It was graduation week in Cambridge, with 2 or 3 of the university's 30+ colleges
holding commencement ceremonies every day. After the ceremony, the graduates walk
up Kings Parade and Trinity Street, a route that leads them past Kings College Chapel and
Gonville and Caius College, the setting for Robin and Dan's wedding.
|
From the outside, Caius' (pronounced "Keys") most interesting feature is its roofline, seen
here from Trinity Street.
|
Visitors to the College enter through the Gate of Humility, seen here from the Gate of
Virtue, into Tree Court.
|
On the day of the wedding, dozens of Chinese lanterns transformed the walk across Tree Court
and announced to all that something very special was happening at Caius.
|
Tree Court was completely redesigned midway through the 19th century by Alfred Waterhouse.
His models were the chateaux of the Loire.
|
The Chapel, whose architecture suggests a much earlier time, protrudes into Tree Court from the west.
|
First built in the 1390s, the Chapel has been modified and expanded a number of times since.
The roughly 70 attendees at the wedding nearly filled it.
|
As the guests entered the chapel, the choir had already taken its
seats, sopranos and altos to the left, tenors and basses to the right. Some members of the
choir, including its very talented director, Jeff Benson, had sung with Robin in Choralis.
Several knew her from Cloudmakers. The third major contingent had its roots in Ottumwa. You
could feel Robin's sensibilities in each of the selections, especially the anthem,
"As Truly as God is Our Father."
|
Eric, seen here with Kristen and Jessica, piped Robin and the bridal party into the chapel.
After the wedding, Eric and Jessica headed north to Edinburgh.
|
Some words about the dress.
|
Gonville Court, the center of the College when it moved to its current site in 1353, is
bounded to the south by the Chapel. After the ceremony, as the photographer assembled folks
for the group shots and the kitchen crew prepared dinner, we sipped champange in the Court.
|
The Gate of Honour, topped by a solar clock with a sundial on each of its two faces, was
chosen by the photographer as the background for the first round of his shots, those
focusing on the wedding party. When it came to shots of larger groups, he moved to Gonville
Court, where his subjects had gathered to sip the champagne.
|
Here, for example, is the obligatory picture of College of Wooster alums.
|
Without the Cloudmakers there would have been no wedding. They, after all, were key to
how Robin and Dan met.
|
The Bittners, seen here with Dan and Robin, have long been very special to Robin.
Wendy was one of the first friends Robin invited to visit at Carol Place. Erika and Emily
had performed in the GOVAP production of "Beauty and the Beast" the night before they
caught their plane to England. Except for Emily, the whole family performed with the choir.
|
This picture of Dan's family includes our dinner companions at the reception,
Man Fai and Len Len Shiu. On 9/11, Man Fai had been on a plane headed for DC when US
air space was closed. He spent the next 10 days sleeping on the floor of a school house
in Canada's Atlantic provinces.
|
In London, on their way to Cambridge, Sara and Dave had run with
Hash House Harriers. Dave participated in the wedding ceremony as a reader. After the
wedding, they flew to Spain to traverse 260 kilometers
of El Camino de Santiago.
|
When Dan proposed to Robin, he was in the States to attend Ian and Rebekah's wedding.
Rebekah participated in Dan and Robin's ceremony as a reader and member of choir.
We joined up with Eloise, Jim, and Robin's dad for choral evensong at
Ely Cathedral.
|
We remember well when Sonia, seen here with Evan, Sara, Dave, and Bob, was reluctant to
travel to Carol Place. She seemed very much at home in Cambridge.
|
Focus here on the dresses and the wraps--the dresses because Robin chose only
the color, allowing each attendant to choose her own style;
the wraps because Robin and Sonia selected the Thai silk and Sonia made them.
The results were beautiful.
|
The Hall, in which most undergraduates and fellows eat regularly, occupies the second
story of a 19th century building that overlooks Gonville Court. It served
beautifully as the setting for the reception dinner.
|
At the head table, Evan is taking his seat while conversing with Dan's Dad. To the left,
Eric is taking a picture of his lovely bride, who is wearing one of the blue silk wraps
Sonia made for the bridal party. Take special note of the red runners (again, Robin
and Sonia's handiwork) on each of the tables.
|
Folks are still coming into the Hall. That's Debbie with the radiant smile to the right. In
the center of the shot, you can see Jeff, the choir director, conversing with the Bittners.
Sara has the seat to Jeff's right; Aliceann is directly behind him.
|
The wedding cake was the fifth and final course. For the carnivores, it followed a terrine
de caneton, trout in hollandaise (our favorite), roast beef and assorted vegetables, and
a fruit tart.
|
Here's the head table, with Robin, Dan, Evan, and Dan's parents.
|
Here's Aliceann, with Jim to her right and Dr. Man Fai Shiu to her left. Man Fai's wife, Len
Len, is sitting across from him. The others with their backs to us are Rebekah, Kristen,
Karen, and Eloise.
|
Robin and Dan, we thank you for including us in this special day.
|
