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| Father of the Bride arriving at party central, followed closely by his new son-in-law, Christian Fenstermacher. |
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| The Newlyweds |
Readers of this blog may know the Hibbing native by his signature, "The Iron Ranger." He's Patrick Minelli, long-time editor of the
Shakopee Valley News. Today he was also the Father of the Bride.
They've been good friends since Stan met and hired him back in the 80s, just hours after Pat and Evon had returned from their Hawaii honeymoon. Befuddled by lack of sleep and jet lag, the highly-touted candidate gave a horrible interview, but Stan, perhaps tired himself, figured oh-what-the-hell and hired him anyway. Pat's held the job for three decades now.
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| Mother of the Bride. . . with the bride's dog. |
At their Iron Range wedding dance, Pat and Evon hadn't picked out a song for the traditional first dance as a married couple, so the DJ did it for them, cueing up "You Are My Special Angel." The newlyweds liked it a lot, and adopted it as their special song.
Today under a huge white wedding tent pitched in an
apple orchard near Maple Plain, the DJ played that song again, this time for Pat and his beautiful daughter Alexandra Caroline, given this day in Holy Matrimony to Christian John Fenstermacher -- who seems like a very nice chap.
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| Shoulders may be damp, but the hair is dry. |
As thunder boomers crashed and rain pelted the canvas, the groom poignantly noted that the song he so often sings with his bride, "You Are My Sunshine," was all that he would ever need to brighten his days, which is fortunate, as the couple intends to continue living in Minnesota.
Friends and relatives, many from the Iron Range, trekked to this exotic apple outpost, set amongst rivers and lakes and woods, for a genuine Italian sit-down feast for 300, catered in from faraway Faribault.
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| Taking the cake… to the buffet. |
Stan and Kathleen carpooled with two other long-time newspaper employees, splashing along in the usual downpour, taking a round-a-bout route from Shakopee due to the recent bridge closures over the swollen Minnesota River.
They got to the orchard before the cake did and before "Angel," Ali's Yorkie arrived, decked out in some kind of wedding tutu, along with her escort, Evon.
And The Iron Ranger, always the supportive, loving father, arrived with a bundle of umbrellas.
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| "You Are My Special Angel," reprised. |
