Chris and Cory’s wedding reception was held at Maxim’s in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago. The star of the night? The Sake Keg.

And don’t forget the cake, even though it was a more minor player. Chris’s aunt made it and it was delicious.. lemon and raspberry inside.

First off, Cory’s dad, Steve, gave a short speech.

I believe Steve talked about the sake ceremony, but to be honest, I can’t remember at all.

Luckily I found this tidbit: Kagami-biraki is a ceremony performed at celebratory events in which the lid of the sake barrel is broken open by a wooden mallet and the sake is served to everyone present. Kagami refers to the lid of the sake barrel and biraki means “to open” so kagami-biraki literally means “opening the lid.” Because of the lid’s round shape, the kagami is a symbol of harmony. The kagami-biraki, therefore, represents an opening to harmony and good fortune.

Talk faster Steve, they are about to rush the keg.

These guys are about the grab the mallet themselves.

The masu waiting to be filled. (Note the M monogram. M for Marello, Cory & Chris’s last name.)

Finally it was time for Chris to knock the cover off the sake keg.

Cory and Chris get the first pours.

Cory and Chris wanted to get all of the traditions out of the way, so immediately after the sake ceremony, they cut the cake. A lot of people missed this because they were too busy rushing the keg, but I got this nice photo.

Tomorrow I’ll post more photos from Cory and Chris’s reception.

On a side note, Naoko and Doug had a sake keg at their wedding a few years ago. I’m not going to spill any family secrets from either party, but I think it’s safe to say there may not ever be any more sake kegs allowed at any family events after this past Saturday!