During our blog break...

...a few special things happened at Moonracer Farm.

Perhaps the most special was the reception for the wedding of our friends Angel and Lorena.  Angel is the caretaker for our neighbors, Aspen, Tatiana, and Todd.  He is also a good friend of Julio, and has become our good friend too.  He and Lorena decided to get married near the beginning of the year, but weren't sure when they could afford to hold the wedding, and they wanted to have a nice wedding and reception for their families and friends.  Here, it is usually up to the bridal couple to host the reception, and they don't depend on their parents to do it for them.  Tom, Julio, and I put our heads together and brainstormed on ways we could help Angel and Lorena.

Tom, Alex, and Ramon, Angel's father, string up the broilers.

Our first decision was whether or not we could host the reception.  It depended on a few things, including whether or not we still owned the property, whether or not we had guests booked on the day of the wedding, and whether or not we could get help getting the place ready, holding the party, and cleaning up.  The wedding was in the beginning of May and we didn't start planning until March, so we just decided that if we got an offer for the property, we wouldn't close until after the wedding, and if we had any inquiries for guests, we would just say we were booked for the day of the wedding and a couple of days on either side.  No problem!

Everybody worked together and we butchered and dressed 60 chickens.

It was also  no problem to get all the help we needed.  Both Angel and Lorena have big families and lots of friends, and everybody helped.  We raised 60 broilers for the wedding feast, and a couple of days before the wedding, a whole truckload of people pulled in to butcher the chickens.

We plugged a small chest freezer into Todd and Tatiana's solar wired house, and chilled the chickens for a couple of days before the wedding.


The day before the wedding, half the town of 7 Miles showed up to decorate, and plenty of people came back the morning of the wedding for the final touches, including setting up the cake and gift tables.

Ramon decorates the palapa, with Janeth's supervision.

Tom and Angel take a break so Tom can explain how the wedding toast should be done.

Assistant chefs in the kitchen making tubs of coleslaw.

Edwin, the chef, cooking on the fogon.

Angel's brother, a chef at the Coppola resorts, put together a cooking team, and they moved into the Moonracer kitchen to prepare the wedding feast while Tom and I, who were honored to be Angel and Lorena's padrinos, went to the wedding in the village.  Some other friends put together the sound system, and a group formed to man the bar, serving soft drinks from coolers in the yard.

Angel and his father, taking a break before heading to the wedding.

The wedding party and family were served in our dining area in the palapa, and all of the guests ate on benches set up around the grounds, which looked lovely.  Angel's brother said they served over 300 dinners, and everybody had a good time.  The party didn't break up until well after dark.

Finishing touches on the cake, with Angel and Julio in the background.

Benches set up so everybody can find a place to sit and eat.

Aspen and Tatiana delivering Lorena to the church.

Angel waiting in the church for Lorena's arrival.

Tom holding the mic for Angel to say his vows.

Listening attentively to the pastor after Lorena and Angel have "tied the knot."

We all had to sign the license.  Tom and I were padrinos, or godparents, who witnessed the marriage.

The wedding party outside the church after the wedding.

Lorena and Angel entering the reception under the arch.  Tom and Ramon helped release the confetti.

Tom, Lorena, Angel, Marge

Happy groom!

The next day, most of the male members of Angel's and Lorena's family were at our house by 9AM, and by noon, everything was cleaned up, and besides having the grounds look a little neater than usual, it was difficult to tell that we'd even had a party.

Angel and Lorena now both live next door to Moonracer Farm, and sometimes join Julio and Janeth and our guests for dinner.  If you meet them while at Moonracer, make sure to tell them you saw some of their wedding pictures!