Rochester, NY
My summer of the wedding kicked off this weekend in Rochester. One of my friends from youth sports and high school married a cool girl yesterday. I was one of the groomsmen. It had been a while since I had a tux on and walked the aisle. What an honor it is to be asked to be in a wedding. It shows a bond that stays forever.
Friday started with a round of golf with a few members of the HPT Tour at Greystone, a spectacular course outside of Rochester. My putter never made it out of the car and caused me some grief, but it was good to have a group together. From there it was home for a quick shower and the rehearsal and dinner. The pastor directed us at the church, but I didn’t feel like I had it all down. Neither did the other guys, but we didn’t let on. Dinner was good with about 20 of us in Brockport. My first error of the weekend occurred not too long after dinner ended. Shots at 9:30 don’t make a lot of sense, but an energy of a wedding makes you do things you normally wouldn’t.
We met out a large group of friends who I don’t get to see too often. We had people in from Philly, NYC, Buffalo, and Tampa amongst other places. The bride and groom to be did a good job of showing restraint, but a lot of us did not. One guy had a $250 tab. Saturday morning, wedding day, was rocky for a lot of us. But, I still made it to the house on time, at 1:00, for some pictures and the limo. The energy of the guys was not near the level as the previous day and the room was pretty quiet as we moaned over the damage we had done. Rob, the groom, did not seem to be too nervous. He was doing his best to make sure we would be ready when the limo arrived. The wedding was at 3:30.
I sat on the couch, head resting on my left hand, laughing at the scene of all of us in our tuxes. His young nephews kicked up the energy and had us all laughing at their jokes and dancing. Luckily the weather turned out to be nice. A May wedding in Rochester can be testy, but the sun was shining.
3:30 came quick. I was in the front of the church, handing out programs and ushering in attendees. “Bride or groom?” Soon the organ bellowed and we made our way to the front of the church. The ladies began their processional. I am a sap when it comes to weddings and was radiant at being a part of this one. One by one, the girls in their celery tone dresses marched in. Then Deb and her dad made the crowd rise. Rob was not nervous, just excited. As she approached him, the tan of her face made her eyes even bluer than normal. We all turned to the pulpit and the pastor performed the ceremony. His homily was a good one. It was a great moment, to see one of my best friends get married. I had a smile on my face the whole time.
That was until I had to be the person that told people when they could leave. A receiving line was formed at the entrance of the church, so I did my best to alternate rows starting from the back. People began to shoot glances to the messenger, and I was not into a bad vibe, so I eventually said they were smart enough to go opposite rows. I made my way outside.
After some pix, and a long limo ride to the reception hall, another party started. A wedding reception is always a great place. Everyone is happy and laughing. It’s hard not to get caught up in it.
There were more single guys than girls and at the age we are at, 30, you wonder if and when this day will happen for you. The hook up percentages always go up at weddings because of the happy energy and also because of the want to feel wanted. I didn’t let my mind wander too much, but I did have thoughts as a guy I have known since my age was less than double digits got married. Is that girl out there? Who is she? Where is she? Have I already met her? I guess that is another book and another journey.
Open bar is always a good thing and I am glad to report there were no extreme abuses, that I saw. No one puking in the dumpster like in the wedding singer. No Steve Buschemi giving an awful toast. It was just a lot of fun and dancing and catching up with people that are rarely in the same room together. I am not known from my soulful moves on the dance floor, but I made it out for a few fast songs and a couple of slow ones. The reception went on until 11:30 and then we helped clean up. And then moved on to a bar in town. I was fatigued to the extreme and would not have gone, but when the bride and groom make an appearance, I had to be there. My bed called at about 2:30 AM. It was a great weekend.
I still have some thoughts that my tunnel vision on my book and my future may have caused me to make some mistakes on the lady front, but I have to keep on. I see good things in the future and as Rob told me, there is no reason why a woman can’t be a part of it.
Congrats to he and Deb. Thanks for including me.