has been to shed light on the architectural gems to be found among Chicago's houses of worship, I wanted to write a post about my visit to the Cathedral Basilica in St. Louis; after all, it is my favorite church in the United States. I plan on visiting more local churches as soon as I can work out the logistical details, but until then, you can get your ecclesiastic architecture fix while reading about St. Louis:

Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis

4431 Lindell Boulevard

St. Louis, Missouri

The Cathedral Basilica represents a critical story in the development of my interest in domestic churches. I first became aware of it when I was at Wash U., when one of my friends at the time, Drew, attended a string of organ concerts there. At the time, I was a bit of an architecture snob and believed that the only churches worth seeing were the ancient, medieval, and Gothic churches of Europe, but over time, he wore me down and convinced me to give this local landmark a shot, and I was glad I did. After being thoroughly wowed by what I saw there, I began to wonder what other hidden gems were to be found on this side of the pond, right under my nose.

Like the great churches of Europe, the Cathedral Basilica was built over a long period of time. It opened for services in 1914, seven years after the start of construction, when only the superstructure was completed and no interior ornamentation was present. The church was not consecrated until 1926, in conjunction with the centennial of the formation of the St. Louis Archdiocese, but work on the mosaics adorning the walls and ceilings was not finished until 1988. Initially, the budget for the building stood at one million dollars, an unfathomable sum in those days, which is roughly equivalent to $24 million in today's dollars. Of course, given the length of the project and the intricacy of the final mosaics, the Cathedral ended up costing far more than even that.

The Archdiocese held a design contest for plans for the new Cathedral, and their selection committee ultimately chose a Byzantine design from the local St. Louis firm of Barnett, Haynes, and Barnett. You can definitely see the resemblance to the copycat version the firm created for St. Clement Church in Chicago.

Outside the cathedral is this unique statue dedicated to the idea of racial harmony in the deeply divided city of St. Louis. The angel's wings are created from wind-chimes, which causes the audience to interact with the sculpture in more than just a visual manner. It was donated by a member of the Schlafly family, a prestigious local family with ties to the beer industry.

The "New Cathedral," as it was known at the time of its construction, was designed to accommodate St. Louis' burgeoning Catholic population, which had  far outgrown the much smaller original cathedral located downtown, near the riverfront. The Old Cathedral was built in a colonial American style, and was considerably more austere than its replacement. The mosaics in the principle dome of the church feature images from the New and Old Testaments, and were designed by famous liturgical artist Jan Henryk de Rosen when he was in the United States seeking asylum from the Communist government of Poland during the Cold War. The smaller dome over the alter depicts significant events from the history of the St. Louis Archdiocese. The mosaic work in the nave was completed by largely local firms.

Tiffany Studios was responsible for the mosaics in the side chapels and sanctuary walls. Here, you can see the ceiling of the All Saints Chapel, which bears a stylistic similarity to the geometric design on the ceiling completed by Tiffany for the Marshall Field Building in Chicago.

You can also see some similarities between this Tiffany mosaic in the ambulatory and the work they did in the former Chicago Public Library, now the Chicago Cultural Center

 

 

Even though I had been to the church before, I was excited this time to see the Mosaic Museum, located in the crypt. Although I thought I knew a lot about the mosaic process, even I learned a lot from their informative displays. For instance, I was under the mistaken impression that the tesserae, or tiles, were painstakingly applied to the walls and ceilings one at a time. In reality, however, the artists create a reverse image of the desired finished product, and temporarily adhere the tiles face down to it. Then, they apply the cement to the drawing's final destination, press the design onto the surface, and allow it to dry. Then the temporary backing is peeled off, leaving the tiles in place to be grouted later. In this manner, the mosaics are completed in chunks.

I was also interested to know that the large swaths of gold tesserae are more complicated than meets the eye. They are actually composed of several different shades and textures of gold leaf-covered glass, as the imperfections and differences cause the light to reflect off the individual tiles differently. This creates the glittering effect that we think of when we imagine glass mosaics.

The baldacchino, or canopy over the altar, is designed to mimic the shape and appearance of the church's exterior dome.

The narthex of the church is decorated with gold mosaics featuring scenes from the life of King Louis IX of France, the saint to whom the Cathedral is dedicated, and the namesake of the city of St. Louis. 

Though the size of the St. Louis Archdiocese is shrinking as a result of decreasing church attendance nationwide, and the flight of many parishioners to the increasingly distant suburbs of the city, it was granted Basilica status by the Vatican in 1997. Pope John Paul II visited there during his 1999 visit to the United States, and many artifacts from that visit can be found in the museum located beneath the church.

