A Thrilling Wedding Dance

     My future brother-in-law, Mike, is a surprising guy. A high school chemistry teacher, Mike seems to be the quiet, unassuming type until you get to know him. I have recently learned that with some prodding from friends, and a little liquid courage, he has the ability to turn into a dancing machine. I checked with my sister before writing this, and she assured me that this is no secret. Her husband-to-be can bust out the moves to Michael Jackson's Beat It like nobody's business! Evidently, when he was younger, he taught himself to dance by memorizing the dance steps from the music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym0hZG-zNOk&ob=av3e, and it made him a hit at parties.

     Now, I haven't had the privilege of seeing him perform the dance in its entirety, but he did a little kicky move for me when I asked. It was impressive and a bit disconcerting all at the same time, but that's not the point. The point is that he was unafraid of looking foolish in order to make me smile. He's really a great guy.

                                                           
                                                     Mike performing Beat It at a wedding reception

     While visiting youtube.com recently, I came across a video that was filmed at a wedding reception. I don't know these people, but they made me wish I had been there that night. The groomsmen had surprised the bride and groom by dancing to Michael Jackson's classic Thriller. For a minute, I thought that this was so terrific that I pondered whether three months was enough time to get Mike's friends to copy the idea. Logically, I'm pretty sure that Gina and Mike's reception will never include a performance like this, but still, it's fun to imagine the look on Mike's face!

The video will be attached to the next post, so you can see what I'm talking about.

Smell the Roses

     Since my sister lives out of state, my mom and I met last week with the florist here in town to discuss flowers for her December wedding. The florist told us that the typical bridal bouquet can run from $50-150 depending on what flowers are used. Here’s what I learned: large roses are elegant, yet delicate spray roses are cost-effective because there are more blooms on each stem. Queen Anne’s lace is the modern way to fill in empty spaces and complete an arrangement. Baby’s breath is so 1985. A strange looking Australian flower called kangaroo paw can be dyed and soaks up color well because it has fuzzy, velvet-like petals which resemble paws. Red berries can speak volumes, and always say “winter wedding.” http://www.theflowerexpert.com/content/growingflowers/flowersandseasons/kangaroo-paw

     When it comes to centerpieces at the reception, it would only take two white hydrangeas to complete a display, but the same look could be achieved with several inexpensive white carnations. Wintery, ice-covered branches can be purchased and sold back after the wedding, yet only at half price. There are dozens of different types of vases, and all come in varying heights. These can be placed on mirrors and lit with either vase lights or flora lights, which are expensive, yet make the arrangements seem to glow magically: http://www.save-on-crafts.com/vaselights1.html


     Then, the shopper must choose bridesmaid bouquets, corsages for the mothers and grandmothers, and boutonnieres for the groom, his groomsmen, and the fathers. Next, comes the question of whether the flower girl will throw rose petals or carry a fluffy sphere of flowers which dangles like a handbag from a satin ribbon. Finally, will the wedding arch be covered in white lights, or decorated with red roses?

     I left this meeting with a mock-up of a bridesmaid bouquet, and a spinning head. There’s so much to do. So much work and planning goes into a wedding. Who knew that deciding upon flowers could be so involved? Although my mom and I had our favorites, I took dozens of pictures to email to Gina for her approval. The florist would have me believe that choosing the proper flowers is one of the big decisions in life; right up there with selecting a first house and naming the children. I have never had to select any of those, so who am I to argue?

     Just as the world seemed to revolve around this task, we were jolted back to reality. Our grandmother, who has lived alone since our grandfather’s death two years ago, fell on the cement patio in her backyard. Days later, a heart attack caused the father of the groom to be rushed to the hospital.

     It turns out that our grandma was merely scraped and bruised. Thankfully, she didn’t break any bones or hit her head. The groom’s dad was released from the hospital. His chest pain wasn’t caused by a heart attack, after all. He had a viral infection which caused the sack around his heart to become inflamed.

     These two close calls put life back into perspective. Ten years from now (heck, even ten months from now), no one will recall what the centerpieces had looked like or whether the bride’s bouquet included spray or full- sized roses. What we’ll remember is the look on our grandma’s face when she sees Gina in her wedding dress. We’ll carry with us the memory of the father of the groom dancing with his new daughter-in-law.

     I have been reminded that it’s the relationships we share that offer the truly important moments in life. When obligations and tasks seem overwhelmingly important, I hope that the events of this past week will make me slow down and spend time with those that I love. I’m actually headed to my grandma’s house now. Maybe we can visit her garden, and the two of us could take a moment to stop and smell the roses.

The Bridesmaid Bouquet

Wedding Movies

You may be able to tell from the titles of my previous posts that I'm a huge movie buff. Writing about Father of the Bride got me thinking about how many wedding-themed movies have been made. There have been tons over the years. It's evident that people, women in particular, are still hungry for romance. Pay attention, guys. My Big Fat Greek Wedding has a lifetime theatre gross of over 241 million dollars. That means more than a handful of women felt led to see that particular type of movie. I'm just saying, something to keep in mind...

