Seattle Part 1-Punk Rock Wedding

My favorite house in Seattle. 

We  always need to go and visit this house.

Weddings....odd and joyful things...

So my brother and Lesley's best friend married last week.

My role was Best Man. Lesley Maid of Honor.

Tough roles. Not something that I would easily wish on someone.

My experience with weddings... I've been to a few...

I've been the ring bearer as a kid.

Mostly my experience with weddings as always been low stress.

I enjoy myself , I hang back, I enjoy the flood of emotions.

No chance this time.

I'm a child of the eighties.... so whenever I hear the word "Wedding"

I envision Long Duck Dong from "Sixteen Candles".

Married? Married.

So we arrived in Seattle... We love Seattle... 

We lived in Seattle for about five years.

Love the restaurants, the markets, the communities,

the attitude, and the way people think

and live in the Northwest as a whole.

We have alot of good friends in the Northwest.

Good friends w/ Mike. Jared & Eric.

However on this trip.. we weren't able to 

get away and see many of you.

Jessica, Ericka, Special K, Diane, we miss you lots.

From the minute we landed... we went into planning mode... 

Came in on a Sunday... 

Monday night was the Bachelor /Bachelorette Party.

Lesley and I had been searching for the perfect locale

for this event for about two months...

Needed just the right atmosphere, the perfect mix of sultry,

but with a hint of dirty. 

Or as my youngest brother often throws out  

we needed a place that one might be found "Trolling for Strange."

We also wanted a place close to where everyone lived, 

but with some shock value, and yet a place not many had ever been in.

 We found the perfect place.

Its the "Copper Gate" in Ballard. 

Ballard is a neighborhood located in the northwestern part

of Seattle, filled with Scandanavian heritage.

Its an eclectic and artsy little district

with boutique shops and eateries.

The "Copper Gate" at first look is a Scandinavian bar. 

One reviewer called it a modern-day tribute

to Vikings and va-va-voom.

Filled with aquavait, Scandinavian cocktails,

and Swedish meatballs and fries.

The bar itself is a viking ship. 

With a sail of old vintage nudes and retro porn.

The bathrooms have unusual decor... such as naked Barbies,

Lou Reed albums, and more imagery of bare breasted ladies.

Its not the place to take your mother... 

but then wait... that is where I took my mother.

What we loved most about this place...  is that it has a special  room. 

A special room lined with red velvet booths. 

 

Mirrors on the the side, a small stage, sound system.

Red velvet curtains.

But the best... is you need to go thru these big doors, 

and then pass thru a special red hallway to get to this room.

Above the doors hanging from the ceiling is a big pearl.

The room has a special name.

You must ask the bartender for this room.

We dare not use the name of this room on our blog. 

We will let you figure that part out.

The history of the bar goes like this...

Once owned by a fiery, bar tending, Scandinavian stripper.

She would bar tend in the nude. 

Then in between pouring shots and singing 

Norwegian drinking songs.

She would perform strip tease acts.

Who could resist such a romantic story and location?

Who I Say?

This sounded like the perfect place for us.

So we decided to bring the boys and girls 

together under one roof for the night.

So we ran around buying naughty toys

and gifts from erotic stores in Seattle.

The things I saw... burned into my memory forever..

.

We decorated the place, we set the stage, we created some games.

We got everyone at the location.

Then we had a fantastic and stunning 

burlesque performer come and entertain.

Burlesque when done correctly... is stunning.

When done poorly... its horrible.

 

Luckily we chose well... and  had the extreme good fortune 

to be entertained by a mesmerizing costumed vixen.

Extravagant costumes, great dances, and she played the crowd. 

We had the incredible Jesse Bell Jones from

Sinner Saint Burlesque in Seattle.

Jesse you were fantastic!

After that the night was short... the morning came fast...

We staggered home in groups... 

We slept for a few hours... and then began more Wedding activities.

Part 2 coming soon...

Here are some pic of the grand evening...