My dear friends Matt and Shannon got married this past Saturday in Auburn. (Todd and Matt grew up together in Auburn.) The in-laws kept the spawn, so Todd and I had a whole weekend of fun, staying in a hotel and hanging out with friends by the pool. Much fun was had by all, and i think we are still recovering. (I know I am.)
We took less photos than we usually do at get togethers like this. I can only chalk it up to the heat and not wanting to carry anything around that I didn’t have to have on me. Also, it’s hard to hold a drink and take photos at the same time.
We did get some good ones, though.
Here is me with T at the Rehearsal at St. Dunstan’s. It was so freakin’ hot, I thought i would die.
Look! We’re sober!
Jess, Scott Henderson’s wife, and Matt’s mom, Fiona, whom i adore.
Erin, the sister of the bride and Maid of Honor, hammin’ it up at the Rehearsal dinner, which was at a nice restaurant called Hamilton’s. The food was great! It was just too hot to eat a ton of it, which we really paid for later.
Shannon, the Bride, looking not at all nervous, even though I know she was exhausted. But she never showed it.
Todd’s friends Tom and Brian were in town. They are always a blast to hang out with, although I was a little upset Brian didn’t bring Nikki. For those of you who went to HS with me, Brian started a job on Monday and he works at the same company as Brett Shell. Small world, huh?
Old friends, Scott and Ned, at the Rehearsal dinner. They grew up in Auburn with Todd, but I actually met them years before I met Todd, when they both went to school in Athens. How strange is that?
After the rehearsal dinner, we went to The Independent, which was pretty cool for an Auburn bar. They had a pool table. Adam kicked my ass in pool for a few hours, but all y’all know how i like to play games and drink beer, so i enjoyed it anyway. Then we played quarters at about 1 am. Yep. In a bar. I also enjoyed that, despite another ass-kicking.
Carlie and Brandon were there, too! I love them.
And then Ned drove me home (thanks again, Ned!), so Todd could hang out longer, and then my head kind of hurt Saturday morning. I know there is a correlation here somewhere, but I just can’t connect the dots.
Somehow, i worked through the lack of sleep and the pounding head, and then hit the pool with Todd and friends. Why does a pool feel so damn good when you have a hangover? The only thing ruining it was the presence of the most obnoxious Florida Gator fan i have ever met in my life.
Got dressed for the wedding, in my new red dress. I was having one of those self-defeating “hate my hair, hate my body days.” And then I got tons of compliments, which was nice and ironic, but really all i wanted to do was take that bitch off and get in an ice bath.
The wedding was at Greystone, which, you may remember is where Todd and I got hitched. And Ned and Vanessa. And Iain and Noelle. So, it was pretty cute that Shannon wanted the four couples to be included in a photo for the wedding photographs. I am looking forward to seeing that one.
This is Matt’s mom at the wedding. How sweet does she look?
So, the wedding was at five? And it was about 98 million degrees that day. (Okay, not really, but it was 96 when I sat down on my lawn chair before the ceremony started.) Everyone spent the whole wedding waving fans at each other, and as the alcohol started flowing, up each others’ dresses. People fought over the cool seats in the house, and women elbowed their way to claim a spot straddling the floor vents. I am not kidding when I say it was the hottest wedding I have ever been to, bar none. And I have been to a wedding on Hilton Head in July.
Here is Iain attempting to cool off pre-ceremony. How cute were the boys? They wore plaid ties, khakis, white button downs and chucks. Very cute.
I think Todd got this one right before the ceremony. I like the way they are looking up.
This is Shannon’s friend, John, who performed the ceremony. He did a stellar job, and looked damn good doing it. Loved the Truman Capote look. It’s also my favorite photo from the weekend.
I think this is about the point that we stopped taking photographs, by the way. I know, can you believe it? You can see the remainder of the photos on Dogwood Girl’s Flickr.
Shannon asked me to read in the wedding. I don’t know if it was the heat or too much fun the night before, or what, but somehow, the Officiant skipped right over my reading during the ceremony. I sat in the hot sun, and tried to figure out what I was supposed to do. Should I clear my throat loudly? Yell out during the ceremony? I finally decided that I should go with it and just let the ceremony go off seemingly without a hitch. And for the most part, very few folks noticed that I was on the wedding program, but did not read. Since Shannon might be disappointed that folks didn’t get to hear the reading, I am posting it here for all to see. This is an abridged version of a much longer children’s book. I just thought it was so very them, and Shannon did too. (I am guessing Matt never read it in the first place.)
Congratulations, Matt and Shannon. Best wishes for a long and joyful future together!
I Like You
by Sandol Stoddard Warburg
I like you and I know why.
I like you because you are a good person to like.
I like you because when I tell you something special, you know it’s special
And you remember it a long, long time.
You say, Remember when you told me something special
And both of us remember
When I think something is important
you think it’s important too
When I say something funny, you laugh
I think I’m funny and you think I’m funny too
I like you because you know where I’m ticklish
And you don’t tickle me there
except just a little tiny bit
sometimes
But if you do, then I know where to tickle you too
You know how to be silly
That’s why I like you
Boy are you ever silly
I never met anybody sillier than me till I met you
I like you because you know when it’s time to stop being silly
Maybe day after tomorrow
Maybe never
Too late, it’s a quarter past silly
Sometimes we don’t say a word
We snurkle under fences
We spy secret places
If I am a goofus on the roofus hollering my head off
You are one too
If I pretend I am drowning, you pretend you are saving me
If I am getting ready to pop a paper bag,
then you are getting ready to jump
That’s because you really like me
You really like me, don’t you
And I really like you back
And you like me back and I like you back
And that’s the way we keep on going every day
And I like you because if we go away together
And if we are in Grand Central Station
And if I get lost
Then you are the one that is yelling for me
“Where are you?”
“Here I am”
I like you because I don’t know why but
Everything that happens is nicer with you
I can’t remember when I didn’t like you
It must have been lonesome then
I like you because because because
I forget why I like you but I do
So many reasons
I don’t know why
I guess I don’t know why I really like you
Why do I like you
I guess I just like you
I guess I just like you because I love you.
