hanging out in the 90210

totally random bean picture for the day - on the way to church on sunday, she asked to watch "blue's clues" on my phone. she was playing with other apps and thought she'd hit the camera button, so she said "mommy! smile." ha.

we had a wedding for one of the hub's co-workers that afternoon, and since we'd gone to the latest service at church, i found myself with just enough time to scarf down lunch with the ILs (pastrami sandwiches from the hat, yum!) and then get ready to go.

i'd decided to bust out the curling iron again as i had for the people's choice awards, but had to go it alone this time, with the teen at her dad's for the weekend. i think i managed to do a good job, though, and liked how it turned out even better than the first time. yay!

we were running slightly late, but being a sunday afternoon, traffic towards the westside was blessedly light. we managed to get to our off-ramp in roughly 30 minutes - that's a pretty easy drive.

we'd been to saint sophia greek orthodox cathedral once before, for my friend trish's wedding. it's a super deluxe, very ornate church, and i was looking forward to it as the greek orthodox ceremony is quite different from most other weddings we've been to.

i wondered how many people had been transported in that limo - i remembered that trish hadn't had a wedding party and assumed that was the norm.

the inside was just as i remembered it, but i still spent a good amount of time looking around, taking it all in.

i didn't manage to get any good shots of the ceremony as we were seated rather far back, but the bride was radiant as her groom watched her lovingly from the altar. i was pretty surprised to see that they did indeed have a full-on wedding party - bridesmaids, groomsmen, ring bearer, and two flower girls. the ceremony was lovely despite my not understanding more than a few words of it, and when it was over, we all headed to our cars to drive to the reception venue.

i eyed the couple's transportation with envy - i'd have loved to have a cool vintage car like this for our wedding, but we didn't need to arrange any. oh, well.

folks were still milling about as we drove past the front of the church.

i was amused to notice that the street we were on was lined with cars for sale. carmax wha?

and then as we approached our exit, we found that it was closed and were being directed around it. damn.

i kind of had a feeling that the federal building located there might have something to do with it. there's often a group of protesters gathered in front of it for one cause or another, but i didn't really see anything from our vantage point on the freeway.

we ended up having to go a couple of miles out of the way before finally making our way onto the street we needed to be on. as we approached the building, sure enough - a whole gaggle of folks and a crapload of police present to ensure that they remained peaceful. forgive the blurry pics - you know how i do.

i giggled at this bench ad - wanna bet that ol' jack is single? and likely a barrel o'laughs.

after circling the area a couple of times in search of an ATM, we were finally on our way. as we drove along, we passed the sprinkles shop, where i was amused to see a fairly long line waiting to drop $3.25 for cupcakes.

at last, we pulled up to the valet at the beverly hilton. i was excited to check it out as i'd never been, and they do all sorts of fun events here. in fact, the golden globe awards are scheduled for this coming weekend here (and no, we don't have tickets, damn).

i liked the photos of OG hollywood celebs that lined the walls.

the reception was here:

as i snapped a shot of the cheese tray, the hub shot me an exasperated look and said "you're going to take pictures of everything, aren't you?" well, duh. and then his mild annoyance turned to amusement as he watched me accept hors d'oeuvres from each passing server. i grubbed on everything from crab cakes (delish) to quesadillas (a'ight) to chicken skewers (dry as the sahara), and even a grilled lamb chop. i don't normally like lamb, but i was feeling adventurous that day and wanted to try it all. and then i topped it off with a couple of crackers and slices of delectable smoked gouda.

as i washed it down with a soda, the doors opened to the ballroom and we filed in. the hub had picked up our table card as i signed the guest book, and we were both a little curious as to who we'd be seated with - we were assigned to table #1. he was convinced it was a typo, but when we found it, it was a long, rectangular table at which most of his officemates were seated as well.

i'd seen some beautiful, tall centerpieces adorned with feathers as we walked in, similar to trish's. i wondered if that was a greek tradition, but then i was a little bummed to see that the floral decorations at our table were different. um, and as the hub sat down across from me, we found that they were placed rather awkwardly.

little bundles of jordan almonds, a traditional greek wedding favor were placed at each setting. i saved mine to take home, although i'm already married and didn't need to put it under my pillow to dream of my future husband.

i took a quick shot of the cake before sitting down for dinner.

the salad was totally not my style, but i ate the lettuce that was dressed with a really delicious vinaigrette. a big "meh" to the grapefruit and goat cheese.

i didn't get to take a picture in time, but we all snickered when we were served what looked like vegetarian plates. and then it all made more sense when the servers appeared with trays of sliced prime rib. i could swear i heard a big sigh of relief from the entire table.

my poor husband was served last, and when i looked over to make sure he'd gotten his plate before i started grubbing down, i blurted out "hey babe, my meat is so way bigger than yours!" the guy sitting next to him kind of guffawed and said "wow, that was way too much information." damn, i'm klassy.

after coffee was offered, dessert came, and it was so good. this cute little pyramid of homemade ice cream, surrounded by a magic shell-like coating, also held a secret treasure - a nice gooey chunk of caramel at the top. i devoured it and just barely held myself back from licking the plate.

we chatted with our fellow tablemates for a while before getting up to thank the newlyweds for inviting us and offering our congratulations. it was already past 8, and being a sunday, we needed to get going and head home to relieve the ILs and get ready for the week.

i stopped in the restroom before we left and totally thought of the teen when i saw this picture. she's a marilyn monroe fan - well, as much of a fan as a teenager can be of a woman who's been dead for forty-plus years.

i wonder if we'll get to go to any other weddings this year. i kind of think this might be it for 2010 - but it's only january. we'll see.