Curiocity: 10 Weddings In 1 Year

On Saturday, Nov. 21, I attended my 10th wedding of the year. That's right, 10th. One. Zero.

Thankfully, that officially ended my wedding season -- finally. This year, between my boyfriend, Tom, and I, we received 12 invitations to watch our friends and family embark on matrimonial bliss. We were only able to skip two ... er, regretfully decline two ... because I was in four of the weddings and Tom was in three.

And the others? Well, they were just too good to pass up. (Or would've involved serious consequences for ditching out, such as a lifelong dose of the silent treatment.)

By the end of it all, I fully admit, not only was I sick of weddings, but I was slightly bitter about the whole thing. Let's just say, anyone who began a sentence with, "Hey, always a bridesmaid, never a -- " was about three seconds away from some serious glaring. On a similar note, jokes about the awful movie, "27 Dresses" were not well received to say the least.

Anyway, the one gleaming bright spot in this wedding takeover was that I was able to discover some pretty sweet reception spots in the Twin Cities. Not to mention, experience some deliciously tasty catering.

Of the 10 weddings we made it to, only three were in the Twin Cities -- but hey, after having back-to-back weddings in multiple states, I'll take it. So if you're planning a wedding yourself -- or just looking for a killer place to throw a party, here's my take on the few we made it to.

My good friends Laura and Aaron were married in June and I was lucky enough to be apart of their gorgeous day. They chose to have their reception at the Rush Creek Golf Course in Maple Grove on a perfectly sunny summer day.

There were cocktails served on the outdoor patio, adjacent to the reception hall -- which during the early evening was a fun, sunny spot to catch up with friends and enjoy the open bar and at night, served as a cozy location for Smores prepared over open fire.

The reception hall was very elegant and perfect for a delectable Minnesota-themed dinner, complete with wild rice. And while the food was a bit too delicious, the late-night dance party provided a great way to burn those extra calories.

In September, we attended our second Twin Cities wedding and this time, it was for one of my oldest friends. I mean, not oldest, as in elderly but oldest as in we began our friendship as tiny babies.

With her wedding, not only did I check out a new reception venue but did you know there are horse stables smack dab in the middle of the 'burbs? Yeah, me either. But we went to them to take pictures and it was literally like, drive to the end of a small suburban neighborhood, turn right and there's a barn and horse stables. Yee. Haw.

The reception took place at the very lovely Oak Glen County Club Golf Course in Stillwater. It was a beautiful facility with stone fireplaces and a lot of room for a lot of family and friends. The food was excellent and featured just about every kind of Italian cuisine you could imagine. The set-up for dinner at the golf course was kind of split into two, which was nice because each side provided a wing of sorts, off the head table.

Finally, we ended our wedding season from you-know-where with a mini trip to Greece, also known as Karl and Heather's wedding. While we didn't actually head overseas, the wedding was very Greek, which in turn was very fun.

It was my first time seeing a traditional Greek wedding -- and since my knowledge of Greek weddings is a combination of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and the Full House episode where D.J. Tanner marries that Greek guy, I was pretty excited to see what really went on.

The ceremony was basically all in Greek, but it was fun to see something different, after watching so many weddings that were very similar. Plus, the couple wore the crowns with the ribbon attached and did the whole walk around the altar three times. (I know I'm totally butchering what this is actually called, but it's the only way I know how to describe it.)

Anyway, the reception was held at the University of Minnesota's McNamara Alumni Center and well, gorgeous is an understatement. The setup for dinner was extremely beautiful, the food featured D'Amico Catering and the dance floor area provided plenty of room to bust some moves Greek-style. There were vaulted ceilings that made the place feel endless and shallow reflection pools that lined the entire hall -- and surprisingly didn't take any victims. Opa!

All in all, it provided a perfect finish to a double-digit season.

Tune in next year, where I'm sure I'll have another recap since at this point, we already know of about eight weddings for 2010. Yikes.

Curiocity is more than a state of mind. It's a fresh look at something familiar. Web producer Sara Boyd rediscovers the city she grew up in and learns new details about what's happening in the place she calls home.