Alan Ilagan

My search for the perfect pink jacket from Brooks Brothers paid off, as did the matching tie and Ted Baker shoes, but perhaps even more fortuitous was Andy’s selection. He surprised me with this bright cross between fuschia and aubergine. I would never have thought of pairing it with pink, but it worked wondrously well.

Once dressed, we awaited the arrival of our guests.

Our wedding party was a small, intimate one, made up of the people who meant the most to us: my parents, Andy’s Dad and sister Karen, our “Aunt” Elaine, my “matron-of-honor” Suzie, and our officiant, Chris.

We gathered in the suite before heading downstairs to The Bar for a pre-dinner cocktail.

The Bar is a traditional old-Boston affair, with dark wood, tufted chairs and chintz banquettes. We occupied a corner beneath a few ancient oil paintings, where a smartly-dressed waiter brought us sidecars, and Suzie fortified herself for her rehearsal dinner speech.

Then it was time for dinner. Andy and I chose the Top of the Hub as a fun way to begin, and a good introduction to the whole city of Boston beneath us.

The food was excellent, and we have to thank Andy’s father Tom and sister Karen for an amazing dinner, matched only by the breathtaking view. (In a fun semi-celebrity side-note, Michelle Kwan was having dinner at the table behind us, though no one other than me knew, or cared, that it was her. Figure skating is a real sport, people, and she is a two-time Olympian…)

Suzie gave a lovely speech as only she could, and then it was time for her and Chris to whisk me away for one final evening of bachelorhood.

{To be continued…}

{”The Madison Fit Pink Three-Button Panama Sport Coat” – doesn’t exactly slide off your tongue, does it?}

For the past few weeks I’ve been on an epic quest to find a pink sport coat for a certain rehearsal dinner coming up. I honestly didn’t think this would be a big deal, but as the days, and then weeks, passed, I was coming up with nothing. Even the internet couldn’t produce a cheap pink suit that I could dolly up and pass off as halfway decent. When last in Boston, I scoured the entire length of Newbury Street – stopping everywhere – Ralph Lauren, Marc Jacobs, Lilly Pulitzer, Ted Baker, Rugby, Zara, Annabelle Jones (okay, that was for an opera coat, which I did find) – and even went off the Newbury path to Saks, Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor, Macy’s, and Club freaking Monaco. All to no avail.

A few FaceBook friends suggested Brooks Brothers, which I’d been avoiding because I knew they might have one, but I also knew it would be more than I could afford to spend, rehearsal dinner or not. As is usual in these fashion quests, the heart leads the head, so I gave in and checked out the Brooks Brothers site and found this pink sport coat - all Spring perfection and dream realization coupled with that hefty pricetag I looked at but instantly justified. After bookmarking the page, I decided to try calling the Brooks Brothers’ outlets within a three-hour radius and seeing if they had any pink sport coats before placing the online order.

I started out with the Lee, MA outlet, which suggested I try Manchester, VT (I’d made the trek for Burberry, surely I could cajole Andy into another emergency stop for Brooks Brothers – he would be the one sitting next to me at dinner after all), but Manchester only had them starting at size 40 – Long. They directed me to Lake George, NY (right in my upstate NY backyard, which was news to me) and they had one in a size that would fit with only minor tailoring.

The next day we made the quick trip to Lake George, and I am now the happy owner of a Brooks Brothers Pink Sport Coat (at a hugely discounted price – about 75% off). Yes, we have a rehearsal dinner outfit. Well, except for the shoes. I’m looking for something in pink…

Andy and I spent an enjoyable weekend in Boston finishing up the last of our wedding preparations. We arrived to a city ensconced in a rain and wind storm, to which both of our umbrellas succumbed before the night blew it out of town.

The next morning dawned with the wind, but the sun soon took over, and I plucked this potent Korean spice viburnum blossom, which filled the bedside table with its fragrance.

We took a brief excursion through the Boston Public Garden just before stopping by Shreve, Crump and Low to try on my wedding ring and see if Andy liked one for himself.

Now we have two, and the only thing left to do is get married.

The whole city appears to have blossomed after the rain, and flowering trees lined our every step.

A single white tulip amid a bed of daffodils.

The cherry blossoms were above us wherever we went, in soft shades of pink and white.

The pink jacket I’ve been searching for proved elusive yet again, even in every single store on Newbury Street. From Ralph Lauren to Marc Jabobs to Lilly Pulitzer to Ted Baker to Neiman Marcus and Saks, nowhere was there a pink jacket to be found in the city of Boston. And so dusk fell…

I think a Spring evening in Boston is one my favorite moments in life, and for some reason always puts me in the mind of Gatsby.

At the enchanted metropolitan twilight I felt a haunting loneliness sometimes, and felt it in others – poor young clerks who loitered in front of windows waiting until it was time for a solitary restaurant dinner – young clerks in the dusk, wasting the most poignant moments of night and life. – F. Scott Fitzgerald

Andy and I walked through the South End, stopping for a couple of cookies, then made our way back home. The next time we’ll be in Boston will be for our wedding.