Modern Weddings

Whenever I attend a wedding, I'm always curious to see what, if any, new or different elements are included.

We attended a wedding last night. It was the wedding of Mike's cousin's stepson (I assume this is an example of a distant relative). The relatives on this side of the family (his mother's side) live in either Vermont or California, so we never see them and I'm not even sure how we got invited. It just happens that the groom was marrying a young lady from the Jersey Shore, so the wedding was local for us. Five of Mike's siblings and their spouses attended also, so we had our own table, which was great, being as I didn't know anyone else there. Mike's dad was there with his girlfriend, Barbara (Mike's mom is deceased). They were seated with the cousin. Barb & I are around the same age and she was very disappointed to not be at our table, which we were referring to as "the kids' table."

Two things about the reception stood out for me. First, the couples' song was The Beatles "In My Life," one of my favorite love songs. I guess The Beatles' music has officially transcended generations. Second, they had an artist there who was standing with her easel and paints, where I could watch to see what she was doing. When we first sat down, she had already painted the other side of the room, detailing the windows and their drapery, and a few tables. Once the bridal party arrived, she got really down to business. Eventually, the picture showed the bride, standing on the side of the dance floor, watching her groom, with tears in her eyes, dancing with her mother. I'm assuming the artist's job was to capture a moment at the reception, which she did. It was really lovely; I've never seen this done before.

The bride graduated from Harvard and Georgetown Law School, where she met her groom. During one of the FOUR toasts, someone mentioned that, in preparation for this toast, she went back through old e-mails between her and the bride. I smiled, realizing the days of saving meaningful letters tied together in an old shoebox, are gone.

One very humorous moment. The groom's younger brother, the best man, began his toast with the mike a bit too close to his mouth and the first word we heard, very loudly was "Fornication.' Everyone was laughing and I don't think he understood why. You could hear one of his nearby buddies say to him 'fornication?" Then the best man explained what he was really saying was "For an occasion" such as this....." Which had all of us laughing more. Of course, this was all captured on video, so that moment has been captured for eternity.

At each place-setting, there was a note from the newlyweds thanking everyone and explaining that, instead of wedding favors, they donated that money to the Leukemia Society. At the time, we were unaware, but learned later that the groom had been diagnosed with leukemia 3 years ago, but went i to remission after about 18 months of treatment. Sadly, the leukemia returned in June and he is currently undergoing some new, experimental treatment.

All in all, a lovely, though bittersweet, occasion.