Weddings...

Tomorrow my friend Dawn gets married to her very own Dave.

I wish I could say that I liked this guy, that I had I had no reservations, that he would quickly become to me as good a friend as she has been, because she obviously and evidently thinks the world of him.

Trouble is, I can't.

He's quite all right. He's a decent fellow, and reasonably nice, and is an interesting sample of fandom.

And he's loud, and he's somewhat bossy, and he didn't make an excellent first impression on me. Add to that that his driving made me carsick. I approve of him because, and only because, Dawn delights in him, and he quite evidently dotes upon her. I'm sure that there's something delightful there between them... but it's a something that is not accessible to me. Much as Darkside and I are not accessible to everyone.

I can wish her the best wholeheartedly. I can delight in her joy.

But I cannot say that I like him.

Sweet & Nice

Evidently my cheer and happiness in the face of gods know what is one of the things that Grandma likes.

...Earth Angel. Keep on repeating this.

Note:

If anyone wants to be in my BDSM opt-in filter, I just posted there.

Oh, what a wedding! (Part the First): Tarantualas and Rings

Went to Dawn's wedding, at Knott's Berry Farm. Much fun was had by all.

Guide Dog Aunt dropped me off at around 10:15, having planned on heavier traffic. I wandered a bit, trying to find the Re-Entry gate, and was dutifully admitted after I was checked off on the list of invited guests.

I saw Dawn's brother Darth T. Rex and two miniature bridesmaids as I was wandering towards the chapel, map in hand. I hailed him, and everyone seemed delighted to see me. When we reached the chapel, the official-looking woman who later proved to be the wedding planner let us in the back door, the front not being open yet, and I slipped in with them.

The girls finally recognized me when, at their vocal exclaimations of boredom, I wished aloud that I'd brought my lightsaber. Then they recognized me as having been the lady who was with them at the movie. Evidently I made an impression. I saw Dawn's Dave wandering around, in a state of high distraction. I pulled my gift for Dawn out of my purse, and slipped into the bride's ready room to give it to her; I gave and received hugs and air kisses (the veil was on and the makeup was done).

I pulled out my book (Defender) and read until the doors opened up, then slipped outside, and came back in, formally introducing myself to the Mother of the Bride in the process.

People continued to show up. I amused myself by naming the songs the organist was playing. "Think of Me", "Music of the Night", "When I Fall In Love", that endless song from Titanic, "Wind Beneath My Wings", and then I lost track/didn't know some.

The bridesmaids and groomsmen marched in. Dawn arrived. The minister, with whom I'd been chatting, made some speechifying, and then administered the Celebrant's Oaths... erm, had them take their vows.

It came time to exchange rings, and Dave looked to the Best Man (Chip) for the ring. Chip patted his pockets and came up with empty hands. Chip turned to the first of the other groomsmen and had him look. The first other groomsman pulled a large tarantula out from under Chip's beard, and stomped on it vigorously, to much shrieking. Rubber, of course. The first groomsman patted down his own pockets and turned to the next guy.

So it went, down the line, until they reached Dawn's nephew. He didn't have the ring either. The groomsman before him frisked him thoroughly.

Somewhere, someone found the ring, and it was delivered unto Dave, and he put it on Dawn's finger.

They called for the ring for Dave. The flower girl, Dawn's littlest niece (eight or so) passed the ring up the row of bridesmaids. The Matron of Honor got the ring, and scolded, "<name>! This is your ring!" and produced the real ring from its safe stowage on her thumb and gave it to Dawn.

That was about it. There was much kissing of the bride and groom, and then the party recessed from the church.

In the walking out, I noticed that one of the bride's friends was wearing an interesting necklace, and yanked my star into visibility. He was... Asferatu? Not sure of the exact name, but it sounded something like that. We chatted for a bit, then I wandered back inside to hang with the bridal party as photos were taken.

Dawn's Wedding (part the Second): Cameras and Shotguns

There were gazillions of photos. I helped a bit, with the whole-family photo, taking a picture with somebody or other's camera while she was in the photo herself.

We then adjourned to the professional photo studio in the park, with period furniture and so forth. The bridal party lined, with much ado, up... but something was lacking.

Inspiration was given to me, suddenly, by Dawn's nephew pointing out the prop guns on the walls. "Darth T.Rex on the stairs with a shotgun!" I called out, and it was done. This improved the period look of the piece immeasureably, and was only proper silliness after the hoots and hollers of "Actors!" by the groom at the bridesmaids and groomsmen in the first set of pictures.

There were many photos taken. Many. In one, the bridesmaids and the groomsmen aimed at each other, while the bride ducked to avoid the crossfire. Then the bride was seated on the bucking bronco, and ... more photos.

We finally embarked for the hotel. The bride and groom took a limo; the rest of us walked several hundred yards. On the way, the bride's purse rang; the most-favored bridesmaid, junior only to the Matron of Honor in the lineup, answered; it was the Mother of the Bride, demanding to know where the bride was. After answering, the most-favored bridesmaid roundly cussed the Mother of the Bride. I cheerfully put in that at least she didn't have to live with her.

It turned out that the Most Favored Bridesmaid had been Dawn's stepdaughter from her previous marriage, and they still addressed each other as daughter and mother, as was right and proper.

The bridal party had to wait until they were all collected to go in, so I wandered in ahead and sat down. The bride's table was marked Reserved. I sat with the minister and his wife. We chatted.

Eventually, the bridal party arrived, and Chip made the toast, electing not to roast Dave, as he still had to live with him (Chip is their roommate) but said, "It's about time!" Dawn and Dave have known each other since forever. Everybody back when they were in their twenties thought they were perfect for each other. Now, after Dawn's celebrated her 40th birthday, they're finally together.

There had been some bridesmaid quibbling over seats, with the neices. The little one wanted to sit next to Dawn's daughter. It turned out that most of the other bridesmaids had scattered to sit with their own families, so the little one and I got to sit on either side of Dawn's daughter.