Medium Rare Ribeye and Bourbon Neat, Please
That was my order off the menu of our wedding night.
After the ceremony and family photos were done at the house, Caleb and I had reserved a private room for everyone at Malone’s Steakhouse. Our intention with this was that we wanted intentional time with everyone - for us to talk to our families since we chose to spend the morning fishing together.
My grandparents all live out of town and Caleb hadn’t met any of them before the wedding so it gave him some time to meet and visit with them while also being able to catch up with his grandparents that we get to see a little more often since they live near.
Caleb and I had the same order, a ribeye - medium rare, of course - with bourbon - mine neat, his on the rocks….we’re working on him. And it was the smoothest pour I’ve probably ever had. Old Forester Small Batch is all the server told me. So I’ve been meaning to call them and ask what it was because my glass got passed around for everyone to try it. It won the unanimous “wow….” after each sip. And the steak…juicy and pink and buttery to cut, as steak should be.
Austin and Jenna shared dinner with us, too. And I’m so glad they were there. A few times I glanced down at that end of the table and they were hitting it off with Caleb’s brother and sister and her boyfriend and a couple of our grandparents. We will forever be grateful that they spent that day with us and were able to share and capture some of these memories for us and for our families.
Over bowls of steamed and seasoned vegetables, huge portions of creamy, buttery mashed potatoes, and colorful cocktail shrimp we celebrated. Over plates of steak and salmon, we sat. Over slices of cheesecake that I don’t really remember, we joked and laughed. Over glasses of bourbon and wine, we reminisced. Over boxes filled with tomorrow’s lunch and dinner, we hugged and said our goodbyes. One would be our very last, with Caleb’s grandfather “Paw”.
Caleb had the opportunity to hear from Paw a month before our wedding about his own wedding. At her parents house on the family farm, in the middle of the living room, surrounded by family. Sounds familiar! I got to hear from Paw myself the same story on the night of our wedding as we were packing up dinner and making our way around to say goodbye.
I knew I would be grateful for how we did our wedding day and dinner, and this past week I grew exponentially grateful for such an intentional time for Caleb to sit next to his grandfather at dinner, who we would mourn the loss of just 2.5 months after our wedding day. These photos mean more to us now, and they will continue to remind us of that night in such deeper ways than we ever thought.
There was a moment where everyone around us was talking to each other and it was just Caleb and I. We leaned in a little closer and I remember whispering something like “This might be the only time all of these people will all be together.” And after that I looked around the table and soaked it in. Watching people converse, laugh, ask questions with each other - some they’ve known the majority of their lives, and others they just met hours before. It all felt natural, both families being together, intermixed with each other.
Our families were there for us, and in return I wanted to take in that memory for the rest of my life.
Photos by Austin and Jenna.
Super 8 video by my sister, Hannah.