John's World: October 2, 2011

I told you that yesterday was my friend Lori’s wedding to her beloved, Pasquale. Now, for all intents and purposes, I’ve said before that I hate weddings, and I still do. I hadn’t been to one in about ten years and I haven’t missed them at all, and the only reason I went yesterday was because Lori is such good people and I really, really like her. Besides, there were going to be others there who are on my favorites list of friends from work, and so having the chance to hang with them outside of work (and close to home!) was something I was looking forward to, and I wasn’t disappointed.

Break from tradition

One of the things I never liked about weddings were the same old, same old. You know, those silly traditions that some people do like, but most don’t, like “the bride cuts the cake,” throwing the bouquet and garter, and such. Well, Lori and Pasquale broke from many of those traditions, starting right at the ceremony.
As witnesses watched the bridal party and groom enter the chapel and then waited for the bride’s entrance, you could almost hear the song “Here Comes the Bride” in your head, but Lori and Pasquale chose to use another song for the big entrance. I believe it was a U2 song, though I’m not sure. It was tender and beautiful, and it fit the moment splendidly. I even complemented Lori on the choice when I first saw her afterwards.

The changing of “Here Comes the Bride” wasn’t the only break from tradition at yesterday’s wedding. There was no hullabaloo about the bouquet and the garter belt (at least as far as I could see), and the favors were actually useable ones. Instead of a useless votive candle or small vase with the couple’s names etched on it, every invitee received a bottle of wine, complements of our hosts.

Even that came from a unique spin on an RSVP. On the little card that we had to return, there were two questions besides the one about whether or not you were going to the wedding. One was if you preferred red or white wine, alas the favor, and the other was to name a song you wanted to hear at the reception. What a cool idea, huh? Of course there were the traditional first dance as a couple and with Lori and her dad, and those are of course, nice.

So if any of you are planning a wedding or know someone who is, point them to this post and take some notes. I’ve always been one to not go with what everybody else does, and I think that the way this party was planned was just great!

The Wedding

Yesterday’s ceremony and reception was held at the Bellport Country Club, which is beautiful and close to home, and the food was excellent, too! There were about ten others from school at the wedding and they were pretty much fuddy duddies for the whole show, not straying too much from the table except for the occasional visit to the bar. I brought my pal Rita with me, and she’s as fun to be with as I am, lol. We were pretty much the only ones who walked around, talking with people and of course, dancing. It was nice to spend some leisure time with my pal and carpool buddy, Kim, too. She and her husband Dom were also invited and I’ve never really hung out with them before.

The deejay was awesome, one of the best I’ve ever experienced at a wedding. Again, there was a break from tradition as there weren’t any of those traditional stupid dance floor games that make people uncomfortable. There were no conga lines (which I hate!) and no “Last Dance,” only great music. Rita and I literally danced our asses off for probably the last hour and a half of the party.

All in all, it was a nice time had by all. I’m happy for Lori, who is such a sweetheart, and her beloved Pasquale, an Iraq veteran who’s recently received his discharge from the military. Now the two of them can begin to build their new life together and I wish them nothing but the very best!

Here’s the song I chose on my RSVP, and from what Lori told me, so did a lot of other people. They actually played it three times! Hoo-rah!

Party Rock!

Here are some more pics: