Marriage. A sacred bond, not entered into lightly. A lifetime commitment to love, honor, and cherish. A pledge of loyalty, understanding, and support. This was the big moment towards which Kristen and Miguel had been working. Would they be able to do it? Would all that rehearsing pay off?
I figured it probably would, so I went off to play golf with my old college buddy, Daryl, while Kristanne, Calvin, and Rosalie finished off some wedding-day errands -- getting manicures, the proper hosiery, and so on. Given the way I played golf, I might have been better off with the manicure. Daryl chased my lame backside up one side of the golf course and down the other. I personally blame the 50 cent tacos we ate right before golfing for my poor showing -- nothing else really figures.
We managed to finish 14 holes before I needed to be back at the world-famous Residence Inn to shower, shave, and try to remember how to knot a tie. After several miscues, we were off, bound for the house of the bride's parents, Fritz and MaryAnn, ready to lend whatever hand we could. There, we found a controlled state of mayhem. Because of the UPS strike, Kristen's veil had not arrived in time. Fortunately, the shop that had sold her the veil had a backup on hand to loan her. It wasn't what she wanted, but it worked. Everywhere we looked, bridesmaids flitted, matrons of honor ironed wrinkles, and flowergirls played with kittens. For a while, we couldn't sense our purpose, but then it became clear. In another coup for Otto the Love Van, we got to haul all the dresses from the house to the wedding site. Yup -- even the wedding gown itself! We congratulated ourselves on our good fortune and set out for La Hacieda amid much kidding about running out of gas. |
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| Our excitement soon turned to anxiety as we realized the enormity of the task we'd accepted. The wedding was dependent on us. If we didn't get to the church on time, true love could be thwarted! This was an awesome responsibility, and it weighed heavy on our shoulders. As I made the first turn, I heard a slipping of plastic wrap -- oh, no. Oh, no. The dresses were slipping on to Otto's floor! Before they had a chance to, though, Kristanne was out of her seat and into the back, rescuing the dresses from an uncertain fate. We stopped for a moment to assure the dresses' continued wrinkle-free status, and then moved on, soldiers of love on a mission from Cupid. | |
| The ceremony went off without a hitch, aside from a slightly over-eager flowergirl. Kristen's father, Fritz, played the guitar while singing two songs that moistened more than a few eyes in the gathered many. The bride and groom looked wonderful, resplendent in their wedding best. Kristanne's devil-may-care attitude in the rehearsal the day before ended up not biting her in the backside -- she did a wonderful job as you can see by the picture of her below, exiting the ceremony with groomsman, Paco. Calvin explained to me that it was perfectly normal for a groomsman to escort a bridesmaid from the altar and that I had nothing to worry about. Good thing he told me that -- I was about to drop Paco's punk ass. | |
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With the ceremony over, we all retired to the adjacent room for a lovely reception. There was plenty of dancing, drinking, and socializing as we celebrated Kristen and Miguel's new marriage. |
Eventually, though, even the reception was over. The chicken dance had been done, as had the macarena, and that "YMCA" dance that everybody but me knows. Garters and bouquets had both been thrown, and the bride and groom had exited in a Rolls Royce, complete with Grey Poupon. Nice touch. We loaded the gifts and dresses back into Otto and returned to Fritz and MaryAnn's. Everyone was happy and exhausted -- it had been a great wedding. We close with a final shot of the proud parents of the bride, along with a few assorted bridesmaids. See you next time on the Odyssey!
Total Miles for 8/15 = 60