You may kiss the bride (on her cheek)
Hitting the marrying age range isn’t as depressing as the media makes it out to be. (Or maybe it’s because I don’t know what I’m missing.) In any case, I still had to squee during the “you may kiss the bride” moment at a wedding I attended recently. I hadn’t seen the bride in about a dozen years, hadn’t even kept direct contact, but I still felt incredibly happy for her when the kiss moment came. Unlike the many weddings I’ve attended in the past (thank you, Philippines), the groom kissed the bride on the cheek, which was both demure and adorable. That’s not to say they’re a boring by-the-book couple. On the contrary, the cheek-kiss showed the sense of humor the couple had. During the garter toss, in fact, the groom crawled on the floor and stuck his head under the bride’s dress to grab the garter with his mouth. The bride, not to be outdone, said at the end of a heartfelt message, “Don’t forget to pick up your socks and put it in the laundry basket.”
If only all weddings were that fun!
The un-fun part was driving to the reception. Getting to the church was no problem but getting to the reception after was hell. We drove around in circles for one whole hour before we got anywhere near where we wanted to be. (Google Maps lies!) Luckily the bridal party was late themselves since they were busy taking photos at the capitol. Finding a way back onto the freeway was also difficult. There was a lone sign at the parking lot that pointed to “All freeways” but there were no signs after that. Sacramento gets some kudos for pointing us in the general direction, but I’d have liked more signs, especially since the tower bridge that would’ve easily led to the freeway was under construction. WHERE were the other detour signs?! And how unlucky was it that it rained pretty much the whole day? Darn dreary weather. Not good for marrying in.
The weather didn’t bring down the mood of the party, fortunately. Everyone was upbeat and happy and definitely not shy. I met the rest of the bride’s family again, including my childhood playmate, Summer. Summer was always the life of any gathering, game for anything and ready to lead the good times. She was young enough to show me how to be a kid and mature enough to teach me new things, like riding my first bike.
Now that I’m older, I see that any member of her family could be the life of any party. In fact, they used to hold all the parties at their house. Being neighbors and close friends, we’d inevitably be the last ones to leave because we helped clean up the after-party mess. Good times. Needless to say I cried when Summer and her family left. Their move signaled the beginning of a new phase in my life since, only months later, my family moved as well.
Quotes from the wedding:
Some of the usual mush - “Even when I’m old and hunched over (from stooping to kiss you), I’ll still love you.”
Advice to the newlyweds - “Don’t sweat the petty things, pet the sweaty things.”
Advice from an 8-year-old girl - “Remember that the wife is always right!” (gee, they’re teaching them young these days)
Male MC to the bride’s younger bro, “We know the bride’s a knockout but her brother is kind of pretty too. I think I have a man-crush!”
