Actually, it wasn't all that strange as far as weddings go, but this particular day was one of those that resonated with half-forgotten memories and fantasies of what could have been. I don't know how many of you have attended the wedding of your first ever boy/girlfriend, but if you have I hope it wasn't such a big deal. Big deals tend to steal your sleep and turn your waking hours into a hazy miasma where past merges with present, fantasy merges with reality, and everything sounds like it's taking place in a traffic jam. But big deals do have an early warning systme built into them. The first true warning comes in heavy traffic, when you nudge the car in front of you, then bang your fist on the horn convinced that the guy in front has rolled backward into your front fender. If you're lucky, the traffic rolls forward again so the big hariy guy who owns the car in front doesn't get the chance to get out and express his disappointment...
Back to the wedding. The girl in question had been my first intense love at the tender age of 15. We lasted a year, in which time we managed to wind up each other's limbic systems tightly enough to catapult an adult rhino into orbit. It was not a year of release. The steady unwinding took place over the subsequent 15 years. There were times when, if circumstances had been different, we could have built a more mature catapult together and sent each other flying to great heights, but it just never quite came about, not least because I'm a wandering soul and haven't really been in one place long enough for anyone to get a leash around so much as a stray ankle.
Anyway, I showed up at the church, and did a reading, you know, the classic one about clashing cymbals and banging drums, and went through the whole thing in a daze. Why? The bride. She was gorgeous. Talk about getting everything right. According to one of her close friends and colleagues she'd been eating nothing but lettuce for 6 months and had shrunk down to the size of a 10-year-old. Her dress was classy, simple, revealing - my jaw is dropping just thinking about it.
At the reception I sat at a table next to a charming New Zealander who used the duration of the meal to try and get me to publish her poems. Afterwards there was live jazz, dancing and mayhem. After the meal, I changed out of my dress-shirt in favour of gettng down and dirty in a long-armed (and rather sexy) T-shirt. I put my my dress-shirt in a plastic bag and deposited it in a room that the reception's receptionist assured me was secure as it was full of the happy couple's wedding gifts. I plonked my bag between an enormous candlestick and a toaster and rejoined the party. Somewhere in the middle of it all, the happy couple sneaked away - with my shirt! Somehow they thought my sweat-stained, minging rag was a wedding present of profound sensibility. At any rate, I haven't seen it since.
Life goes on, and the drama of one day, a day that evokes whole other alternative existences, becomes swallowed and digested, and other big deals muscle in on the every-day-dose to steal sleep and put dents in the fenders of fellow motorists.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Since I've been learning how to build web sites I thought it would be a good idea to dip into this whole blogging malarky. I can work up a head of steam aover almost anything (I think the pulp term is 'passionate'), and that's what you're going to get exposed to here.
I thought I'd start by posting a few articles here, or at least their beginnings , then leave you with a few links to latch onto if you're interested.
Since I'm still reeling (it can be a very exciting dance) from a recent divorce, I thought it would be a good idea to start with a something about weddings. I've had the privilege of being the bridegroom at two great weddings; one civil, one in church. The civilities in the first wedding unfortunately didn't extend to the marriage, and the second marriage was an exercise in willful amnesia - maybe the church should make the vows shorter so we can have them tattooed on our foreheads or something. A good marriage, after all, is a type of branding - his n hers anoraks etc. - and the pain would be appropriate.
But, as I said, I'm a big fan of the starting point, the gathering of loved ones, the big day itself. A wedding is the beginning of a journey: you embark with a tank full of fuel, fresh, unblemished and full of hope - this is the moment you feel you become your true self. After that, you gradually turn into your parents and the reeling begins...
Here's a snippet from one of the articles on the site I've just built:
'11 Things To Remember When Planning Your Wedding' (or the first 4 or 5... )
by Christine
Every woman dreams of her own wedding. May it be a small gathering in a picturesque orchard, a grand ball in a gigantic castle or a funky wedding along the coastline, she wants it planned and tailored to her wishes. Planning your wedding would take time, effort and energy but it's worth it. For brides out there, here are some things you can't forget to look into.
1. Payments
Of course, planning your wedding will need sufficient amount of cash. Establish who pays for what. This is usually worked out between the couple and their families.
2. Marriage License Requirements
There are different requirements for each state, so be sure to look into yours. Remember that you can't even start planning your wedding without a license so make it high priority.
3. Booking the ceremony and the reception.
Choose a place to hold your wedding. It'd be great if both parties talk about it. Also, planning your wedding means planning the reception well so that there won't be wrinkles in your wonderful day.
4. Reception Ideas
Planning your wedding by yourself might become tiring, so set up a brainstorming session with your friends and relatives to work out the details. List the ideas in a piece of paper and deliberate on them carefully. Properly laid out plans are wonderful to work with.
5. Invitations
The invitation should be simple yet elegant. An overly decorated invitation just turns people off. Remember to include all the people involved in the wedding itself and address them properly. Be sure to indicate if you're inviting the children of the family too because most parents don't take them to weddings if their presence is not specifically requested.
...
You can read more of this here
I thought I'd start by posting a few articles here, or at least their beginnings , then leave you with a few links to latch onto if you're interested.
Since I'm still reeling (it can be a very exciting dance) from a recent divorce, I thought it would be a good idea to start with a something about weddings. I've had the privilege of being the bridegroom at two great weddings; one civil, one in church. The civilities in the first wedding unfortunately didn't extend to the marriage, and the second marriage was an exercise in willful amnesia - maybe the church should make the vows shorter so we can have them tattooed on our foreheads or something. A good marriage, after all, is a type of branding - his n hers anoraks etc. - and the pain would be appropriate.
But, as I said, I'm a big fan of the starting point, the gathering of loved ones, the big day itself. A wedding is the beginning of a journey: you embark with a tank full of fuel, fresh, unblemished and full of hope - this is the moment you feel you become your true self. After that, you gradually turn into your parents and the reeling begins...
Here's a snippet from one of the articles on the site I've just built:
'11 Things To Remember When Planning Your Wedding' (or the first 4 or 5... )
by Christine
Every woman dreams of her own wedding. May it be a small gathering in a picturesque orchard, a grand ball in a gigantic castle or a funky wedding along the coastline, she wants it planned and tailored to her wishes. Planning your wedding would take time, effort and energy but it's worth it. For brides out there, here are some things you can't forget to look into.
1. Payments
Of course, planning your wedding will need sufficient amount of cash. Establish who pays for what. This is usually worked out between the couple and their families.
2. Marriage License Requirements
There are different requirements for each state, so be sure to look into yours. Remember that you can't even start planning your wedding without a license so make it high priority.
3. Booking the ceremony and the reception.
Choose a place to hold your wedding. It'd be great if both parties talk about it. Also, planning your wedding means planning the reception well so that there won't be wrinkles in your wonderful day.
4. Reception Ideas
Planning your wedding by yourself might become tiring, so set up a brainstorming session with your friends and relatives to work out the details. List the ideas in a piece of paper and deliberate on them carefully. Properly laid out plans are wonderful to work with.
5. Invitations
The invitation should be simple yet elegant. An overly decorated invitation just turns people off. Remember to include all the people involved in the wedding itself and address them properly. Be sure to indicate if you're inviting the children of the family too because most parents don't take them to weddings if their presence is not specifically requested.
...
You can read more of this here
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