A week ago I flew back to New Jersey for Noah's wedding. There are some details to the traveling that I will go into later. I got to Newark mid-afternoon Thursday and made my way to Noah's work in Manhattan. From there we walked to the oldest pizzeria in Manhattan and ate with Jim, Chris, Emily, Sven, Jean, and Noah's Belgian host family from ten years ago Rudy and Mika. It was great to see everyone. We met Aaron, Courtney, and Elayna (ACE) when we got back to the Hilton in Newark. Elayna is HUGE and no pictures can do her justice.
There wasn't much scheduled for Friday, so Jim, ACE, and I went back to Manhattan to pick up a couple tuxes. Jim took the tuxes back to the hotel so the rest of us could do some exploring. We got another hefty dose of the NYC subways and went to about 60th street. We saw the southeast corner of Central Park, ate at a so-so burger place, and wandered around FAO Schwartz, a massive toy store. Elayna hadn't been feeling well most of the day, so we cut the trip a little short and headed back to Newark. The rehearsal dinner was held at a Korean restaurant and was fantastic. I've had Korean food twice, and it amazes me how much can be set on a table. I was still on Belfast time so by about 7pm I was fading, but I had a good visit with my dad and aunt's cousin Willa, who lives in Astoria, and one of the groomsmen, Matt. I stayed at the Hilton that night, in the bridal suite with Noah. I'll let you use your imagination to picture what it was like getting the room keys from the front desk.
The big day started at 6am for Noah and his groomsmen, but the other half of the bridal party got up at 4. A limo took Noah, the other groomsmen, and I to Edgewater, NJ to pick up Jean and her bridesmaids. We were hopefully the classiest people to go to Starbucks that morning. The pictures were taken by the river, and it was frigid.
The ceremony was held on the 22nd floor of the Newark Center, which had an unreal view of the city and the river. It went smoothly, with just enough memorable quirks to chuckle about later. Jean was beautiful, and Noah's tallness was thoroughly admired.
The reception was a great success, with singing and dancing by a very agreeable crowd. Elayna tried her best to show up Jean. I was glad to visit with my Pennsylvania cousins, especially Blake who spent two summers irrigating and haying for us.
Noah and Jean stayed in the Ritz Carlton that night, so a small group of us had drinks in its 14th floor bar after the reception. The place has a great view of the New York skyline. Noah and Jean have a fun group of friends and I'm glad to have met them, especially Matt Matera and Jon Blank, the groomsmen. I was truly honored to even be with Noah and Jean on their wedding day, not to mention to be Noah's best man. Congratulations Noah and Jean!
I flew out the next morning, back to Belfast and the last few weeks of my Irish experience.
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