The early stages of planning our wedding were not easy.
The where’s, when’s and how’s were undecided and there were many
ideas. Andrea finally asked me,
“What do you want?”
After mulling over this seemingly simple question, I finally responded,
“Above all else, I want it to be easy.”
I’ve been to lots of weddings and other functions that weren’t
easy. Some of them were outright
ridiculous. After that, the quest
for ‘easy’ was on.
Some things in the middle weren’t easy, but we have
tried to arrange the wedding to be as easy as possible for our guests, the
wedding party, and ourselves. In
every place where it was possible to eliminate something ridiculous or overly
elaborate, we have done so.
The
reception was proving to be very difficult.
Where to go, what to do, and how to do it was a debated topic.
Finally I said, “I don’t care. We
can have an open-pit bar-b-q and serve everyone burgers.”
Andrea said, “OK.”; so now we’re having a bar-b-q picnic for our
reception. This should be easy and
fun while beating the pants off any fancy affair we may have tried to throw.
It also falls into the category of ‘easy’.
The marriage feast is a tradition dating from earliest
times, and we saw no reason to ignore such a long-standing tradition.
Food has been a social event since Adam said, “This is at last flesh of
my flesh and bone of my bones. Now,
where’s my dinner, woman?” (This
was also the beginning of the invention of the restaurant.)
While food is a sustaining necessity, the social
traditions of food have been institutionalized since the beginning of humanity.
There have been gods and saints dedicated to food and cooking, and in one
tribal culture in Madagascar, people do not get married to have children; they
get married to have someone with which to share meals.
I have always found that formal dining is oppressive, and
I’d rather sit comfortably, rest my elbows on the table, and not have to
figure out which fork or knife I’m supposed to use.
I have always preferred setting where I am permitted to use my fingers
and gnaw on the bone. Cajun
bar-b-q, while possibly inelegant, is comfortable and enjoyable.
Since cake is quite possibly the world’s most perfect
food, we decided to follow this tradition as well. Finding the right cake wasn’t easy, but after many tries
(and Andrea’s eternal patience) we finally came upon the right combination of
‘looks good’ and ‘tastes great’. I
wanted old-fashioned wedding cake,
which seems to be disappearing in favor of other flavors.
After many samples, Maurice’s Bakery finally agreed to bake our wedding
cake to my flavor specifications, and decorate it according to Andrea’s
instructions.
We have dispensed with everything else; throwing the
bouquet, throwing the garter, and the money dance. We feel that some of these traditions are demeaning, even if
they are done in good fun.
We
hope our reception will be memorable, enjoyable, easy, and meaningful. Something,
in the dim future, to be thankful for the things we have had.
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Look Mom! We're married! |
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Ed Goldman, The Bride, The Groom |
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Andrea, her father Jack, mother Virginia, and Shane |
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Shane's Mother Dara, Shane, Shane's Father Arnold, and Andrea |
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Jack & Virginia |
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Andrea's Brothers Jeff and Eddie |
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Jack and Jeff |
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The Groom's Brother, Shawn, and Shawn's wife Becky. |
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The 'Best' Best Man, Paul, and his wife (and our good friend)
Wendy. They provided lots of help before, during, and after the
wedding. Paul managed to get Shane dressed and kept him on
time. These people are Saints. (And I don't mean football
players.) |
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Isn't he precious? |
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Cheers! |
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Doesn't that dress look comfortable? |
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Resting... |
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While it wasn't readily apparent, I had more than one 'best
man'. Here, helping with setup, is my second-best man,
Steve. Steve provided lots of support, and acted as chauffer in
his 1950 Buick (pictured below). He was responsible for getting
the Bride & Bride's Maid to the ceremony on time. (As well as
keeping her from trying to escape.) |
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Steve & Cathy |
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The Buick, known simply as 'The Buick'. |
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Another Best Man, Bob, and his wife Maggie. They also stood with
us and acted as sponsors. Their help and commitment were
irreplaceable. |
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Shane & Bob |
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Shane & Bob w/bubbles. |
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Yet another Best Man, Frank, and his wife Josefa. Frank was my
problem solver. They both provided support and were in charge of
getting Ed (The Minister) to the service on time. |
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Oo la la! |
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Josefa |
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Ed Goldman, our Minister, another Saint. |
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A private reflection. |
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I am the Walrus, Coo Coo Ki Choo. |
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The Groom signs the certificate. |
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The Bride requires coaxing... |
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The Brides signs the certificate. |
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The Minister signs the certificate. |
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Finally, it's legal. |
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The Best Man pours. |
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Salute! |
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Cake... Quite possibly the world's most perfect food. |
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Cutting the cake... |
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'Let them eat cake.' |
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Hey! That's good! |
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Cashio's put on quite a spread. |
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Lot's of drinks & beer thanks to Phil & Kathy. |
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Seconds... |
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Andrea & Dara |
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The money dance box. The most tasteless idea we came up
with. Check back here to learn more about it. |
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Shane by the flags. |
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Dara & Gloria, the Groom's Grandmother. |
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Shay Fafth, our good friend who 'volunteered' for photographer
duty. Much of what you see here is his work. |
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Video too! |
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Giving Shay a break... |
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Billy and Paulette, part of the indispensable 'crew'. |
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Phil, Kathy, Stuart, Paulette, Billy, and Robert. |
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Josefa reeling in Megan, Gayle and Bill Davis and their daughter,
Phil, Pat, Billy, and Stu. |
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Cassandra on the left, Eric on the right - say, who's that good
looking one in the middle? |
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Dara, Gloria, Becky, and Arnold. |
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Learning some steps. |
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Pictures don't lie... |
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Will, Shane, and Pennie |
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Stu & his 'naked' flag. There were some comments about this
one... |
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Kathy, Robert, and Wendy having a chat. |
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The Bride, beautiful through the end. |
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The Groom didn't fare so well.
Eventually, The party's over. |
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