Still, even if its congregation is shrinking, it was good to see the church looking every bit as splendid as I remembered it. Plus, I was glad to share such a thing of beauty with the man I love. My only regret is that we didn't get to spend more time there, as we arrived about five minutes before mass was about to start and we were quickly shooed away by a priest. Hopefully, Justin and I will be back someday so he can get a better look at the building, and get a better appreciation of the beauty I've been raving about for so long.

Meet Me In St. Louis - Part Four

Finally, since few things went according to the original plan this weekend (though on balance, our trip still went well), fate had one more wrench to toss into our schedule for our last day on vacation. Whereas we had wanted to get up early and squeeze in a quick trip to the Zoo while the weather was nice and my sense of smell was still out of commission, we ended up leaving town early to make a detour on our way home. As it turned out, Grandma Betsy was hospitalized earlier in the week with a wicked case of diverticulitis, so we wanted to stop in Carrollton to visit her. She seemed to be in good spirits, despite wanting to go home as soon as possible, and she actually looked healthier than I remember seeing her in a while. My aunt Lisa was also there, and we ran into my cousins Danielle and Trista in the hospital parking lot, so it was nice to unexpectedly see so much of the family. Unintentionally, we ended our summer where we began it -- in Greene County.

Even if our trip didn't live up to the rosy expectations I had built up for it (i.e. sickness, inclement weather, and unanticipated family obligations), I'm still glad I got an opportunity to get away and spend some quality time with the man I love. It would be nice if our next trip went a little more smoothly, but I'm satisfied with our St. Louis journey as a jumping off point for a lifetime of adventures together. I can't wait to see the world with Justin, experience new things together, and create beautiful memories. I'm already excitedly thinking about where we should go next. Stay tuned to find out!

Meet Me In St. Louis - Part Three

Since the first two days of our trip hadn't exactly worked out according to plan, we had to cram all of our sightseeing into our third day in town. Because I was concerned about the availability of visitor parking (though that concern was perhaps unwarranted given the fact that it was Sunday on a holiday weekend not long after the start of the school year), we started off our day with a walking tour of Washington University, in which I pointed out all of my favorite spots and old stomping grounds. I think Justin was surprised by the beauty of the campus; after all the renovations they've conducted in the past four years, much of it was a surprise to me as well. I have to say though, the place looks expensive these days. The $50,000 tuition price tag makes a little more sense now.

After four years of avoiding taking the cliched photo on the Brookings steps, I was actually sad that I didn't have one, so I gave in and took one with Justin.

 

Justin and the Bunny.

Mostly, I was relieved that in the flurry of construction that has the South 40 looking like an Epcot recreation of Europe, the powers that be have not yet gotten around to tearing down my old freshman dorm, Beaumont. Sure, it was kind of crappy, and it's definitely an eyesore now compared to the buildings that surround it, but some of the happiest memories I have were created in those dingy halls. I made friends there who are some of the most important people in my life, and somehow, I didn't have a single photo of me with the building. I made sure to rectify that situation before the building exists as nothing more than a fond memory for those who lived there.

After reliving my college days, we tried to squeeze in a quick visit to the St. Louis Zoo, which is widely regarded as one of the best zoos in the country. Normally, I'm not a fan of zoos, largely due to the smell, but seeing as how my sinuses were still blocked, that obstacle was not an issue. In fact, because of my delicate sense of smell, I'd never gone to the zoo in the time that I spent living in St. Louis, and I was looking to finally scratch it off my to-do list. However, given the beautiful weather that had finally taken hold, it seemed that most of St. Louis had the same idea as we did. There was no parking to be found in Forest Park within a reasonable walk of the zoo, so we decided to move on and visit the Cathedral Basilica instead.

The Cathedral Basilica is one of my favorite spots in St. Louis, and I think it's a shame that more people don't visit there. A poll among my relatives yesterday revealed that none of them had ever been to see it, and all of them are long-time residents of the city. Built at the turn of the last century to replace the riverfront cathedral that had formerly served as the seat of the St. Louis archdiocese, the Cathedral Basilica is now home to one of the largest mosaic installations in the world. Much of this work was designed by the famous Tiffany Studios, and the results are breathtaking. Sadly, we were only there for a few minutes, as it was a Sunday and a mass was scheduled to start shortly after we arrived. Still, I was happy to share such a beautiful hidden gem with Justin, however briefly.

