23rd March 2010, 01:57 pm

I’ve been to my share of weddings and wedding receptions over the years, and my memories are not of the event, the people, the music.

I remember all the details. The stained glass windows, the flowers, the way that the food was served at the reception (brisk ? slow ? enthusiastic ?) But, also, I remember the napkins. Why ? Because I love to drink red wine at wedding receptions, and I enjoy getting a fresh napkin every time so I can situate my glass on the napkin and be sure that the glass is centered. So, I get to know the napkins. What am I getting to here ? What is my point ? All right, here we go – most napkins at wedding receptions are an afterthought. They were ordered last … I can almost hear the conversation …

… “we almost forgot them completely” or “I thought you were ordering the napkins” …

Or: “I think the caterer will supply the napkins” This must be true, because some waitresses or bartenders have handed me a plain napkin. Plain – no design, no names… blank. Sometimes, I have done better … and the napkins had a printed design, but a generic design like a rose or iris. Only at a very few wedding receptions (or rehearsal dinners) have I had the pleasure of a personalized napkin with a correctly executed monogram on it, or one with the bride and groom’s name and the date of the occasion. But, here is the wonderful exception. In September of 2008 I attended a wedding in Wheeling, West Virginia, where the cocktail napkins were exquisite. The reception was outdoors in a large tent, there must have been 200 people there. (Anyone famous ? One gentleman and his colleague were rumored to be the owners or else share ownership of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team.) If we take into account all of the coming and going, there might have been 300 people who attended. After all, the bar had its own tent – this was a serious wedding reception. Anyway … the personalized napkins … they were sublime. And simple Five inches by five inches – standard size. They were white with the most delicious monogram – the old classic style of engraver’s monogram that everyone sells for napkins and personalized stationery. The center letter was “S” Sorry, I don’t remember the side-letters. The napkins said it all. A lithesome young bride had married a tall, handsome young man in a simple, dignified ceremony, had an elegant wedding reception, and someone had remembered the importance of symbolizing the event on personalized napkins. The couple was joined by, among other things, the letter “S”