A Week-End Getaway... at MacDonald's?

We received an invitation for a wedding in Chicago for the daughter of friends. The invitation said the wedding and reception was at the Hyatt Lodge in Oak Brook, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. We decided to attend. I was somewhat reluctant since I’ve never attended a wedding that I enjoyed because I always felt sorry for the groom, but this one turned out to be completely different; it was a treat. The ceremony and reception were outstanding and the venue was exceedingly pleasant. Did I mention that the affair was held at MacDonald’s?
As I understand it, Ray Kroc, the brains behind MacDonald’s restaurants, promoted his first grill -man, Fred Turner, to General Manager. Apparently, Fred turned out to be the real deal and the pair earned billions, enough to convince them to build a fancy headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois near Kroc’s home. But, they weren’t satisfied. They went on to build a training facility, Hamburger University, and of course, that demanded a campus, a hotel for students, pathways to and from the hotel, gardens, etc. They sort of super-sized things.

Today’s campus hosts Frank Lloyd Wright –inspired buildings on 88 acres of rolling terrain that features gardens, forests, and lakes all held together by trails and paved pathways that invites visitors to sample the pleasant surroundings. Somewhere along the line, MacDonald’s leased the hotel to Hyatt and it became a commercial travel lodge. Of course, customers of the hotel can roam the MacDonald’s campus at will and enjoy the luxurious gardens and the lake, Lake Fred, that fronts the hotel. Lake Fred is an example of a gardener with an unlimited budget. It is ringed with huge limestone rocks, thousands of plants, and a pathway that leads to an island featuring a small Japanese garden. Of course, the lake includes numerous fountains with lights for nighttime illumination everywhere along its scenic spots. Kroc and Turner spared no expense in building their campus.
The interior of the lodge is equally luxurious. See their web page (http://thelodge.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels-thelodge) if you want to see photos of the rooms and public spaces in the building. Keep in mind that Kroc’s students were mostly franchisers or managers who owned one or many MacDonald’s restaurants, hence Kroc wanted to wine and dine them while ensuring their adherence to his strict standards in running the restaurants. The lodge and the campus is a great place for a wedding.
The wedding was held in one of the spacious public rooms of the lodge. The bride was beautiful and the groom was dashing, although I suspect he was a probably in a dazed state most of the time, surrounded as he was by so many females giving orders that he had to follow. Anyway, he made it through the ceremony with only a single mistake in forgetting that he was the husband during his recital of the vows.
The wedding included a ceremony where the groom and bride each poured a small amount of colored sand into a larger container. This was said to be an ancient Indian practice that seaIed a marriage. I can’t tell you any more about it because I didn’t understand it although I suppose it hinted at some sort of union. I am guessing that the groom and the most of the men in attendance failed to grasp the deep significance of the ceremony and I trust that the unfortunate breaking of the glass holding the sand will have no significance to the longevity of the marriage.
The bride and groom showed extremely good sense in sparing the attendees the tiresome and silly practices commonly encountered at most weddings. First, we were spared the long wait as pictures were taken before the ceremony so that we thirsty party-goers could rush from the wedding directly to the bar without interference. The bar was well-stocked, the bartenders congenial, and the hors d’oeuvres were delightfully served in the garden amidst the red and orange Begonias and Impatiens while the ornamental grass dipped in the warm breeze from Lake Fred. Even the guitar player had the good sense to strum tunes that were recognizable and appropriate.
When dinner was called, the bride and groom entered with the usual fanfare. They proceeded to cut their wedding cake while we were still interested and then settled down for dinner without the annoying fawning and kissing that can spoil a good meal. The toasts were short enough to be listenable, and we had an excellent dinner that was not interrupted with garters being flung about or foolish introductions of grandmothers deemed healthy enough to get dressed and have a few snorts with the younger crowd. Even the dancing after dinner was passable as those who were able and sufficiently clear-headed bounced around to music that some must have understood. I enjoyed their foolishness.
The entire affair was a delight. You should’a been there.