This weekend, our good friends celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary by inviting all their nearest and dearest family and friends to a Unitarian "sanctuary" and re-saying their original wedding vows (with some additions).

The lovely ceremony included the words of their Unitarian minister ( "I now pronounce you still married!), candle lighting, a rendition of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" by me, a duet of "Speak Low (when you speak love)" by the brideagain’s brother and nephew and some good joke songs by the groomagain’s brothers.

Friends and family were invited to make brief comments about the couple and put a candle in a bowl of rice, which provided moments of laughter and tears. My fave: "I’ve liked them since I was two," said the couple’s 7-year-old daughter. The couple’s nine-year-old son (a budding filmaker with his own production company called W.M. Thing) recorded the entire event on videotape.

It was a very special afternoon. After the ceremony, the crowd enjoyed a most artistic cake (see above). What you see there are clay figures of the couple in the red row boat of the brideagain’s childhood. This was the cake decoration at their "first" wedding. The new cake also included a chocolate Catskills Moutain with figurines of the couple and their kids. The cake and the dinner were prepared by PLEASE EAT THE DAISIES, an Ulster County catering company. The clay figurines were created by the brideagain and groomagian. 

Later, a smaller group celebrated the groomagain’s 50th birthday with Indian food, cup cakes, ginger root beer, a big impromptu hootananny with guitars, piano, accordian and autoharp, and a knock-out version of "I Shall Be Released."