Last weekend we spent in West Townshend, VT at the Windham Hill Inn. The occasion was the wedding of my brother-in-law John Fay to Rika Suzuki.
There is a lifestyle that I am impressed with when I get these fleeting glimpses of it. I saw it in a couple of the Newscorp politicos that I worked with when Kesmai was a Newscorp entity. I caught several glimpses of it last weekend. While Robin Leach may not have been overly impressed by this event, I was. I am now remotely related to a man who jet-sets. If he chose to pay in mortgage payments what he pays in rent for his “apartment”, he could own my house in 5 months. He’s smooth, he’s suave, he can dance the hustle. He’s multi-national, he’s multi-racial. Speaking of which, I’m now (even more remotely) related to a black man. Get this: My wife’s brother’s wife’s sister’s husband’s sister’s husband is black. And let me tell you, that man has rhythm! But, I’m getting ahead of myself. The wedding.
The setting was beautiful. I mean, it was pure remote Vermont. If you like lush and green, which I do, the rolling hills were gorgeous. The hiking around the 150 acres on which the inn sits was rich and alive. The wedding party had the inn to itself, and no expense was spared. The rooms were comfortable and posh. The food was light, delectible and plentiful. The alcohol was vintage (where appropriate) and abundant. I shudder to think of the cost. I overheard a detail about the pink champagne, most of which was sadly left on the table after a multi-media toast by that leads me to believe/fear that the champagne alone probably cost more than my entire wedding.
It did lead me to think about the nature of wedding celebrations such as this. Certainly celebration is part of the thing. But it’s also an odd form of wealth distribution. The couple (and/or family) puts a great deal of money into throwing what amounts to a big party. People that come to the party give gifts intended to help the couple as a new couple. Alas, Carolyn and I had to underspend in this exchange, we ate more than we gave, disregarding for the moment that we also drank and slept!
Still, what can I say, but it was an amazing weekend, and I wish John and Rika the best in their life together. I’ll have pictures to post for it soon!