The reception was held at Webster Golf Club, just outside of Rochester, NY. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres were served immediately following the ceremony in the foyer of the hall. The best man, Za, and the maid of honor, Kathy, each gave a toast, before our former college professor and mentor Dr. Bob Pompi offered a brief grace. Dinner was served buffet style, and included carved prime rib, chicken French, and cheese tortellini in red pepper asiago sauce. The three-tier wedding cake, part dark chocolate and part almond white cake, was cut and served without incident.

A number of special dances were held just after dinner. We had our first dance to a song called “Ten Year Night” by folk singer-songwriter Lucy Kaplansky. While a little premature, considering that this was our zero-th anniversary, not our tenth, the song is a celebration of lasting love and the sheer joy of giving that love to another person. Half-way through the song, the other members of the wedding party were invited to join us, and then to remain on the dance floor for the parent dances. Diane and her father danced together to “Sunrise, Sunset” while the rest of the party danced in a circle around them. Scott and his mother danced to Janis Ian’s “Lover’s Lullaby.” The parent dances were to songs that Diane’s dad sang to her as a child, and that Scott’s mother sang to him when he was small.

The party was then begun in more earnest, with an eclectic mix of songs, including YMCA, the Chicken Dance, selections from They Might Be Giants, Daft Punk and the Muppets, as well as a moving rendition of “Freebird” with dramatic finale supplied by Wyatt. An Anniversary Dance was held to honor those couples that had been married the longest and was won by Mr. and Mrs. Dave and Barb Sturtz.