Next we were on our way to the Gateway Arch, St. Louis' defining landmark. Though I'd been up to the top of it when I was in college and didn't exactly relish the idea of riding the rickety, claustrophobic capsule elevator to the top once more, Justin was keen to experience the Arch to the fullest, so I sucked it up and did it once more. That is love, folks.

The Arch was designed by Eero Saarinen, the famous Finnish-American architect known for the TWA terminal at JFK Airport in New York City, Washington Dulles Airport, and some very mod furniture designs. He submitted his design in response to a contest being held for a memorial to westward expansion, one of the first major design competitions of the post-war era. Saarinen recognized that the world's great monuments all employed relatively simple, timeless shapes (like the Washington Monument's obelisk), so he went with the basic form of the catenary arch.  Construction began in 1963 and was completed two years later in 1965. Ever since I can remember, Dad has told the story of how the Arch's construction fascinated his civil engineer father, who would often drive the family past the construction site so they could watch its progress.

I really feel that the top of the Arch experience is overrated. It's exceptionally crowded, and St. Louis isn't exactly a particularly scenic city of which to obtain a sweeping view. The vista over the dessicated industrial landscape on the Illinois side of the river is even worse. Still, I guess at least Justin can say he's been to the top of the Arch, so that's something.

Justin and I at the top of the Arch.

The Arch also overlooks Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals. If you wanted to park yourself at a window all afternoon, you could probably watch the whole game, though I think you'd be at a loss for what was happening most of the time.

Since we'd already braved the security line to get into the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial complex, we decided to make the most of our experience there and peruse the Museum of Westward Expansion, which I had previously avoided because it looked hopelessly cheesy and offensively self-aggrandizing. Both of those assessments proved to be correct, so we made a quick tour of the paltry selection of artifacts before making a hasty exit. The only redeeming item in the entire exhibit was the awesome plaque pictured above, which gave us both a good laugh.

When we had finished at the Arch, we headed west ourselves in search of the new Citygarden, an interactive sculpture garden built as part of the effort to renew the downtown area. We paused to get the iconic photo of the St. Louis courthouse in front of the Arch, before trekking an additional block west to find it. Although it had looked much bigger online, there was a nice collection of pieces, and the overall effect of the installation reminded me a bit of Millennium Park, though on a much smaller scale.

Adults and children alike were frolicking and splashing in the numerous fountains, which I think would be truly refreshing during the brutal St. Louis summer. Kids were climbing all over the art pieces, which may not have been the artists' original intent, but it was nice to see the public really engaging with the sculptures.

Justin with a electronic panel featuring people in motion.

Goodness knows St. Louis needs more activity in the downtown area, and it was good to see a positive change taking place there. From my perspective, it was also nice to be able to do something I'd never done in the city I once called home, and to share an experience with Justin that was novel for both of us.

On the way back to the car, we made a quick stop to see the Old Cathedral, officially designated the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France. Built in 1831, it was the first Catholic church constructed west of the Mississippi River, and was the seat of the first Catholic diocese established in the Louisiana Purchase territory. Because of its historic significance, it was spared when all the surrounding buildings were razed to allow for the construction of the Arch, but due to the flight of residents from the downtown area, it has some of the lowest attendance of any Catholic church in the area. It was deserted when we were there, and compared to the splendor of the Cathedral Basilica, it was a bit of a letdown.

From the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial area, we braved out way through the post-Cardinals game traffic to make it to dinner at Aya Sofia, a Turkish restaurant owned and operated by my cousin Alicia and her husband Mehmet. They have amazing food there, and it was always somewhat of a special occasion restaurant when I was living in St. Louis. I wanted to take Justin there since it's not only connected to the family, but also because we've never taken the time to locate a Turkish restaurant in Chicago. Plus, it's across the street from the ever-popular frozen custard emporium Ted Drewe's, which would allow us to squeeze in one more quintessential St. Louis experience for the day.

Dinner was, as expected, amazing, and the romantic atmosphere was a perfect capstone to our weekend getaway. I think Justin enjoyed his Ted Drewe's experience as well, even though we were unanimous in our assessment that their frozen custard isn't exactly mind-blowing. It's really the experience of waiting in the line and standing around the parking lot eating it surrounded by locals who have been doing the same thing for generations that makes the experience.

