Hello Friends,

            Mike here from RigaTony’s back from Seattle to report as promised on my son’s wedding and our long distance catering adventure. In a word it was wonderful. If I may use more words it was also chaotic, exhausting and a real high-wire act.

To recap; Chrissy and I, along with her mother Barbara and son Kevin drove my diesel pickup 1,500 miles last week to cater my son’s wedding in Seattle. The truck was packed to the brim with chafing dishes, coolers of RigaTony’s food, Italian groceries, cooking utensils and everything needed to cater a major wedding. Although we planned every detail to perfection one thing we didn’t do much research on was our route. We decided on the most direct and most scenic which was through Nevada, Idaho and Oregon and guess what…. It snows in northern Nevada in November and we almost got snowed out of the wedding. But after slowing to 25 mph for several hours we slogged through and made it to Seattle safely.

We had a few days to spare which was spent in a blur of parties, dinners, shopping, rehearsals and mostly the joyful chaos of a huge family reunion.  I will forever cherish the fond memories of negotiating hundreds of miles of downtown Seattle traffic that week in my huge truck with my sister, the world’s most qualified back seat driver, commenting on my every turn.

Finally it was W day! The wedding as I mentioned before was unique in that Tony and Sally had aspired to have an ambitious, elaborate Rolls Royce wedding on a Kia budget. They had their hearts set on a gorgeous wedding venue in Snohomish and had planned on a harpist at the ceremony, a banjo player afterwards on the patio, with an appetizer buffet, an acclaimed Korean cultural dance troupe before dinner, and a full dinner buffet in an elaborately decorated ballroom replete with dramatic lighting. Then of course they wanted a great DJ, two wedding cakes and a candy table featuring only white and purple candies, which of course were the wedding colors. I was a willing but skeptical participant.

In the end with amazing planning, broad participation of family and friends and some crafty negotiations, they pulled it off. No… that’s not nearly strong enough. They nailed it, blazed it, slam-dunked it. The entire day and night was gorgeous and magical and everyone lucky enough to be at the ceremony was entranced. I thought afterwards that if the imagination, planning, and execution of that wedding is any indication of what their lives together will be like then they have a very bright future ahead of them.

            They thanked Chrissy and me for our help with the food but all we did was what comes naturally; cook a little pasta for friends and family .The food was actually delicious if I do say so myself. When we were done the entire facility smelled just like RigaTony’s! We served our antipasto salad, baked RigaTony, and chicken picatta. We also layed out a table of appetizers with smoked salmon, fresh fruits, and gourmet cheeses all purchased from the incredible fresh market at Pike Place. Hard work and great fun!

Thanks to all of  you who took the time to come in and toast bride and groom last week. I have posted a brief album of our trip and wedding for your perusal and also have included a link to a video I took of our final preparations from my nifty Kitchen Cam.  That needs a bit of explanation; Those who know me understand that I’m a gadget nut and my latest gadget is a special camera that straps onto your head or snaps onto a helmet. Its commonly used by skydivers or mountain bikers and its value is that it provides a wide-angle high definition perspective. I chose to wear it during the final couple of hours of preparation for the wedding, much to the amusement and probably embarrassment of those around me. I actually made the video as a keepsake for Tony and Sally, but for the truly devoted fan of RigaTony’s I have provided the links to these videos.

            In the meantime Chrissy and I wish all of you a wonderful and peaceful Thanksgiving holiday.

Mike

Take a peek at the Pictures and Videos Below:

Shout out to the B&B that we stayed in. We highly recommend!: http://seattlehillhouse.com/

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