Wedding Weekend

Man what a weekend. Left work at 3:20 just as an emergency was heating up. Got home and took several phone calls while I was getting ready for the rehearsal dinner. Arrived right at six. But since the dinner was near the 75/285 intersection, many were late. When I walked in to the Marriott I saw Bobby Cox ambling out the door. For the first hour we stood around talking. I was outside on the phone, helping manage two emergencies.

Earlier I had a feeling one vendor had lost 2000 parts (I was right), so I arranged a hotshot to deliver more. The truck arrived to pick up after the company had closed. I wasn't going to do anything, but somehow it got loaded and on the road. Later we had trouble getting the truck unloaded. The second hot shipment was picking up in Marietta, and was stuck in traffic and arrived two hours late. The guy waiting had to hold his babysitter over.

The dinner started, and was fun. Lots of speeches and multimedia presentations. MC's mother and aunt each sang solos. Will gave a nice speech about the couple. I sat next to MC's grandmother's brother in law, who knew a friend of mine from high school. Dinner was Italian: bowtie pasta, chicken, salmon, two kinds of potatoes, spinach salad. Dessert was canola's and a multi layered coffee flavored crème pie. Also Italian sodas. I had orange. Had a good time. Got home after ten.

Woke early Saturday and took Anna's Jeep to Claire's favorite place: Tire Deals. They're under new management - people who actually spoke to me. The old guy had retired and sold off the business 1-1/2 years ago. Same quick service, but they guys were a little more talkative. I was done by 8:40 so I swung by a couple of thrift stores. Could pass up a sale, and bought two pairs of shoes for half price: white adidas shell toes with green stripes (to go with my green Braves jersey and cap, and a pair of black low top Chuck Taylors. Two classics.

Gassed up Anna's Jeep. Got home and washed and waxed her car. Ceil brought out a breakfast sandwich for me, and Barney came out and sat in the car to keep me company. Also washed Ceil's car. Waxed the top of my car as well. Detailed Anna's Jeep. Then I cut the grass.

The wedding was at six way out at Indigo Falls, where W&MC got married. We needed to get there an hour early to ride the shuttle and get a seat. Traffic would be bad, and Ceil would be 30 minutes late getting ready, so I told everyone we needed to leave at three. We left at 3:30. Traffic wasn't too bad, and we arrived at 4:25. Lots of other family members were arriving at the same time. We went inside and sat in the air conditioning. At 4:45 someone mentioned we needed to go, and I told them we had another hour. That's when I found out the wedding was really at five. Good thing we left early!

The groomsmen stood along the short walkway down to the lakeside outdoor chapel. There was water and special sunglasses with the wedding hashtag #HelloAnello. Turned out the wedding guests would be facing the sun. I thought they should've taken a picture of all the wedding guests with their sunglasses on, like they were at a 3-D movie.

Right before we arrived a short downpour had passed through, that quickly cleared away to blue skies and 90 degree heat. Several men took off their suitcoats, including me. Two of MC's uncles wore derby caps to shield their bald heads. Another uncle (MC has at least five) wore a dri-fit dress shirt. It kept him cool, but he still sweat through his suit. The rest of us used the wedding program as fans.

The parents and grandparents were seated. Three bridesmaids came out and performed a dance. One of the dancers performs in New York City. Since we were right by a lake, I thought the dance should've ended with the dancers all diving into the lake, like they used to do in the movies. Instead they hustled down the side path to go change, passing the pastor and groom Zack as they entered. The pastor asked people to turn off their phones and cameras, but several didn't.

The procession of groomsmen and bridesmaids, and then the bride Anna escorted by her father Dr. Tom, was different because of the outdoor setting. We could turn and see the procession walking down the pathway. Quite lovely. Three pastors helped with the ceremony: Zack's young childhood pastor, Anna's grandfather (who also helped with W&MC's wedding), and Anna's Uncle Daniel. During his passionate message Daniel reminded Zach and Anna (as well as W&MC, calling them out by name) that their parents were looking forward to grandchildren. Mary Clayton sang "He's Always Been Faithful."

After the ceremony we walked along the lake to the reception. Most of us went inside to beat the heat. I'd drank several Arnold Palmers, but I remained thirsty. For the dinner we sat with two doctor's from Dr. Tom's practice, and their spouses. Dinner included spinach salad, fresh green beans, squash casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potato souffle, chicken, and salmon. Dessert was the wedding cake, cannoli, and Dippin Dots ice cream.

The best man (Zack's younger brother, a law school student) gave the first toast, telling Anna "he's your problem now." Matron of honor Mary Clayton gave the next toast, starting with a joke from the TV show The Office. Most of the crowd didn't recognize or get the joke (including me). Now MC knows how I feel when a joke bombs.

Anna had taught Zack a dance for their first dance. Later there was a time of dancing. The flowers were lovely, so Anna Murphy went all out to catch the bouquet. Zach and Anna left through sparklers. After that I was finally able to get Ceil to leave. We got home at 11:30 - a long but productive day.