For our last evening, we checked into the lovely Moonrise Hotel on the Delmar Loop, the Groupon for which had inspired our vacation in the first place. If you're heading to St. Louis, I can't recommend this hotel enough: it is by far the nicest hotel I've stayed at in the city in all my years of attending weddings and Thanksgivings in the area, and that includes the Ritz Carlton. There is a bit of street noise, since the building is located in a popular nightlife district, but the room was beautifully appointed and very comfortable. Also, the staff seemed keen to please and was very service-oriented. 

Though Justin was feeling a bit under the weather and was definitely running a fever, it didn't spoil our night; we managed to find The Empire Strikes Back on television, which provided a perfect, very "us" ending to our long day of tourism.

Meet Me In St. Louis - Part Two

On our first proper day in St. Louis, the weather turned out to be the thorn in our side for the day. Most of the sightseeing I had planned for our trip involved being outdoors, and somehow I had failed to take into account St. Louis' miserably hot and humid weather. I suppose I thought just because it would technically be September that St. Louis would be enjoying fall temperatures, but I was woefully mistaken. Instead, it was over 100 degrees, and the afternoon and evening were punctuated by intense storms. Still, we managed to have a good, albeit low-key day in our new environs.

We started off our day with a light breakfast at Kaldi's, a local coffee chain that focuses on sustainably farmed, organic, free-trade products. While that is eco-friendly and socially responsible and all, the main reason why I wanted to take Justin there was their Aztec hot chocolate. You see, Wash U featured Kaldi's products in all their on-campus cafes, and whereas I don't drink coffee, those cinnamon-spiked, gently spicy hot chocolates were my salvation in college. I used to stop and pick one up with a scone or croissant and consume the two very slowly throughout the course of a boring lecture in an effort to keep awake. Though my sinus infection kept me tasting my morning dose of nostalgia properly, I was really excited to share something I once loved so greatly with the man who I love now, and I think he enjoyed it too.

Although we wanted to use this trip to focus on us instead of spending all our time with family like we did the last time we got out of town, I did get in touch with my Aunt Faye to schedule a little family get-together. She graciously invited us over to her lovely suburban home for a homemade lunch. She prepared a few of my Nana's specialties, namely lasagna and peach pie (my grandmother was famous for her pies, and I'd expressed to Faye my summer flirtation with pie-making in hopes of comparing notes with the inheritor of my nana's recipes). Sadly, I couldn't taste a thing, but Justin enjoyed the food, and I enjoyed the food-centric family stories.

Can you tell that Faye's kids helped with the decorating?

It was nice to spend time with my family, even though their cats were giving my already infected sinuses a run for their money. My dad's cousin Linda also came over with her two daughters, Jill and Alicia, the latter of which brought along her ridiculously adorable new baby, Bobby. Cuddly babies make any family gathering immediately more entertaining, though I was sad I couldn't touch or interact with him more for fear of transmitting my germs.

Faye and her partner Paula also offered to let Justin and I borrow their pool and beautifully landscaped backyard for a swim while they took their kids to a St. Louis Cardinals game. Though we'd originally planned to spend our afternoon at the zoo, we were intimidated by the insane weather, so we decided to take them up on their offer and use the water to beat the heat. We had a refreshing little dip, but it was cut all too short by the onset of a rainstorm, so we packed up our gear and moved on.

In an effort to kill time before dinner, I took Justin on a drive around Forest Park, one of the largest urban parks in the United States, and home to numerous cultural institutions such as the St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri History Museum, St. Louis Science Center, the St. Louis Zoo, the Muny (an outdoor musical theater venue), a golf course, and several event venues. It was home to the 1904 World's Fair, as well as the 1904 Summer Olympic Games, and it is by far, the most scenic spot in the city in my opinion. We drove around, taking in ponds, waterfalls, and a large quantity of wedding parties using the park for a photographic background, until I finally located the series of waterfalls and picturesque stone bridge that I remembered from my college days. That spot was one of our favorites for picnics, and we had Scott's birthday party there shortly before we graduated in 2007. It holds a lot of happy memories for me, and I was glad I was able to locate it after all this time.

Justin and I at my favorite spot in Forest Park.

For dinner, I had yet another old favorite I wanted to share with Justin -- Dewey's Pizza. It took me three years to find decent pizza in St. Louis as a college student, and their perfectly constructed pies are just about the thing I miss about St. Louis culinarily speaking.  Though it is not ordinarily his favorite, I convinced Justin to try their Hawaiian pizza, and I made a believer out of him. Something about their mildly spicy sauce works perfectly with the sweetness of the pineapple and makes for a memorable pie. I'd been looking forward to Dewey's from the moment we made the reservations to come to town, and I was a little bit crushed that I could barely taste it at all. At least Justin enjoyed it though, and I was glad to be able to share something so important to me with him.

