Bradley Alan's Wedding

Two days, copious amounts of food, countless glasses of wine, a Catholic ceremony, an ocean of tears, an amazing amount of laughter, and an army of guests pretty much sums it up.

Today I celebrated my brother's wedding day.  It's pretty hard to believe that my little brother is actually married.  Seems like just yesterday we were playing Donkey Kong out in the back yard with the neighbors or having late-night study sessions in high school.  Somewhere along the line he grew up.  We grew up.  He met an absolutely fantastic woman, graduated college, and got married.  I couldn't be happier for him.  Truly, I couldn't.  It's still just a little bittersweet.

Instead of a passé unity candles or sand, they tapped into their truly geeky engineering cores (He's a chemical engineer and she's an environmental engineer) and created a unity ceremony that really embodies "them".  They poured chemicals into a vase, and they both playacted as they did it.  Safety goggles and all.  Quite comical.

I had hours and hours to sit around, visit with people, take pictures, and generally just let my mind wander.  Of course I came up with several thoughts, some of which I'll share.

*I'm destined to cry through every wedding that I attend (as long as I know the couple).  That's just a fact.  Apparently even Brad's groomsmen could see the waterworks. **sigh**  What's even more interesting than the actual tears is the emotion behind the tears.  What is it that brings us to tears when we're so happy?  What are we actually crying about?

*There are always wedding mishaps.  People missing at just the wrong time, frosting that melted right off the cupcakes onto the tablecloth, and the groom and his groomsmen spending the night before the wedding sleeping in a Christmas tree farm.  It is these moments that will remain memorable.  These moments are what bring character to a wedding. You'll always remember the quirky moments.  Love them for what they are.

*Weddings have a tendency of bringing people back together.  Uniting families and friends after long or short periods of separation.  Or just bringing two new families together in a strange, but beautiful new patchwork.  Something about all the love at a wedding makes you appreciate what you have and miss what you don't.  I got to see extended family from both sides of my family today AND I gained a new family (plus an awesome new sister!).  I think I came out ahead today.

*Emotional events can make you want to do two things.  Rush on ahead or slow down and savor.  I hate to admit that I tend to to the former.  Beautiful moments are sometimes only possible when you slow down enough to realize they're right in front of your face.

 

*Hugs and "Congratulations!" are acceptable ALL day long.  Everyone is feeling a little giddy and nostalgic, so just embrace it--literally. 

*And finally, love is worth waiting for.  Sure sure, I knew this already.  But someday, some guy is going to look at me like my brother looked at Katie, and it'll all be worth it.  Every last minute of waiting.