Cousin’s Wedding

How do you top an awesome Christmas party? With an awesome wedding, of course.

After a good long engagement, my cousin finally got married. It was a perfect ad for Catholic schools: two kids meet in elementary (Catholic) school and grow up, get together, and get married. At 21. But when you’ve been dating since high school, it’s not really that unreasonable. Just a little shocking considering that I’m single and 23. Makes a guy think about a few things in his life…

Anyways.

The wedding marked the first time since Easter Vigil Mass that I attended a Catholic Mass, and the first time since Easter that I set foot in a church. It wasn’t really a big deal for me, and it was rather comforting to attend a Catholic wedding and not be the only Catholic within shouting distance. I did that a year ago when one of the guys at work got married…it was a little weird to work your way through a proper Mass without the support of the crowd. But it went well. The bride was beautiful, the bridesmaids were pretty, and things were looking good for the reception.

My parents had booked hotel rooms in the same hotel as the reception, so when we returned from the wedding we were basically in for the night. I was still in my suit, but I could at least stop worrying about having to ride/drive somewhere. We had some family bonding time with the assistance of Cousin Jim and Captain Morgan and then went down to the reception.

This was the fourth wedding in two years I’ve been to, and for all but one of them I was on my own. Despite being on my own and being there with parents, I really had an awesome time. Danced with bridesmaids, sang Don’t Stop Believing (which played way too early this time) and generally had fun. I was especially…touched might be the best word…that my cousin had thought to include a name tag for my grandma, who had died about 5 years ago. There was a picture of her on a table along the edge of the room, and it made me glad to know that she was remembered. It was good to know that she was there.