A half-Hawaiian, half-Canadian bacon and green olive pizza from Dewey's.

Even though we didn't squeeze in everything that I had planned, we still had a pleasant day in St. Louis, replete with good food and good company, and it was good to take things a bit easier than my usual vacation pace, given my poor health. I think the day was just what the doctor ordered.

Meet Me In St. Louis - Part One

They say life is what happens when you make other plans, and the older I get, the more I believe it.

For the holiday weekend, I had spent a good amount of time planning a weekend getaway for Justin and myself, the first of ours that wouldn't be given over to family gatherings and obligations. I was inspired by a Groupon I'd spotted for a the Moonrise Hotel, a new boutique hotel in St. Louis that was under construction while I was in college, and about which I had remained curious. The online deal would put it in the realm of affordability, so I floated the idea with Justin, who was amenable because he'd somehow never managed to travel to St. Louis, despite traveling extensively with his family and on his own in the past. In the first complication of many to face this journey, the weekend-rate Groupons sold out before we could secure them, so we were only able to get one for a Sunday night. For the rest of our journey we decided to stay at the Clayton Sheraton, which would be cheaper than staying at the Moonrise for the other two nights, sans-Groupon. At least this way we'd get to check out the new, nicer hotel for at least one night, and still get in a decently long vacation.

The next challenge to face us arose on Tuesday, when it became abundantly clear that the cold I feared was coming on for most of last week that had failed to materialize was going to make itself known after all. I ended up taking Wednesday off of work in order to stay home and get rest, hoping that if I took excellent care of myself all week that I'd be in the clear by the time our departure rolled around today. However, Thursday saw very little improvement, and by this morning, I was even more miserable. Forgoing our original plan to be on the road to St. Louis by 9:00 a.m., I seized the earliest available appointment at my doctor's office at 11:15, where I was diagnosed with a sinus infection and bronchitis, and duly given a course of antibiotics. We ended up leaving three and half hours later than planned, but I think it was better than suffering through the weekend un-medicated.

By the time we finally got into town, it was too late to do any of the sightseeing that I had on the agenda for the afternoon, and as it turned out, Justin was feeling under the weather as well, though his was more of an adverse reaction to the road food we'd consumed on the way down. We both ended up feeling so poorly that we couldn't even make it out of the hotel to have dinner; our first night of vacation was officially a bust. Still, at least we were together, and things could really only get better from there...

Happy Thanksgiving...

As per family custom, we made our annual trek to St. Louis this week to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with Dad's extended family. His cousin, Candy, was kind enough to host all 50 odd people in her brand-new home, and as always, there was enough food spread across the two meals and dessert table to feed a small army. I took a few photos from the day, which I am sharing below, while I talk a bit about what I am thankful for this year:

First of all, I am thankful this year for my support network. No man is an island, and I am grateful to all the people in my life who share their strength with me in whatever form they can. The older I get, the more I realize the paramount importance of love in my life, whether it is platonic, familial, or romantic, and in the past year, I have felt love and encouragement from all sides. The Beatles may have been onto something when they wrote, "All you need is love..."

Dad, getting into the annual game of "Rob Your Neighbor," which I continue to boycott in the belief that it doesn't foster a very loving environment on a day that's supposed to celebrate family and togetherness.

Secondly, I am thankful this year for all the blessings in my life. I have a job, which, given my age group is truly nothing to take for granted; only 41% of 18-30 year-olds have full-time jobs. I'm more or less in good health, and I have health insurance to help me take care of any problems that might arise. I lead a comfortable life, free of debt if not all monetary concerns, and I enjoy enough disposable income to maintain hobbies and interests that enrich my life. Life is good, and I'm not taking it for granted.

Cousins from both halves of the family engaged in conversation at the post-Thanksgiving dinner table.

All in all, I feel very fortunate for the past year, and can only hope that I'll be able to say the same when it comes time to give thanks next year. What were you thankful for in 2010?

All Together Now...

I confess, I was bad this weekend. Not just bad as in overindulging in festive treats (because goodness knows that happened as well), but bad as in I didn't manage to take any photos. But, when you have as gifted a photographer in the family as my cousin, Sheri, there doesn't seem to be much point. I stole some of her pictures off of Facebook, which is why the image quality is a little shaky, but trust me, she is brilliant at what she does. So, with no further ado, here is a photographic journey through our Thanksgiving with the Ingrassias:

Even though we aren't religious, Dad was asked to lead part of the pre-dinner blessing. He also ad-libbed a few words of remembrance for our family who are no longer with us, which was a nice touch.

