| Issue #33, November 10, 2006 |
One Big Wedding
A Wedding For Everybody On The North Fork
By Phyllis Lombardi
Everyone was invited. All 52,000 or more North Fork residents plus any passersby from the South Fork or pumpkin pickers from points west. I’m talking about the wedding reception in Mattituck a couple of Saturdays ago. Gwen and Bruce got married and they simply wanted to celebrate – really celebrate.
So what did they do? Instead of creamy white invitations to the reception arriving in the mailboxes of a select few, the invitation to the reception at Four Doors Down restaurant on Main Road in Mattituck was published in a North Fork newspaper. And not just a few lines of invitation, either. A classy-looking boxed notice type of thing it was. The date, the time, the place, refreshments, celebration for Bruce and Gwen.
Would I go? Of course. I’ve known Gwen for 15 years and it’s been a pleasure. True, if all 52,000 came there might be a parking problem. But I’d worry about that when I got there. By the way, the newspaper invitation also read, “Come as you are.” Guess that meant casual. Good. North Forkers are casual. No shorts, of course (too cold) but probably no ties, either. That’s fine. I don’t usually wear one.
Well, not every North Forker was able to make the reception. I hear a few nurses remained on the job at Eastern Long Island Hospital, and Riverhead and Southold supervisors were at their desks or wherever they go. A couple of police officers were up on Route 48 for a routine matter and the firehouses were manned. Other than that, everyone showed up and had a darned good time,
I’m not going to go on about the food, the flowers, the bride and groom. You were probably there and saw for yourself. But just in case you didn’t meet some of the people I talked with (after all, 52,000 is a lot of people) I’d like to tell you about a few of them.
One of the first guests I spoke with was Gwen’s across-the-street Cutchogue neighbor, Dorothy Auer. Their relationship is very special. Gwen, as a child, had a playhouse in her backyard. Built by Gwen’s father, it was an important part of young Gwen’s life. A number of years ago, generous older Gwen gave the playhouse to Dorothy so Dorothy’s grandchildren could play in it. It’s a big one, that playhouse, and it took more than half a dozen guys to carry it across the street. It stands now in Dorothy’s yard – a testament to North Fork friendship.
A drink and several hors d’oeuvres later, I met a woman who could have told a story or two, I’m sure. Doris Stauffer, also of Cutchogue, knows Gwen from way-back-when. Doris babysat little-girl Gwen and had a piece of advice for Bruce. “Gwen likes to win at chinese checkers. Let her win.” And don’t let it bother you, Bruce.
I didn’t talk checkers with this next guest. Instead I told him I thought 45 was young. Bruce’s brother Roger from Manorville had a birthday a few days before the wedding and was lamenting the quick passage of years. Weddings get you thinking, I guess. But not for long. Food and fun get in the way.
Speaking of fun, it must have been just that for the 20 years Vincent and Helene Ciappetta knew and loved Gwen’s family. Neighbors, Vincent and Helene (a teacher at Cutchogue East) smiled as they recalled Gwen’s mom. She was an artist and valued comfort and warmth in her home. No rigid housekeeping rules for her. She jokingly called her home “Slipshod Manor” and I’ll tell you Gwen has inherited her mom’s sense of humor.
Over by the buffet table were Stan and Terri Szymczak of Southold. Stan has done carpentry jobs with Bruce for 14 years and has been on a softball team with him too. Gwen, I might mention, has long managed a North Fork softball team. But that’s another story. For now, when Stan said, “Bruce is my friend,” I heard the admiration in his voice, saw it in his eyes.
Oh, and then there was Bruce’s oldest brother, Greg. He appears the very model of decorum but apparently was not always. In Mattituck grade school he and Bruce, (they look alike) occasionally switched places and succeeded in hoodwinking teachers. Was I imagining it or was Greg checking out the 52,000 guests for teachers with long memories?
Which brings me to Gail Faircloth of Mattituck. I sat next to Gail, who works for the Mattituck Park District, as she told me about Bruce’s mother. Gail, years ago, had been in a Mattituck High School typing class taught by Bruce’s mom, who also taught French. That explained a brief and loving dedication to Bruce’s mother. It was placed on the head table and printed elegantly – in French. Love, in any language.
And a life of love is what the North Fork wishes Gwen and Bruce. Though I can tell you right now this is a marriage headed for success. And that Gwen has got herself one great guy. Any man who beams happily as he greets 52,000 guests invited to his wedding reception has got to be a prince. So check your local papers. I hear the next big one is New Year’s Eve.
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