It's always great to go South for a simha. They really know how to party down there. And this one is no exception. We left Friday from Providence for Richmond via Philadelphia and cabbed into the Omni in the heart of downtown. It's a huge hotel, set up for conventions, meetings, and weddings. It was fortunate that we made our reservations months before, because there was a marathon on Saturday, and runners, professionals from Kenya and the Slavic countries, and amateurs from Arkansas, were filling every hotel room in the city. The race started and finished right outside our hotel.

We checked in and went up to the hospitality suite on the 9th floor. Here was a place to eat and drink and schmooze all day (and all night, for all I know). Outside the door were Stuart and Lisa with the bride and groom, quite full of themselves:

But we couldn't stay long, for we had to move on to the rehearsal dinner party at a country club nearby. This was a most elegant affair--note the little beautifully wrapped boxes of favors attached to the seating cards:

And so we ate, and drank, and schmoozed some more.

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Uncle Sid made kiddush in his inimitable fashion, while Jarrod and Lori beamed.

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They are a wonderful couple. Every toast from friends and relatives that followed, no matter how much kidding was involved, took note of how everyone said about each of them, as soon as they met, "This is the one!"

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