The Infamous June 2013 Part 2: Time to Say “I Do!”

After experiencing the culinary wonders of the S.Pellegrino Cooking Cup, I headed back to Boston to prepare for my most exciting adventure yet…marriage. I landed in Boston on Sunday, packed for my wedding week and honeymoon, and headed to Philly the following day. The week leading up to the wedding was the most fabulous blur I’ll ever experience. Any bride will tell you, it’s quite the whirlwind. So in order to step away and decompress a bit before the wedding events began, my now husband took me on a date night. We headed to POD, our favorite restaurant in Philadelphia. Located in University City, POD is one of Stephen Starr’s originals. The wasabi crusted filet is to die for, and the rock shrimp tastes better and better every time we go.

On Thursday, my in-laws arrived in town, and we planned a big family dinner to kick off the wedding festivities. We dined at CHIFA, in my opinion one of Jose Garces’ bests. Unfortunately the restaurant recently closed as he’s opening up another one in its place but it really was a meal I will never forget. We got the chef’s tasting, and each course was better than the one before. Food has such an amazing way of bringing people together, and I will forever cherish that evening.

On Friday, the festivities began. I took my bridesmaids, readers, mother, and mother-in-law out to a big lunch at another one of Stephen Starr’s restaurants. Located in Rittenhouse Square in the heart of Philadelphia, PARC is a French inspired bistro that transports you to a sidewalk café in Paris. I knew it was the perfect place to treat my ladies, and thank them for being such a significant part of my life.

After a quick ceremony rehearsal at the church, we headed to the rehearsal dinner at the Capital Grille right on Broad Street in Center City. The Capital Grille is a favorite of my in-laws, and the perfect place to bring all of our closest ones together to celebrate before the big day. To say that it was a feast is an understatement. We ate and ate and ate for four hours straight, drinking fine wine from my father-in-law’s wine cellar and listening to hilarious and sentimental speeches from our loved ones.

The next day was wedding day. I woke up feeling excited, but oddly very calm and zen like. I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be. Surrounded by the most important women in my life, I was transformed into a bride by an amazing team of people and got ready to walk down the aisle. As I stepped onto the trolley that took my bridal party and me to the ceremony, I thought my heart was going to burst with joy. As the doors of the church opened, and I locked eyes with the love of my life, the entire world melted away. The ceremony was incredible…very moving, personal and everything we hoped it would be and more.

The cocktail hour began soon after, and before we knew it we were being whisked into the grand ballroom to be introduced as husband and wife for the first time. Our guests started with an appetizer salad of tomato, buffalo mozzarella, toasted pine nuts and pesto. The main course was a duet entrée of a grilled four once filet of beef tenderloin with coriander dusted jumbo sea scallops, horseradish twice-baked potato, orange, fennel & radish salad with an asparagus tempura.

To say that we partied is an understatement. We partied all night long, danced like we never have before, and just reveled in the love of our closest family and friends. Here are two beautiful videos my videographer, Amie Schroeder Photography, captured of the big day:
http://vimeo.com/70959650 (3 minute highlight)
https://vimeo.com/71102501/password: cake (20 minute video)

We left for the honeymoon on Monday morning, and landed in St. Martin a very short time later. We stayed at La Samanna, which I would highly recommend, and began what I refer to as “the post wedding binge”. We ate everything and anything, and enjoyed every single bite. Highlights included a lobster thermadore that we had at Bistro Caribe in Grand Cas that literally changed my life.

We also did a wonderful wine tasting in “La Cave” at the resort, which was a blast.Our dinner on the beach was the most gluttonous meal to date, it was enough food for 10 people.

We headed to Anguilla four nights later and stayed at Cap Juluca which is a very sleepy and breathtaking resort. Our meals in Anguilla were equally amazing, I especially loved the Fra Diavolo shrimp at the resort restaurant Pimms, and a Mexican feast at a tiny shack named Picante.