Twenty-Six: The Young Lovers (What will be)

I woke up this morning in our little rental in Brooklyn, and spent a long while waiting for Mel to finish her snooze so se could get on with the day.I had had a very intense dream where I attempted to stage a follow-up to Half-Past, which everyone agreed was too sad and melancholy and even I fell asleep during it (fell asleep during my dream! Some Inception shit.) For whatever reason I had used the pen name Del Funk.

I had promised the further summary of what happened during my wedding day, and I think it's important - history has taught us that years down the road this blog is the only record I have when my memory inevitably fails me and if there is one day I would want to remember in exact detail it's my Wedding Day.

You know, I was so busy that morning I nearly forgot to put on Deodorant. I moisturized my beard but missed the speed stick.

After the wedding ceremony, we rushed out for pictures as we were directed by David and Jonah to walk and cuddle and kiss through the light romantic December rain. We toughed it out in the cold. then returned for the family photos, which were tough to wrangle but David, pro that he was, got us through in record time. Then we did some wedding party pics, some special couple shots, and we were golden. We had gone to the trouble of arranging an extra half hour for pictures, but only went like ten minutes over. Again, my philosophy of just leaving as much time as possible for everything seemed to pay off.

After that we headed upstairs for our intros (hitch - as soon as we got up there, Mel had to go to the bathroom, which was either in the ballroom, making our entrances a little redundant, or back across the terrace. Oop. Plus she needed Rielle's assistance.)

Once we located everybody and figured out exactly what my mom's last name is, we did our entrance - the team entered to "Power of Love" (Kris: "That's a good omen!" Me: "I picked it!") And then Mel and I made our entrance to "R U Mine," improvising a little air guitar/head banging, followed by Eric taking our picture for the "Just Married" clipboard we had picked up (although in retrospect it should have been a selfie.)

This led into our first dance, to Billy Joel. The dances all had in common that they were not really choreographed in any sense. Mel and I had felt out how we would dance to "You're My Home" but it's not like we were there to put on a show for people, we just wanted something intimate and nice. We mouthed the words to each other. It was sweet. Later, when it was time for me to dance with my mom to "Let it Be," the first thing she said was "This is a long song!" Before adding, "I'm gonna do a twirl at the end." Okay, I said, I'll set you up for that. Fun times. Mel and Papa H had the same issue as I'd had, which was her lovely train pooling around her feet.

The meal was good but I could hardly enjoy it. Because I hadn't kept myself fed throughout the day (only because of awry pizza plans) my stomach had shrunk and sought revenge by the time I tried piling shrimp on top of the generous portion of beef on top of the pasta on top of the antipasto. The proceedings went a little awry as Demetri the DJ kept asking for confirmation on this and that, and dude I was so far beyond at this point.

We did a kissing game of "Show 'Em How It's Done" which was... instructional, to say the least. My side of the family was more interested than Mel's in prodding us on.

Kris had wanted to make a speech, which I remembered him saying but honestly took as a joke. But he meant it and was disappointed not to be on the agenda, so I - a few cups in and just generally feeling like "fuck it" by this point - went to the DJ to arrange it. It was a lovely, honest, sincere speech but it also ended with him saying "Don't you forget this boy, it's Mini-Bo Time" to confused chuckles. I think it ended up as one of those things that made so little sense nobody even noticed it had happened and forgot about it because while people are used to hearing coded references to in-jokes in these speeches, and this was Kris' version of that, it would seem to be deep in the territory of "I don't even understand what those syllables mean together so I won't ask," for most people, and it's best they don't. I wished he hadn't because it marred what was otherwise an incredibly thoughtful speech about both our familial relationship and his thoughts on mine and Mel's love, and while it didn't end up mattering to anybody else in the room, I just sometimes get overwhelmed by trying to balance my current existence with the past Kris and I share.

Which is sad - I'm going to come back someday and read this post and feel just that grain of salt about it all over again, when I shouldn't. It didn't mar the day, it didn't ruin the speech. If anything, Kris' speech was so achingly sincere that it risked upstaging Eric, who also dug deep to recall our true fondest times together (he picked the same memories I always linger on, what I call my "2 AM Frasier years") and maybe even the other speeches from Rielle and Mel's parents.

Somehow, the night got all off track, between trying to eat meals and circulate with our guests, and the fam getting restless and trying to open the dancefloor early (again, my family's lack of familiarity with the usual order of things came up, although this time it was started by little Aaron and the other family joining him. I just had to laugh.) The last bit of business was the Thank Yous, which I indicated were my last chance before I went back to just being a regular guy, not someone who is getting married, so I had to milk it for everything. I got a few laughs and said a lot of things. some of which landed, others maybe went on too long. I thought it went well (now-quite-tipsy Eric had some strong praise, asking how I was not a stand-up comic. Come on now, even I think that's laying it on thick.) but it was one aspect that nobody really commented on the next day, so, comme ci comme ca.

After that, more dancing, circulating. I made it my business to own the dance floor. We had a really good turnout for that. I busted out the ground moves early, because, FFS, it's my wedding. Later, I spoke to Rielle's Dan, whom, the first time we met, claimed he would challenge me to a dance-off at the wedding. Mel's and my reaction was basically, "First off, don't try to upstage the groom at a wedding. Second off, no you won't." He admitted I would have had him, but I saw him later and hey, he was moving real good. Any mere mortal, he could have defeated, sure.

I also made it my business just to talk with people, including some I hadn't met before. I spoke to Joe, and to Matt Clarke and to Tony and Katy and Tanya. I tried to check in with my family as much as possible but as always felt like I had shortchanged them some. I took shots with Papa H, danced with Mama H to "Wagon Wheel," I was all over the place. Mel later lamented that I had left her alone too much, but you know how I am at these things, even and especially my own. It's just one situation where, ironically, I have too much trouble staying still where she wants me to, because I just know I'm going to get caught up talking to Chris and Mike or Mel's Mom's friends for 20 minutes and there's a whole room full of people who want me. I am not, in my own life, an overly sociable person, but you get me to a major function, especially a wedding, and I am all over it. Put the spotlight on me too? Damn, just watch me go.

There will never be another night like it. I would say it was probably the wedding of the century. Way better than any royal wedding.

There were shenanigans afoot to get Eric fixed up with Katie M, but he wasn't feeling it. Mel had targeted Val for him, but she left early. Amanda chatted up David the photographer, about his gear. Some people got to the taco bar, others missed it. Cam had like five. Some got the cake. Linda the bartender did an amazing job and praised our party for being such good people treating her well (and tipping generously from the looks!) At one point I asked Eric for a 20 so I could tip, and he gave me a 50. One of my last dances of the night was with Ryan, and we had a heart-to-heart. Drunk Ryan is a hell of a guy. Mel permitted them to play the Macarena while we were out of the room, despite having put it on our no-play list. Despite what you might think about me, it was Mel who had to be reined in on the must-plays and no-plays. I reasoned, the guys is a pro, he'll play stuff that is good. Yes, we don't want to hear Chicken Dance, and I did feel the need to specify not to play Rude by Magic because I hate that song 365 days of the year and a hundred times moreso on my wedding day. Beyond that, he played good stuff, using our other recommendations to springboard. "Semi-Charmed Life" went good, and led into "All The Small Things" and "Mr. Brightside" (Me to Mel: I didn't even request this!") They played some heavy club stuff that mom said was "giving Ross a heart attack" before switching to disco. Part of me hoped they would do YMCA so Eric and I could fake our way through that. They didn't do "Jump Around" or "Apache" either (at least not while I was present) but you know, there isn't time for everything, and all of what got played worked.

The other thing is that when it's your wedding, people tend to want to say goodbye to you before they go, so the last hour or so was a parade of that as the party dwindled - he hazard of a small wedding I suppose, once one or two key tables are gone, that's the party. We wrapped it up a little after midnight with our big final dance to Elvis' "I'll Be Home For Christmas." I thought it would be nice to leave Christmas out of it until the last, sending us off into the night with a reminder of the season and a true sign that "wedding season" was over.

We went back to the hotel via limo with extra-drunk, incoherently emotional Eric, which made the wait somewhat trying. I left my treasured hat in the car too, still waiting to get it back. We flopped. Mama H had Ryan bring down our suitcase, an act he did not remember the next day.

The day after was a special kind of freeing. I eased out of having to worry about it, although I was flying high getting everyone's takes on how things had gone, I began to feel more stress about the wedding being over with, post-wedding jitters I called them. But beyond that it felt good to be done with, and to be married. I looked at my ring, I say "My Wife" this and that. Do I feel different? Will I? As I've said, we've been married for two years, now we're just really married.

It was a good day. We went back and packed up the venue. I was nervous both about time and space, since Mel and I hadn't checked out and who knew if we had enough car space to transport all the everything. But we did and we made it, and we ran into Eric and gave him a life home, which he was grateful for and the family was happy to do. They really love my family, which makes me feel good. I love them and I couldn't possibly be part of two better families.

And that's pretty much the story of how the World's Favourite Couple got married. There might be more to tell - I feel like there were hundreds of stories and I am absolutely thirsty for all of them, but that's all of mine. Well, the parts I remember a week later, which again is most of them. After sorting things out we went home Sunday night and spent Monday at the mall looking for coats and other last-minute stuff before our trip, and then on Tuesday off we went..

But that's like two other posts.

Hopefully I get around to them.

Personally I'm still on top of the world. I'm lucky to be with the woman I love and who loves and cares for me. As I told a room full of people the other week, this year, like all years, is going to be our year.

It's 2:30 now. I made a very specific point to stay up and write this when I could have just fallen asleep happily in bed. I was excited to do it, too! But, future Scotto, you are welcome for all this.

Keep on rockin'
-Mr. Scotto