The Wedding Issue

It's spring time and that can only mean one thing. Weddings. Lots and lots of weddings. In the past month I have been to two beautiful weddings of college friends and I would like to take a moment and reflect.

The Kate-Tom Wedding

The weekend before memorial day, two of my friends from the Northwestern Alpine Ski Racing Team were married.

NU Alpine Ski Racing Team Represents. Really, are we not the picture of Division I athletes?

Kate and Tom met on ski team, so I was able to witness this relationship from its inception. The wedding took place at Lake Geneva on a perfect day. Kate looked stunning and seemed as natural on the alter as if she was ordering some fries with her cheeseburger. Tom, equally as dapper, seemed happy as hell and there were even some tears on his part, which meant there were tears on my part. Nothing makes me cry like a choked up groom. Well done. I hadn't seen most of my friends from ski team for a good 3-4 years, so this was a perfect opportunity to get re-acquainted. And nothing helps the re-acquainting like copious amounts of booze.

Really, I was just holding her up. No one wants to see the bride drunkenly face plant.

There were some funny moments, like the limo getting lost, Vee and Jay in general, and the Wayne Newton impersonator DJ. But mostly it was just fun. There was lots and lots of dancing, which I whole-heartedly support. Also, it made me realize I don't see this group of friends nearly enough.

The Liz-Matt Wedding

One of my roommates from my senior year at Northwestern married. Matt met and dated Liz throughout that year we were living together, so again, it is fun to see a relationship that I witnessed the beginnings of end in marriage and not tears and restraining orders.

All together now, "Awwww." Now you can barf in your mouth.

I was a bridesmaid in this celebration, and the benevolent Liz allowed her bridesmaids to pick our own dresses, just so long as they were below the knee and black. I was one of very few (frighteningly few, actually) single people at this affair. All of my roommates from senior year are now either married or engaged. WTF? Not only that, but they seem to have a lot of paired up friends. No matter. I scouted out the dateless so that there was never a slow song that I didn't dance (though I don't really understand the two slow song in a row rule. I mean, admittedly, sometimes it is awesome because you get to cling to someone who, under other circumstances would run like hell from you, for an extra song, but sometimes, you are the one wanting to run like hell. You need a fast song so you can escape from their kung foo grip, but it doesn't come. This is actually one of the few occasions were I wasn't afraid to start a second dance with a partner I had, so way to go with the wedding guest selection).

Matt, me and Greg, each blaming the post-rehearsal dinner gas on others.

There was also a margarita bar (Dangerous. Dangerously delicious.) the electric slide (which might be one of my favorite dances in the world), "I like big butts" (which might be my favorite song to dance to inappropriately at weddings), Air fiddle to "The Devil went down to Georgia (I think)," kick as food combo of chicken AND steak (which later contributed to some seriously noxious dance floor odors) and the groom serenading his bride with Meatloaf (the artist, not the food). I would really like to tell you some funny stories about the wedding, but I feel like they would all come off as inside jokes, much funnier had you been there.

Caleb, me and Nemo. We are so good looking, it is a felony. Thankfully, Caleb is a lawyer.

All I can say is Liz looked resplendent (you really rarely get the opportunity to use a word like resplendent but I don't think there is a more perfect word) and I don't think I have ever seen Matt happier. It was a terrific event and I am so happy I got to participate.

While it is strange seeing more and more friends end up with wedding rings on their hands, I am pretty ok with it. Sure, I had to sleep on the sofa bed so Nemo and Carrie, husband and wife, could have an actual bed. Sure, at breakfast I was the odd number chair with everyone else having a partner next to them. But, I do get to keep my dance card open, I do get a bed to myself to sleep drunkenly in and I rarely have to consult with anyone else before making plans. Plus, wedding rings seem like awkward things to get used to, and I'm ok putting off the anxiety of losing one for awhile. Also, seeing old friends from college makes me super nostalgic, and not the least bit sentimental. Not to get to emotional on your asses, but I am really lucky when it comes to my friends. I have a lot, and they are all kick ass. More importantly, they are the type of friends you can not see for years and years and yet when you see them, you can jump back in like you haven't skipped a beat. That is a rare thing in life, and I know I hit the jack pot. Ok. Too much of a love fest right there.

Let this wash out the mental image of me hugging the world and sneezing rainbows.