Current mood:	happy
Entry tags:	friends

lilbabylea and I spent last weekend in Connecticut attending lindyninja and kickindancer's wedding. It was well-planned, ran smoothly, and a lot of fun for everyone who attended.


The ceremony and reception were held in Connecticut as a compromise between the New Jersey and Massachusetts contingents, so it was a couple hours' drive for us. We got an early start, but managed to forget a few things on our way out the door (shaving gear, toothpaste, and directions). Fortunately I remembered my camera's memory card, which is better than I did for the bachelor party paintball fest last Saturday.

The drive down went pretty smoothly. We stopped for lunch at a KFC/Taco Bell near my parent's house and I picked up a "Mega Jug" of Dr. Pepper for the road. Literally half a gallon of soda for $1.59. This thing had a carry handle molded directly onto it (since a handle on the cover couldn't have supported the weight) and was wide enough at the base to be stable on the floor of the car-- which was good, because this thing won't fit into any cupholder known to man. You come to appreciate stuff like this after spending time in France, where a 33cL bottle of Coke costs 4 Euro. That mega-jug makes me proud to be an American.

We had a bit of a scare when we showed up at the hotel when they told us that they'd lost our reservation, but we were able to get another room without too much trouble. Once we dropped off our bags we headed out for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. It didn't take long to work out the details of the ceremony and to learn our parts, so the rehearsal was pretty much in and out. The dinner was a buffet at a nearby restaurant. Amy's family was fun to meet, they seemed like very nice people, and it was good to see Brendan's family again. Both fathers made short speeches, but Matt and I (as co-bestmen) opted not to, since we were both still working on our speeches for the reception. We'd both been putting off the task of writing them for weeks, worried that we'd be competing with one another. We talked about the speeches a bit and then put off writing them for that night.

No writing happened that night. We all headed back to the hotel room and split off into a couple small groups to hang out and play some games. Matt, salt_peanuts, lindyninja and muggleslayer, joined me for some wiz-war (the set I bought on E-Bay arrived shortly before we left Massachusetts) and had a great time. It was particularly good to catch up with Matt and muggleslayer, neither of whom I get to see often enough. We resisted the temptation to hang out all night and went to sleep pretty early, in my case ostensibly to get up early so I could work on the speech. That didn't happen, either.

That morning I had time to scratch out a rough outline of what I wanted to say, but that was about it. The morning was mostly spent running around and sorting out last-minute confusion (like borrowing Aaron's shaving gear). I did however, fulfill my most important duty, getting the groom where he needed to be on time, presentable, and sober. Not that B really needed my assistance on any of those three fronts, since he usually has a big edge on me in all three categories-- since I'm chronically late and B's straight-edge, presentability is the only one where there's any contest...

I'll leave it to the bride and groom to post the details of the ceremony if they choose to, but it was elegant and went exceptionally smoothly. Brendan and Amy both looked extremely comfortable and collected throughout the ceremony. I was close enough to hear the earnestness with which they made their vows, and I'd never seen Amy look so beautiful.

After the ceremony we paused for a few outdoors pictures and then made our entrance to the reception. B and Amy had their first dance immediately afterwards, and they looked like they were having the time of their lives while showing off their swing dancing skills.

After they took their seats it was my turn to make the toast. I still didn't have anything meaningful down on paper, so I winged it. It went over pretty well. I probably referred to myself and Lea a bit too much, but I kept it on message. Matt spoke next and did an excellent job. After B and Amy's fathers gave their toasts we all sat down. Matt and I were able to relax and enjoy the party now that we had finally completed all of our duties.

The rest of the day went pleasantly and easily. We chatted with old friends and new, danced swing and foxtrot, and helped out where we could. At one point I came up behind katesg7 while she was sitting at our table and kissed her on the top of the head, thinking it was Lea. It may be a while before I live that one down... Most of the guests filtered out of the place fairly early to drive back to New Jersey or Massachusetts, so the last couple hours were mostly just hanging out with the guys, which was a nice way to wind things down. In the end we helped break things down and square the newlyweds away, said our good-byes and then we all went our separate ways.


It was a wonderful wedding and a terrific weekend. Thank you, B and Amy, for showing us such a wonderful time. I couldn't he happier for you two and I couldn't be prouder to be there as Best Man.