In light of this, I was wondering which wedding movies were most popular, so I found a list of the biggest box office hits. (The top 10 are listed to the right of this post) The order that they appear in is based on how much money they brought in, and is not exactly how I would rate them. I could even think of some I preferred that didn't make the cut. I'd like to make a better list, and am hoping that you can help me with your opinions. What is your favorite wedding-themed movie?

I've included a poll to the right of this post. Please check your favorite. I'd like to give away some DVDs as prizes at my sister's bridal shower, so I'm hoping to pick up the best ones. Thanks for your help!

The Wedding Singer

My sister looked at my blog and loved the video montage from Father of the Bride. She asked me if I knew that was the song she had chosen to play as she dances with our father at the wedding reception. I had no idea. It literally gave me chills! How perfect is that?

A musical montage of the movie Father of the Bride:

Father of the Bride

My dad is what some would call a man’s man. He’d rather give a quick pat on the shoulder than offer a hug. He plans his day around the schedule of the Detroit Red Wings, and started playing hockey himself long before Zetterburg laced up his first pair of skates. He drives a truck, works outdoors, and believes that duct tape can fix anything. I think his diapers must have been made by Carhartts. The man is just that tough.

The fact that he produced two non-athletic, artistic daughters must seem like a cosmic joke. He took things in stride, however, when we excelled more in ballet than in baseball. Although he was probably bored out of his mind each time, our dad never missed one of our recitals. He may not always understand us, yet he continues to be our strongest supporter.

My family has always been close, so it was difficult when my sister moved to Denver three years ago to attend grad school. It was even harder when she decided to stay in Colorado after graduation. It’s a wonderful place to visit, though, and we try to get out there as often as possible.

Just last month, I was fortunate enough to be able to meet my parents there for an extended weekend. During a quiet night at home, my sister decided to pop in a video. Our dad doesn’t normally sit still long enough to watch movies with us, but as my sister’s selection that evening turned out to be Father of the Bride, it seemed appropriate for him to join us.

During the film, I glanced periodically at our dad to see if he was enjoying himself. He laughed at Martin Short’s portrayal of Franck, the wedding planner, and said that he could relate to Steve Martin’s rendition of an overwhelmed father. I just so happened to look over again during the scene where the father sees his daughter not as a grown woman, but as a little girl with pigtails announcing that she’ll be getting married: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47aPsSbRcTc I noticed that my dad, the tough guy, was swiping tears from his eyes.

I turned away from my parents sitting on the couch, and saw my sister sharing an overstuffed chair with her fiancé. His arm was around her. At that moment, I got a glimpse at life from my father’s perspective. The distance between the couch and that chair suddenly seemed to be much bigger. I became very thankful for our time together that night; for just being able to sit and enjoy each other’s company, as we did when my sister and I were kids. I’m sure that evenings such as that will become less frequent as time goes on, but I know that I’ll keep the memory of that one with me for a long time.

My Best Friend's Wedding

Once, when I was four years old, I sneezed while sitting near the playpen of my toddler sister, Gina.  For some reason beyond my comprehension, she found it hilarious. This started what was, for a short time at least, our favorite game. I’d pretend to sneeze repeatedly – launching myself into bigger and louder displays each time, and she’d crack up like I was performing stand up comedy. The Sneeze Game drove our mother nuts, but Gina couldn’t get enough of it. I realized then, that I loved making my sister smile.

As she grew older, Gina became my co-conspirator, my confidant, and my best friend. We shared just about everything. We even shared a bed on those nights when monsters lurked in the shadows and we were too scared to close our eyes. She’d fall asleep curled beside me, trusting that I’d keep her safe. I’d do my best to be her protector, but there were times when I’d secretly pray that if the monsters came, they’d get her first.

Looking back, it seems like yesterday that she was so small and unsure of the world around her. Yet, my sister is all grown up now. She possesses a confidence that draws people toward her, so it came as no surprise when she announced that she was engaged to be married. She asked me to be her maid of honor, and I was touched beyond measure – that is to say, I was…until she showed me my list of duties.

To my horror, I found that the maid of honor is responsible for over twenty tasks. These include everything from planning the bridal shower to holding up the train of the wedding gown so that it doesn’t trail in the toilet when the bride uses the bathroom on her special day. The list got me wondering what sadistic soul had come up with this job description. I suspected it had to be a little sister intent on getting revenge upon her older sibling for silently offering her to the Boogeyman back when they were kids. I did some checking to be sure, though.  

According to several sources, including one called The Bride’s Guide: dessy.com/s/docs/bridesguide.pdf, the concept of having bridesmaids dates back to ancient Roman times when 10 witnesses were required to observe the sacred union. During those days, it was believed that the bride was susceptible to be targeted by evil spirits intent on ruining her happiness. The bride’s witnesses dressed like her and stood at her side during the ceremony to confuse the evil spirits, who would be unable to detect which woman was the bride. Essentially, they were her protectors.  

Surprisingly enough, this odd new information helped me to come to terms with my role as maid of honor. I was reminded that my sister’s wedding day is not about me. It’s about ensuring that nothing disturbs the happiness of my best friend. I know that it’s a task I can accomplish, because just like when we were kids, I still love making Gina smile.

 

Angie holding Gina, 1983