Leprechauns

This wedding blog will cover 6 entries I think but I'll tell you when it's over

I believe my aunt and cousin came in from California on Thursday, August 28, and the next day we drove to Philadelphia in the morning. The drive down was uneventful, other than no one telling me when we were approaching the tunnel, so I could hold my breath. I’m sure Mark would've told me, and then held a hand over my mouth.

Anyway, we got there, checked into the Omni Hotel, and then unpacked our suitcases, including the tuxedos Mark made us rent for the wedding, something about looking nice. We rented from Savvi by Sarno, and the monkey suits felt fine. Thor looked positively awesome in his, but that will come later. I offered to park the car instead of using valet parking, but for some reason no one took me up on it.

Wanting to be unusual, I brought green pants and a golf shirt for the rehearsal. After sitting in traffic for a while, we eventually made it to the church, St. Gabriel’s, and I got my first unsight of everyone in formal attire. I got to sit in the front, since someone said something about me being a groomsman. There were five groomsmen altogether:  Matt, Rodney, Adam (all college friends of Mark’s), Dave (one of his co-clerks), and me. I put my cane and visor next to me to stand in the for two of the groomsmen (Adam and Rodney) who weren’t there yet.

Then, Father Dominic entered, and the rehearsal began, but this time there was no music, not even Born in the USA. We didn’t rehearse this, but father Dominic said where the groomsmen and bridesmaids would stand in an arc on the dais. We rehearsed the rest of the ceremony, and then the groomsmen and bridesmaids processed to the back of the church. One groomsman escorted one bridesmaid except for me because I’m just that special.

Since Mark has one brother, and Jess has two sisters (and one more bridesmaid than Mark had groomsmen), it was decided to have all three of us process together—more later. I gave my cane to my father who was sitting behind us because I judged it easier to walk with both my arms held without it. As it turned out, I was right, but I think between the rehearsal and the wedding I used up my ability to walk relatively straight for 20 years.

After we got to the back, they released me on my own recognizance, and eventually I recovered my cane. Then we left the church, and headed to The Continental for the reception. The drive took longer than it should because of traffic, but we got there.

They served the dinner family style, and everything was excellent. I don’t normally like cheesesteak, but even I ate several of the small cheesesteak eggrolls. Throughout the night, people were circulating between the tables, and at one point Jess was standing at the table across from us. I asked my father, I think, if that was Jess standing behind, and he said yes. By now, I know Jess quite well, but I will probably never be able to tell who anyone is from the back.