The Wedding Season Begins

Hey, I got Tom and Amy's wedding pictures up last night. Photoblogging for easy updates, anyone?

Tom and Amy kicked off the 2006 wedding season this past weekend. The DJ at the reception said something like (I'm definitely paraphrasing here) "the best way to honor Tom and Amy and the wedding is to have the best time of your life tonight, so that every time you look back on the wedding, you will always remember the great time you had celebrating." I've never really thought about weddings in that regard, but maybe DJ's have to take some kind of philosophy course on the side, because after this weekend I totally agree with him. It was fantastic seeing everyone there, and those of us who were able to hang out made it seem like the wedding festivities were more of an extended family reunion. In a way, that's what all weddings are, but once the bride and groom hop into the "Just Married" mobile, they usually leave behind a bunch of friends who continue the spirit of the event well into the night and following morning. That's exactly what happened in this case, as you can see from the pictures. I don't think I've laughed more times in a single weekend since the dentist put me on laughing gas.

Out of all the weddings I've been in over the years, this was the first formal one where I was actually a groomsman. I was honored, of course, but I didn't realize how nervewracking walking down an aisle in the proper way could be - especially when you have a wedding planner back with an amazing attention to detail right behind you. (Eyes on the prize, boys, eyes on the prize.) It was interesting participating in a rehearsal led by Glenn, too - I felt like I was behind the scenes of a familiar movie. I'm just glad Gina and I weren't late; I don't think I could have faced Nikki, the wedding planner, if I had been.

The fun rolled on through the rehearsal dinner at Bogen's, where Tom gave us groomsmen some nice VT memorabilia for our cars. I seem to remember comments from our table's conversation containing phrases like "pugilism!" and "well, what would the Madam say, Gina?" That night, a gang of us treated the groom-to-be to a couple of games of bowling at the infamous NRV Superbowl. It was getting late, so the second game for Tom's team was a spirited round of Speedbowling, whereby getting ten frames in is a function of starting the ball down the lane while the rack is still coming down to set up the pins. It got a little dicey, but Tom's team showed awesome timing skills and never had to explain themselves to the management.

The ceremony itself was at Blacksburg UMC, the site of many. At first, Tom, the fathers, and us groomsmen were all packed into the side chapel next to the Whisner building. It got a little stuffy, and with all the chairs and tables stacked up, we felt a little unwanted. However, Gerritt fixed all that by tracking down a box of Boggle, and we proceeded to while away the time making up words and trying to score points off of them. When it came time to perform our groosmenly duties, I have to say everything went off without a hitch. The ceremony was as reverent and joyous as it should have been. It went by quickly, really.

After the wedding ceremonies and pictures, we all headed down to Radford's Muse Hall for the reception. This was, somewhat surprisingly, a very nice place to have a reception like this. The room was spacious and the DJ was spirited. The food was good, and the cake was from Carol Lee's... what more could you ask for? I had the best time mingling with everyone and dancing with Gina. It seems like the two of us have learned a lot about dancing together; we got a compliment or two afterward, so we must be doing something right! I just know I wouldn't want to be dancing with anyone else. After the reception, I helped Gina wrap up a quick homework assignment before we joined the after-party at Hokie House. Sunday was a long day driving back after church, but my goodness was it all worth it.

From my perspective, I'm naturally very happy for Tom and Amy as they begin their life together. In some ways, they've had such a strong relationship for so long that it seems as though they've been married a while. However, that fact is just a testament to how succesful their marriage will be, I'm sure. Cheers to them!