my third wedding of the summer

Cindy and Mike's Wedding
Originally uploaded
by theCallowQueen.

The wedding is over and I've been indulging myself this last week. I've lessened my gym routine, I've eaten dessert, and I was generally lazy. So here's a quick rundown on the wedding.

Friday
Left work early. I love summer hours. Scooter, my roomie, and I went to pick up one of the tuxes, which had been miss fitted, then we went to get our nails done. My roomie got her first pedicure ever. I also got a pedicure, and Scooter got fake nails. The guy didn't pay attention to her and gave her French tips with brilliant white. Scooter isn't one for French manicures, nor did she want that white against her slightly creamy wedding dress. My roomie was going to repaint them for her, but we never quite found the time.

We drive out to the backside of Clinton Lake. We were only an hour late to the rehearsal dinner. We feasted on smoked pork and had a quick, disorganized run through of the ceremony. The thunder started. The minute my roomie and I got to my car, the rain began. The storm was so heavy, I couldn't see more than a few inches in front of my car and not at all to either side of me. Out in the country, the lightning made the weird strobe light effect. Not fun when driving. We inched our way back to Lawrence, where we decided to stop at my roomie's sister's apartment until the rain died down. (This is the next eldest of the sisters who we lived with three years ago.) While we waited, she did my nails and we chatted.

The rain cleared. We left after 11 p.m. A few minutes down K-10 the rain started falling. A few minutes after that it poured, again. I was glad my roomie was driving the next day. At home, we still needed to pack and get everything ready for the next day. I went to be around 1 a.m.

Saturday
Got up at 7 a.m. to go to breakfast with the women at First Watch in Lawrence. After a yummy breakfast, we took one of the bridesmaids to her brother’s to pick up her belongings. Then we drove back to Kansas City to get our hair done. (Yes, back to Kansas City.)

With hair finished at 2 p.m., we drove back to Lawrence to the Holiday Inn to get dressed. Here’s where my nerves began. The bride and I had had a bit of an argument over the yellow top I was supposed to wear. (It was a bit too tight for my comfort—and for my dignity.) She’d already turned down on of my options. I’d found another but up until this point had been too chicken to tell her. Well my waiting paid off. By the end, she was so busy thinking about other things that she no longer cared or had the effort to argue with me. (I know this sounds bad. But I’m not a stubborn, horrible maid of honor. The other top simply didn’t fit. Ask my roomie.)

All dressed we headed out to the campsite for photos. One of the photos we took standing in the bed of a truck with Clinton Lake behind us. The sun was out, making us sweat, but it could have been worse. The rain had cooled things down to the mid80s. As I was sopping up some perspiration with a paper towel, I felt bad for the groomsmen in their tuxes.

The wedding went well. Scooter’s father performed a very generous act. When the pastor asked who gave the bride away, he said, “I do, and her mother does.” (The bride’s parents have been separated since Scooter was quite young. And they don’t much care for each other. When her older sister got married. Her father didn’t feel it was appropriate to answer, “Her mother and I do,” because they were not together. Her mother, of course, was deeply offended. If you know Scooter’s family, than you understand how this would seem to be a divide that couldn’t be crossed. So, hats off to Scooter’s dad for bridging the gap a bit.)

The pastor must have been from the groom’s side of the family. He went on with this long sermon about how important marriage is. And he read a passage Paul had written to the new churches about divorce and how to remarry is still adultery. I stifled a squirm and a grimace. Both of Scooter’s parents are remarried. Anyway, the rest was beautiful.

The campsite wasn’t as muddy as we’d feared, though the dance floor was streaked with mud. And Scooter’s chair sank into the earth when she sat down to quickly. And I gave my toast. I’d written it during our car trips from Kansas City to Lawrence. It went well. I was funny. I was touching. I was actually a little hard to hear in the back of the room (quite surprising). I was also shacking, though others told me they hadn’t noticed.

My roomie and I stayed until they started to fold up the tables. We help with a bit of cleanup then headed back to her sister’s for the night. Then I showered. It was the most glorious shower I’ve had in months.