Post Wedding Blog

Well, I am back - got back Tuesday evening - and this is the first real chance I have had to post after Derek's wedding. Where to start on the events of the past weekend?

First of all, those of you who weren't there but have seen the pciture that Brad posted in the comments on Derek's post may wonder what the hell happened. Well, the groom (Derek) had to be seen by an ambulance on his wedding night. Derek is allergic to limes, and around 10:30 pm he apparently had some lime juice or something. He broke out into a rash, and then had some trouble breathing. We piled into a Pathfinder in search of an open fire dept/police - would one be open on the Outer Banks at 11:45 pm on New Years Eve? I finally got the idea to call 911 from my cell - the last call on my phone in 2006.

Sometime between 11:45 on 12/31 and 12:15 on 1/1 the ambulance came and checked Derek out - his vital signs were good, so they released him. The 14 tablets of Benadryl would be sufficient, they said. So that's how I spent New Year's 2007 - watching my brother be checked out by an ambulance.

(The other guy in the picture, Chris, is a friend of Carol's from California who mysteriously cut his head around 9 pm or so - no one knows what happened, including Chris himself. Alcohol may -MAY, I emphasize - have been a factor. )

Quick recap of the weekend's events:
Thu night: arrive late after a 15 hours drive. It's a lot longer than you think from OH to the Outer Banks. Drink a little and break out the blackjack shoe, with Leland one of the players; the other players are there for fun and I know their playing strategy was KILLING Leland.

Fri: I had kid duty as the ladies had their shower. After taking the kids to the beach, I put Warren down for a nap and joined two Franco guys in the hot tub. The first question I heard was: "So what DO the French provide the world nowadays?" . When I answered - "well, they manufacture the world's supply of white flags" I fit in with them. More drinking that night, although I didn't overdo it.

Sat: The rehearsal occured, which took all of about 20 minutes. I ended up doing a lot of shuttling that day - back and forth from the "mainland", the set of hotels that are on the road. Janice took the kids to the sand dunes that afternoon; they were WIPED out at the dinner that night; Warren slept for about 90 minutes on the couch in the dining room at the rehearsal dinner. One of the Franco brothers took a couple of beer bottles, laid them next to Warren, and took a few pictures. I'm sure I'll see them soon. Freddie turned into a barfly, sitting at the bar for about 30 minutes during the cocktail hour and downed about 3 Shirley Temples.

Sun: Wedding day; the morning was spent walking with Derek on the beach ( I was half-expecting one of the cold feet talks, but no - Derek seemed nervous, but postiive about the idea of being married), and an hour was spent constructing temporary stairs at the bottom of the permanent stairway from the deck to the ocean.

We gathered for the wedding around 1:30; the TV was set on the Det-Dal game. Why the hell wasn't the local station showing Cle-Hou? Derek seemed frazzled, but nothing out of the ordinary. Jon, Ben, Leland, and I were using a lot of slapstick comedy - that's what she said - to lighten the mood. At 3:00 , we went down to the beach; the wedding went off on time around 3:35. At 4:00 we were done; good thing, since it started to get cold quickly. During the ceremony, Leland leaned over and whispered "14-6, Texans, Final". I hope my "Fuck!" wasn't audible.

The rest of the night was a blur - meeting everyone, helping to make sure the kids are OK, drinking a few SoCo and cranberry juice - I have no idea why I chose that drink - and then was called to taxi people back to the hotels. It was about 10:00 when I got back and opened up the craps table; and then at 10:30 the fun started.

I can't tell you how nice it was to see everyone again and to meet Derek's "new" friends and work colleagues. And the ceremony and reception was great. And I didn't screw up the best man speech! How about that!

Two regrets:
1) I wish I got more drunk, at least one of the nights. Oh well, I guess that's what Vegas is for.
2) Pager was spotty and no cable in the house I stayed in. Boy, was I out of touch for 4 days. Yes, I I have a problem.

Post your stories in the comment section! Hope all of you have as good a time as Janice and I!