As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to realize something: weddings fucking rule. Now, I know this is probably the most controversial take I’ve posted. But before you close the browser tab, delete the email, smash the stone tablet, or burn the papyrus scroll that this essay is on… hear me out.
Love this one. Even if you did fail to mention (or only mentioned obliquely) your cousin Jamie's wedding in Madison when you were maybe ten or eleven. You were going through a brief "chubby" period just before you sprouted into the svelte beach god look you have now, and you looked like Tony Soprano's kid in your little rented tux, and sweated like Tony Soprano having one of his anxiety attacks.
But I digress. My favorite wedding? Had to be mine to the woman currently sitting near me on the couch. It was a home made affair (I was a struggling actor) in a friend's family's backyard with chicken wings cooked by a friend, a mixtape I created at another friend's home studio, a lot of cheap alcohol, a delicious cake we splurged on (I remember devil's food but she says it was carrot and she's usually right about these things) and just enough of an...energy enhancing substance to keep the bride and groom up and extremely sociable until everyone had left. She looked gorgeous, all of our closest friends were there (one of whom performed a Universal Life Church service along with the municipal judge we had employed, the music sounded great and we all danced our brains out. Years later we ran into the judge on the street in Beverly Hills - a small silver haired guy with a mustache who looked incredibly like the rich guy in the top hat on the Monopoly "Advance Token To Boardwalk" card - and asked him if he remembered marrying us. He said, "Of course I do. You're the actor, and you" (to Susan, obviously) "are the prettiest little girl I ever married."
Generally speaking, except for very few circumstances (like one of the principals doesn't show up) weddings themselves are relatively mundane. The post-nuptial party, on the other hand, can be pretty amusing, if not downright wild. I've been through a couple myself, both very low-key, and several variants of the bacchanalian blow-out seen at a theatre near you. Orthodox Jewish weddings tend to be exuberant, but controlled, for example. I can't speak much for Catholic weddings, except for the ones portrayed in the Godfather movies. I suspect they don't represent the norm, don't you? Other religious traditions are a mystery to most of us Westerners, but I suspect they too run the gamut. In summary, you have to run with the crowd that's present and play it by ear. So sit back in the pews, applaud the happy couple, and be ready for whatever comes your way at the reception. And don't forget to kiss the bride.
I love me a good wedding. The dancing, the food, the music, and all the love. My favorite ones are the ones with close friends - done with minimal budgets - ones that had to get super creative in order to make it happen. For some reason they never seem to have a time limit, probably because it's a lot easier to get kicked out of a banquet hall than it is someone's backyard.
Aww I'm glad you enjoyed our wedding! We loved having you there. Anytime there's dancing it's going to be a good time. There's less pressure when you aren't the bride and the groom so I'm really looking forward to friends weddings in the future and celebrating those while dancing the night away.
Love this one. Even if you did fail to mention (or only mentioned obliquely) your cousin Jamie's wedding in Madison when you were maybe ten or eleven. You were going through a brief "chubby" period just before you sprouted into the svelte beach god look you have now, and you looked like Tony Soprano's kid in your little rented tux, and sweated like Tony Soprano having one of his anxiety attacks.
But I digress. My favorite wedding? Had to be mine to the woman currently sitting near me on the couch. It was a home made affair (I was a struggling actor) in a friend's family's backyard with chicken wings cooked by a friend, a mixtape I created at another friend's home studio, a lot of cheap alcohol, a delicious cake we splurged on (I remember devil's food but she says it was carrot and she's usually right about these things) and just enough of an...energy enhancing substance to keep the bride and groom up and extremely sociable until everyone had left. She looked gorgeous, all of our closest friends were there (one of whom performed a Universal Life Church service along with the municipal judge we had employed, the music sounded great and we all danced our brains out. Years later we ran into the judge on the street in Beverly Hills - a small silver haired guy with a mustache who looked incredibly like the rich guy in the top hat on the Monopoly "Advance Token To Boardwalk" card - and asked him if he remembered marrying us. He said, "Of course I do. You're the actor, and you" (to Susan, obviously) "are the prettiest little girl I ever married."
Generally speaking, except for very few circumstances (like one of the principals doesn't show up) weddings themselves are relatively mundane. The post-nuptial party, on the other hand, can be pretty amusing, if not downright wild. I've been through a couple myself, both very low-key, and several variants of the bacchanalian blow-out seen at a theatre near you. Orthodox Jewish weddings tend to be exuberant, but controlled, for example. I can't speak much for Catholic weddings, except for the ones portrayed in the Godfather movies. I suspect they don't represent the norm, don't you? Other religious traditions are a mystery to most of us Westerners, but I suspect they too run the gamut. In summary, you have to run with the crowd that's present and play it by ear. So sit back in the pews, applaud the happy couple, and be ready for whatever comes your way at the reception. And don't forget to kiss the bride.
I love me a good wedding. The dancing, the food, the music, and all the love. My favorite ones are the ones with close friends - done with minimal budgets - ones that had to get super creative in order to make it happen. For some reason they never seem to have a time limit, probably because it's a lot easier to get kicked out of a banquet hall than it is someone's backyard.
Aww I'm glad you enjoyed our wedding! We loved having you there. Anytime there's dancing it's going to be a good time. There's less pressure when you aren't the bride and the groom so I'm really looking forward to friends weddings in the future and celebrating those while dancing the night away.