Merrimack Valley Magazine

Blue Ocean Event Center – Do you dream of salt air kisses, waves lapping beneath your feet, wowing guests with picture perfect views, and an elegant reception by the sea? At Blue Ocean Event Center, the only thing we overlook is the ocean, the perfect setting for the day of your dreams. Weddings at Blue Ocean Event Center feature breathtaking ceremony options with the ocean as a backdrop, elegantly modern and versatile waterfront reception spaces for 35 to 450 guests, menus and set-up styles to reflect your personal style and tastes, and customized planning with our expert event managers to create the wedding of your dreams. Catered by the on-site Seaglass Restaurant culinary team, our menus celebrate the bounty of the land and sea offering guests fresh, seasonal cuisine with an array of menu options and reception styles. Invite your guests to experience the beauty of a seaside wedding and award-winning dining in an exclusive beachside atmosphere that is unique and rejuvenating.
Salisbury, Mass. l (978) 462-5992 l BlueOceanEventCenter.com

Four Oaks Country Club – Offering something for every bride and groom, Four Oaks Country Club provides a very unique experience when creating the wedding of your dreams. The contemporary-styled Clubhouse and Grand Oaks Ballroom sit on Marsh Hill, offering beautiful views extending as far as Boston. Our experienced Wedding Director will provide you the undivided attention and service you deserve throughout your day. The Grand Oaks Ballroom seats up to 230 guests and has multiple options for arrangements and decorations. It also includes a full dance floor. The cuisine at Four Oaks Country Club is as exceptional as the venue. We can tailor any menu to delight you and your guests!
80 Meadow Creek Drive, Dracut, Mass. l (978) 455-0054 l FourOaksCountryClub.com

Merrimack Valley Golf Club – Located at the Beautiful Merrimack Valley Golf Club, Merrimack Valley Events by Simply Elegant Catering has over 23 years of experience and will ensure that your wedding day far surpasses your expectations. We offer premium, full-service catering at the highest quality, and guarantee that the entire planning process will be stress free and enjoyable! You are about to embark on a journey that starts with making the first of many thoughtful decisions. It will culminate with the perfect day that brings your guests together in celebration of your marriage. It will be the day you have always dreamed of. Whether you choose a wedding at the Merrimack Valley Golf Club or at an off-site location,
we will help you celebrate your wedding day in style!
210 Howe St., Methuen, Mass. l (978) 683-7771 x11 l MerrimackValleyEvents.com

Middlesex Community College Foundation John Nesmith House – An elegant setting for intimate weddings and receptions, the MCC Foundation’s John Nesmith House reflects the splendor of the era when Lowell was home to some of America’s first captains of industry. Built in 1843, this 22-room Greek Revival mansion has been beautifully renovated – with central heat, air conditioning and a full professional kitchen – and features period furnishings throughout. The spiral staircase can provide the bride a grand entrance. The beautifully landscaped grounds offer several unique indoor and outdoor ceremony locations, and spectacular photography opportunities. Nesmith House can accommodate up to 100 guests for a cocktail reception or 65 for a plated dinner. Our experienced staff will work with you every step of the way to ensure your special event is everything you want it to be.
Lowell, Mass. l (978) 458-3722 l Middlesex.Mass.edu/Historic

Tuscan Kitchen – At Tuscan Kitchen, our finely appointed event spaces are designed to offer an intimate atmosphere to entertain your guests with exceptional service and artisan cuisine in a beautiful, tasteful environment. Our chef will custom design a menu for each guest’s individual needs, budget and taste. We create personalized menus and an event program that features the same artisan cuisine we serve in our dining room. Our private dining and event rooms are designed to offer guests flexible space to have events ranging in size from 20 to 500. Whether it is a family style dinner for 12 or a dinner party for 150, our private dining space and warm hospitality will make your next event truly memorable.
Boston, Mass. l (617) 303-7300
Burlington, Mass. l (781) 229-0300
Portsmouth, N.H. l (603) 570-3600
Salem, N.H. l (603) 952-4875
TuscanBrands.com

UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center – Whether you’re planning an intimate gathering or an extravagant affair, the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center can customize any event to make your wedding dreams a reality. The luxurious Grand Ballroom can accommodate parties of up to 440 people. For smaller weddings, showers and rehearsal dinners, the Lower Locks and Hamilton rooms feature an abundance of natural lighting. An outdoor patio off of the Lowell Locks is perfect for your ceremony or reception. Overlooking the city’s canals on the banks of the Concord River, the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center offers a beautiful backdrop for your wedding photos. We offer tiered wedding packages that can be customized to fit your taste and budget. Local, sustainable ingredients are used to create a delicious meal for you and your guests, and our lodging features 31 inn-style guestrooms as well as 120 seasonal (summer) hotel rooms.
Lowell, Mass. l (978) 934-6920 l UML.edu/ICC

How does that old rhyme go? First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes blah blah in a baby carriage? Well, our extended family experienced a love and marriage full monty this past fall, and I thought I’d share three vignettes:

My wife, Lisa, my mother-in-law, Souad, and I were walking out of St. Anthony Maronite Church in Lawrence with Monsignor Peter Azar, the pastor, after my niece Meredith’s wedding in October, when he asked Lisa when we would be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary.

“Oh, Father, we just celebrated our 27th anniversary,” Lisa said.

“OK, then we’ll renew your vows on your 30th, if you’ll allow me,” the monsignor responded.

“But of course,” Lisa said as she rubbed her vacant right-hand ring finger, which has been getting itchier and itchier with each passing year. Apparently the condition that causes this discomfort can only be cured by a new diamond anniversary ring (three large diamonds each encircled by smaller diamonds).

“Wait a minute, Father, I really need to ask you something,” I said to him. “Forget renewing the vows for a second; I need to ask you if I have grounds for an annulment.”

Although I wasn’t looking at her, I could sense that Lisa was rolling her eyes, something she often does when I speak. Souad chuckled and smiled slightly at my statement.

“Before I agreed to marry Lisa,” I began, “my future mother-in-law here promised me she’d win the lottery if I married her daughter. I figured that was a good deal, so I agreed. But here’s the thing: It’s been 27 years, and she hasn’t won yet. How much longer do I have to wait?”

Lisa groaned, her eyes surely spinning uncontrollably at the question (I didn’t dare look).

Father Peter smiled, laughed politely and said, “I think you have to wait a few more years.”

Souad, her Lebanese accent still heavy after 64 years in America, added: “You’re lucky anyway, da luckiest, and you did win da lot-ter-ee.” She then muttered something in Arabic, something she often does when I speak.

So I guess I am lucky that Lisa is willing to marry me again after 27 years. But we’ll revisit this subject in three years to see if that’s still true. In the interim, I need to start saving for that ring.

Meredith’s much-anticipated wedding was the social event of the year in our family, and the celebration lived up to expectations. She and her husband, Joel, looked like models on a Vogue cover shoot (see for yourself on page 64). But there was one problem at the wedding that continues to irk me.

Joel hails from the great state of Indiana, so as you might assume, most of his polite and soft-spoken Midwestern family hadn’t met our rather loud, ethnic clan. By ethnic, I mean the bride’s side literally had people coming from all over, including Lebanon, Canada, Brooklyn and even Lowell.

So, naturally, I introduced myself to several members of Joel’s family as “Meredith’s favorite uncle.” To my dismay, too many of them responded by saying, “Oh hello, you must be Uncle Kevin, the photographer.”

That would be Kevin Harkins, mvm contributing photographer (2006 to October 2014).

No, I’m Uncle Glenn, with two n’s. That’s the epithet Meredith assigned to me many years ago — and I am her favorite uncle, dammit…

It was a fun wedding anyway.

My nephews Joe and Nick, brothers born less than a year apart, are on the same baby-making schedule. This past fall Joe and his wife, Katelyn, welcomed Caroline, and big sister Madeline is thrilled. Nick and his wife, Renee, welcomed Mitchell, and big sister Olivia … well, she’s thrilled, too, but I suspect she thinks she’s in charge of him. Poor Mitch, he has no idea what he’s in for.

There are more stories from my family’s joyous season of good fortune, but our new editor in chief — the whole team actually — is only allowing one page per issue for my ramblings.

Glenn J. Prezzano is the president of 512 Media Inc., founder and publisher of Merrimack Valley Magazine, Merrimack Valley Home and book publisher Merrimack Press. You may talk back to him at gprezzano@512mediainc.com.

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