We are gathered here today..............

We are gathered here today, to witness, this poor sap committing to one piece of tail for the rest of his life………. J/K!!!! Weddings are truly a magical event. But first let’s roll it back a bit. Travis and Kara, where to begin? Ben met Kara through working at a bank back in college. Her and Travis had already been dating for a couple years and were living together. Through Ben, they started coming to my family’s booze fests, like Halloween or NYE. After Ben was done with Purdue and headed north, everyone still maintained contact and partying. Well, since such a close association was created thru Ben, my mom’s side of the family was invited to the wedding in Indy this weekend. So, the stage was set for the most overdue wedding of the century (I say that b/c they’ve been together since like 2001 or 2002 and finally tied the knot).
Festivities began this Friday as the wedding party setup shop in downtown Indy. I joined everyone after the rehearsal dinner to see friends that I haven’t seen in months/years. We did a festive round of bar hopping starting with the “Slippery Noodle” and ending with “Have a Nice Day Café”. Everyone was having a great time and catching up. Apparently, Ben gave a toast to him and Lenzo for being the most important people at the wedding, the ushers ;-) My Aunt had her limit of 3 rum and cokes and was almost knocked to the floor by Ben’s drunk ass ;-) Even though it was like ten guys and one single girl (and my aunt and uncle), we were tearing up the dance floor at the “Café”. There were girls dancing on the bars and doing shots outta each other’s belly buttons. Awesome time for one last night of bachelor debauchery.
After getting everyone back to the hotel, where apparently Ben nested on the bathroom floor, I had the daunting task of finding my way home from downtown Indy. Yeah, it was my first visit to the downtown area and I ended up making a 1 ½ hr trip outta a 30 min drive. But I got home and crashed b/c there were lots of plans for Saturday. My apartment was the staging area for my parents and uncle so I had to clean up and get a little organized as well as get myself ready for the wedding. We all did a quick lunch at Fox n Hound and got to the wedding with 30 seconds to spare. The ceremony was beautiful and short. Methodist ceremony conducted by a “Dr.”, very odd. The priest or doctor or whatever, kept coaching Kara and Travis and didn’t bother covering her mic so we could all hear “awesome”, “outstanding”, “very good”, etc. Kara, being the typical bride, broke down a bit when giving her vows. In my opinion, if she mumbles the vows then they’re null and void. But that was only my unpopular opinion ;-)
After the ceremony, we all headed downtown while the wedding party went driving around in a badass stretch H2. I check into my hotel room only to find it absolutely dirty. Scored free brunch tickets as comp and a very apologetic letter from the management. We did a little pre-gaming and then headed to the cocktail hour where 1 bartender was responsible for lubing up like fifty people. Actually, he was the only one all night. He had a heavy accent and broken English so it was comical. As the guests were being seated, my cousins, John, Carrie, Cory and me, which were the occupants of Table 9, were finishing our drinks in the lobby when the DJ came looking for stragglers. He takes one look at us and goes “you must be Table 9”. We were the only table with no one seated :-D Off to a good start, ya know? I later kept referring to us as the “mutants from table 9” from “The Wedding Singer”. The entire reception was very elegant and extravagant. Dinner was delicious and the cake was awesome, even came served with fresh berries. The bridal party speeches were a little awkward but hey, what speech isn’t? The first dance was hilarious. Kara is a theater major from Purdue and Travis has two left feet. You could tell he was counting steps in his head and she was doing this extravagant side step. They did look good though and ended with a sweep to the floor with a kiss. After the parent’s dance, the married folks dance came up and the couple that won was married 63 years. Wow, is all I can say. Before the wedding started, all the guys were under the rumor that there was going to be like five single girls there, and it was confirmed by the bouquet toss. And one of the girls was my cousin so that counted her out. For the garter toss, there was the usual suspects, Ben, Bryan, Lenzo, Me, and a few others. I out jumped Ben and Bryan to snatch glory from their outstretched fingers. I immediately tossed the garter on my head like a headband and strutted in front of the DJ booth/camera man to which the DJ goes “I’ve been warned about you” over the mic. Very nice. The rest of the night was a blur of dancing (Bryan and I owned the dance floor for “House of Pain – Jump Around”) and beer pounding. All they guys signed a Playboy which was put in a picture frame that had an inscription “Break Glass in Case of Marital Emergency”. Everyone had a great time and I woke up passed out on my hotel floor at 2 am ;-) always true to form. Apparently, everyone went to Ben’s room to continue partying and security got a complaint so they got to move the show to a conference room in the hotel, awesome. We met up the next day to say goodbyes to the out-of-towners and then most people stopped by my apartment to chill for a bit. After everyone left, I got my ass to the pool to enjoy the sun and bathing beauties. I ended the weekend with a couple of movies for good measure.

Now, for a blurb on weddings and why I may never end up married. I was joking around with Ben on Sunday about who’s going to get married first. Him and I are becoming the oldest f*cks trying to catch the garter at weddings these days. Sometimes were some of the only ones. Its weird I guess. The older I get the more I’m convinced that it won’t happen but wanting it to. Of course, of all the women I’ve dated, I could see myself only staying with two of them. One ended our fling with no explanation and the other I had to give up due to lots of complexities and the person I was/am wasn’t good enough for her. Other than that, I find lots of girls but they just don’t strike my fancy. Sadly, I usually strike theirs which makes me feel bad but it’s my life, my only life. I’ve never really had a high opinion of marriage. I’ve been to a lot and known the bride and groom long before they committed to marriage. Some I knew were together for lack of wanting to find someone better suited, others were made for each other and others a mystery. Not that I sit in judgment of the couple but I do wonder what makes them decide on the whole “rest of my life with this person”. What kind of questions do you ask yourself? How do you ever know for sure? You know, I think, for better or for worse, I’m just too selfish with my life to be married any time soon. I’ll be honest, it disgusts me when people use their marriage as a reason/crutch as to why they can’t be themselves. Its not that you can’t do for another, but you have to do for yourself first, otherwise, who are you, really? Again, I’m not the expert but this is my blog and the world as I see it. I think ideally, you’ve got to find someone that accepts you in every way possible and after such acceptance, you find yourself change in small ways for the better for that person and then it’s genuine and real and, maybe, just maybe, true love………………………