A Back Yard Wedding Reception

Steve and Holly's Back Yard Reception, by Sam Day, oil on canvas, 24 x 30

The third time’s the charm, they always say. Or is it good news comes in threes?  This groom was the last of three siblings to marry, and I painted each of their weddings. (Earlier this year I completed another set of three siblings’ weddings.) I love it when families carry on traditions! The first sibling in this family was one of the first weddings I ever painted, about ten years ago (before I started this blog, so sorry for no link); the second was at a great Snohomish county family farm retreat a couple of summers ago

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In this case, the couple had been previously married in a private ceremony, and in July they threw this intimate reception in their own back yard. The barbecue was great, the faces were familiar, and the children played on the lawn. And I captured it on canvas for posterity.

The Grooms of June at the Fairmont Olympic

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The Victor-Barnes Wedding, The Fairmont Olympic Hotel, Seattle

TheFairmont Olympic Hotel is the grandest old hotel in downtown Seattle, housed in an Italian Renaissance edifice with marble clad lobbies, Corinthian columns, and vast, ornate ballrooms. The Garden Room is the centerpiece of these gathering spaces, with double height windows rising above the hedges of the motor court.

The gentlemen who chose this place to exchange their vows are lovers of the arts, and I was pleased to have been among the evening’s artistic offerings.

Upon entering the lounge, guests lined up to have custom poetry written on the spot by Typing Explosion, a performing trio in the guise of mid-century secretaries. The nostalgic song of their typewriters was accompanied par excellence by the Seattle String Ensemble, and dancers emerged from the shadows, choreographed by Rainbow Fletcher.

The grooms with flower girls

At the end of the cocktail hour the violins went down, and the convivial voices rose. But suddenly the crowd hushed, as Jennifer Krikawa, an operatic soprano, began—mezzo piano— to call them to form a ribbon- lined aisle.   She sang from both the standard opera repertoire and Broadway show tunes. I got a little verklempt at Somewhere There’s a Place for Us from West Side Story; later a Mezzo joined her for the famous Flower Duet from the opera Lakmé, by Delibes.  As an avocational tenor myself, I was in heaven.  

During dinner the grooms and their flower girls found time to stand for quick portraits, and the painting was done by the time the dance troupe returned to pull them onto the dance floor with white feather boas.

Puget Sound Bank’s 10th Anniversary Party

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 A live painting is a great commemoration for any memorable event, be it a wedding or a cocktail party. This occasion was the tenth anniversary of Puget Sound Bank, held at the Bellevue (Washington) Hyatt. The Chairman of the bank is front and center in the painting, as is his wife. But many other figures in the painting turned out to be more important connections than I knew, when simply sketched what I thought to be a great face. I guess that’s what happens when the right people come to a party!

The Duval-Kipferyl Wedding, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago

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The Duval-Kipferyl Wedding, 4th Presbyterian Church, Chicago

This bride is the last of three siblings whose weddings I’ve painted. I did one in SantaBarbara, one in Cabo San Lucas, and finally one in the family’s home town of Chicago.

Chicago, the Windy City, the City of Broad Shoulders, is in my view also a city of big pictures. The sprawling picture one sees of the city from the Signature Room of the John Hancock Center (95^th floor), where I presented the painting at the family brunch, is enormous. And it goes without saying that The ModernWing of The Art Institute of Chicago, where the couple celebrated their reception, is famous for big pictures. But the place the bride chose for me to paint her picture was the front of the Gothic church where they tied the knot.

 On a not too breezy afternoon in May, I set my easel in the middle of the median on busy Michigan Avenue, just behind a planter full of blooming tulips. Traffic moves slowly here on a sunny Saturday, and passing cars, taxis, police, and even a the driver of a tour bus rolled down windows to ask questions, joke about being included in the painting, or take my business card.

The prominent and famous Fourth Presbyterian Church has a grand and ornate façade. The afternoon sun moves behind it, dazzling the steeple and turning the ivy into a green halo. But this does not leave the front of the church in shadow. Shafts of light reflect off of the landmark Hancock Tower across the street, beaming back onto the golden stone in a calico mosaic.

The couple on the stairs

I painted until the wedding began, then carried my easel across the street and set up outside the door. At the end of the ceremony, the wedding party lined up on the steps, and the guests spilled out onto the street. Lastly the couple themselves showed in the doorway, and kissed to the applause of the crowd. It was here that I whisked out an impression of their embrace.

They then disappeared for photographs, and the guests boarded trolleys for the reception. After their time with the photographer, the couple came back to the steps to model for me. But with the exception of a few brushstrokes, I was already done. For once, I got to attend the reception as a guest!