Aunt Faye enjoyed my "S" cookies, and she's also indulging in another family tradition in this photo: chocolate pudding served in yellow melamine cups. My great-grandmother, Nana, would always make pudding and serve it in similar cups when her grandchildren would come to visit. Although I can't remember her doing it when I was a child, it is something that Dad's generation looks back fondly upon.

I enjoyed moderate success in the annual bingo game. This year, I won a nice photo album and a box of candy with five dollars taped to it. Mom won a lovely art nouveau-inspired coffee cup and a deck of cards.

The day after Thanksgiving, part of the family met up for pizza at my favorite St. Louis pizza place, Dewey's. Their heavenly crust and fresh toppings are the one culinary aspect of St. Louis that I've missed since I graduated. I think we made a lot of converts that day.

There are a lot of kids in the family these days, and this is just a small fraction of them. From right to left: Cousin Julie's son Max, Aunt Carolyn's son Nate, Aunt Faye's daughter Courtney, and Cousin Julie's daughter Cecelia. The kids got a huge kick out of watching the chefs make the pizzas behind the large picture windows looking into the kitchen.

Dad and I enjoyed my favorite pizza topping combination: Canadian bacon and green olives. I know it sounds odd, but somehow it really works. We've been eating it on pizzas in our family ever since I can remember.

It was great to see everyone again this year, and to keep alive all of the traditions that our family has acquired throughout the years. We even watched some old home movies this year, most notably a tape from my first Thanksgiving with the family back in 1985, when I was seven months old. Much has changed since then: my cousins Daniel and TJ were infants that year as well, but there have been many marriages, new babies, and sadly, deaths in the past 24 years. A lot of things are still the same, however. We still use the same oval Chinet plates, eat the same rice and ground beef stuffing, and the same green beans almondine. We still gather gather around the food to say grace before we fill our plates, and we still spend the day "ooo"-ing and "aah"-ing over the new babies in the family. No matter how the faces change in the years to come, I'm sure that these things, at least, will remain the same.

Going to the Chapel...

All in all, 2009 is shaping up to be a year of happy events: my cousin Trista gave birth to her third son, Benjamin, on Thursday. My cousin Aimee is pregnant, and due in December. My cousin T.J.'s wife is due to have a baby this summer. My cousin Alica got married in March, and this weekend, my parents and I trekked down to St. Louis for the nuptials of my cousin Abby at the St. Louis Family Church in Chesterfield.

The ceremony blended traditions from Christianity and Judaism, in a nod to the bride's Jewish heritage.

Abby and Jon lighting the unity candle. The church had the best lighting I've ever seen. It was like a theatrical production in there!

My Aunt Faye's children, Courtney and Cameron, blowing bubbles outside the church.

Me and Mom with my grandpa's sister, Aunt Dolly, at the reception.

The day after the wedding, the parents of the bride held a family brunch at their home. Here they are with Aunt Faye and Dad.

Me and Aunt Dolly.

The wedding was lovely, and the bride was radiant in a strapless gown of beaded lace, with a playful chiffon ruffle peaking out of the bottom. Her twin daughters, Lena and Nora, acted as flower girls and wore dresses made from the train of their great-grandmother (my great-aunt) Dolly's wedding gown. It couldn't have gone any better.

The reception was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Clayton, and featured several creative flourishes. At Abby and Jon's request, the reception was alcohol-free, a move which I whole-heartedly support. I admire them for sticking to their convictions. It never would have occurred to me that a dry wedding would even be an option, and I respect that they didn't let anyone pressure them into having alcohol merely because it's what is expected.

However, in my estimation the highlight of the evening was the dessert table, where they featured cookies baked by Abby and various family members according to time-honored family recipes. There were Polish chrusciki from the groom's family, spritz cookies and lemon sesame cookies from the other half of the bride's family, my great-grandmother's spice cookies and anise cookies from our half, and chocolate-chocolate chip and regular chocolate chip cookies to honor the favorites of the groom and bride, respectively. Considering my fondness for the cookie arts in general, I was impressed by the decision to gastronomically demonstrate the merging of different traditions and cultures through the medium of baked goods.

Abby and Jon were lucky to find each other, and Lena and Nora are doubly lucky to gain such an upstanding father. I wish them the best of luck in their new life together!