California Dreamin' pt.4

The reception was here:


They have two big fancy silver samovar lookin' things. One with fresh brewed iced tea and one with fresh squeezed lemonade both complimentary.

The reception had a live band. One of those wedding bands that can play anything oldies, swing, jazz, lite rock, rock, blues, but have clear easy listening tendencies. At one point the stepmother of the groom shouted out a request for "Somewhere Out There" and without missing a beat they broke right into it. Sadly there was no chicken dance, no electric slide, no hokey pokey, and most disappointing for me - no Sir-Mix-a-lot. But this was an immense relief of everyone who comports themselves with any level of dignity.

Chatting with the other wedding guests was cool. I sat next to PC's cousin J who is just starting grad school in neuroscience. We geeked out big time. I met B and D. They are retired in Palm Springs and are an impressive and lively pair. They have travelled all over the world. They volunteered with the Red Cross for years, traveling to disasters all over the world to offer assistance. They were in New York to deal with 9/11. They are now looking for a new project because they feel that the Red Cross needs to get more young people involved, new blood not just new blood donors.

The whole thing wound down pretty early to a group of say 7 people who sat and talked while drinking the last of the champagne.

It is the first wedding in a while that I have attended and really enjoyed. I am ashamed to admit this because it reflects the fact that I am a bittter stereotypical unmarried woman in her 30's. That sometimes I am self-centered and can't shake my self-involvement enough to focus on being happy for others. It's great seeing my friends get married. I am always genuinely happy that they have found someone to love and share their lives with. It's a big deal and very much a cause for celebration. But there is something about a wedding that is different from other social occasions. That is excessively couply. It's just not as much fun without some kind of social anchor - be it a quasi-date, a posse of friends, or a proper date. I tend to clam up in these kinds of social situations. But I go. I will make every effort to be in attendance. Because it is beautiful to see two people make a committment to each other to share a life. And the ritual, the ceremony, the chicken dance, the bouquet toss - there is something comforting and beautiful about it. Even as the girl who usually gets seated at the "Random social outcast" table, cause that table is as much a part of the wedding experience as anything else. ;D

And because a wedding is happy, beautiful, and hopeful - full of possibility and the future, like that line from the Simon and Garfunkle song:
"Let us be lovers we'll marry our fortunes together..."