Some answers to what are sure to be frequently asked questions in the next few days, as well as a few lingering thoughts and nuggets ( … well, at least the ones that are appropriate for this blog …) from a weekend that was -- to steal a descriptive word I read last week -- fantasta-magical …
The flights were fine. Maybe a little rough on the take-offs. But everything was on time, and we didn’t lose any luggage.
The wedding rehearsal dinner was wonderful, elegant. Excellent eats -- chicken, mashed potatoes, noodles, salad. Great conversation … Lots of emotion.
Afterward, back at the accommodations, we watched the news and kept our eyes peeled for the Brewers and Cubs scores. The Brewers lost; the Cubs won. And just like that it was over. The Cubs had won the division …
Then we watched Paris on the Letterman show (watch the video here). My oh my … Could she have looked more perturbed and embarrassed with Dave!? It was so awkward it was funny. It was Dave being Dave and poking fun at Paris after all …
Get this dynamic: There were seven groomsmen in the wedding, who included a writer/journalist (me), a pastor, a doctor, an assistant district attorney and a police officer who’s done three tours in Iraq. It had all the makings of a great TV show, right!? …
Speaking of the groomsmen. Tad was making phone calls to all of us about 2:30 Thursday afternoon, asking about our middle names and whether we rooted for KU or K-State … It wasn't surprising that he had put off another thing to the last minute. But Tad. Seriously, buddy. You know us better than that … The payoff: Each of us received cuff links with our initials engraved and Titleist golf hats with the KU or K-State emblems (depending on who you root for …) emblazoned on their sides … nice.
As we waited Saturday afternoon for the ceremony to start, we had a TV showing the K-State-Texas game … Hey, for this group, that was a big game. And after the ceremony, there were scores being checked on cell phones every five minutes … K-State won, and that made the beer taste even sweeter ...The ceremony was beautiful. And everything went off without a hitch …
Except for the part that included the wedding party being picked up from the church by a trolley. The trolley had broken down, so our 18-person wedding party smashed into the three cars we had available and hit the town for pictures … A replacement trolley eventually picked us up at The Nelson, and we would have a jolly and bubbly good time riding it to the reception hall, if you know what I mean …
The new couple shared their first dance to Ben Folds’ “The Luckiest” -- a smart and wonderful choice that spawned an amusing conversation about first dances and reception music … The wedding party was introduced to Van Halen’s “Right Now” (excellent choice! … ) … I got props when I mentioned Kates and I first danced to Edwin McCain’s “I’ll Be,” as did my cousin who recently danced with his new bride to Queen’s “Best Friend.” Also thrown out was Dave Matthews’ “Steady As We Go.” … And we agreed Frank Sinatra is way overplayed at weddings …
…And oh, the baby talk. There was a whole lot of it, and I’ll leave it at that … It was fun stuff.
The best thing about the weekend? Not only being a part of the new couple’s lives and seeing them so happy together, but looking around the table Saturday night and seeing the faces of the people with whom I've experienced so much. And being awestruck that 10 years later, with hundreds of miles separating our daily routines, we can still laugh and dance (... man, we had a good time dancing ...) and talk as though nothing's changed. We’re all happy, we all remain dear and close to each other … and I take an awful lot of pride in that. Even better, now our significant others have joined the fold and it’s almost as if they’ve been there for the last 10 years too …
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