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John's Trip To Brian's
Wedding
Next Diary
Home Diaries Best Pictures Road Trip
John's Trip To Brian's
Wedding
Sunday, June 24, 2001
Dear Friends and Family,
Last weekend was Brian's and Jen's wedding. So that's the subject of most of today's Diary.
I spent a week-an-a-half in the States but the report about the non-wedding part is pretty brief. The few days in Maryland were enough to check in with my employer and catch up with my sister and her family. Her son Mike graduated from high school on the day I arrived. In a couple weeks he heads for Marine Corps basic training so lives in that household will undergo dramatic change. Otherwise, things there seem pretty normal. Ron is enjoying his job at Ski Liberty (http:www.skiliberty.com ), especially now that the crush of the season is over. But he says that even without snow they try to keep the place busy with business meetings and other functions.
I also had a chance to see a few friends and business associates. It's always good to stay in touch because it's rare that friends come this direction. Marianne and I don't plan on visiting or being back in the U.S. for another year so we value brief visits even more than usual. However, when people asked "how long will you be there", I did find myself facing the likelihood that we are in our last year - more or less.
Enough of that. Since my return, what people have asked has been "How was the wedding?". The answer was that it was great. It was pretty traditional, despite the Cal Tech background of the bride and groom and the Boulder Colorado location of the wedding. On Thursday, Brian and his two Best Men picked up tuxedoes (picture without Geoff) and were looking more respectable immediately. I did have to go out for a beer or two with the three of them but I did not insist on repeating any extraordinary foolishness I may have remembered from my "bachelor parties" days a few decades ago. And they all acted like such foolishness had gone out of style. Maybe.
Brian and Jen wrote their own vows and conjured up their own service so rehearsal was not required. Nevertheless, we did have a nice "non-rehearsal dinner" at a Chinese Restaurant. Most of Jen's family came in from Michigan or New Jersey and Brian's came from Maryland so it was nice for everyone to get together. It seems we have done this for graduations and now weddings but since Jen and Brian have finished school (unless Brian wants to match Jen's PhD) we'll just have to wait for grandkids' birthdays for future gatherings.
The Saturday ceremony started with almost two hours of professional photography. I cheated and copied some shots - until the photographer chased me away. But I did manage shots of the bride and groom and the wedding party.
After leaving the formal pictures scene I caught a quick shot of the start of a different wedding or some such religious ceremony. Now, that wedding must have cost a bunch.
Brian and Jen's ceremony was friendly, personal - and brief. The church was not large, just right for the crowd. There was no minister, as is allowed in Colorado, so the vows were indeed personal. Jen's dad read a piece from Kahil Gibran and her mom and I helped light some candles. With that, the bride and groom, "with the power vested in them by the State of Colorado", pronounced each other husband and wife.
After a few more pictures (Jen's family) we moved to the church hall for the rest of the traditions. There was a cake cutting, eating, talking and dancing. Brian's "little brother" Geoff offered a toast with memories of looking up to his brother. It made a father proud of them both and of our newest family member Jen.
This last picture is just to see if Brian looks right holding a baby. Seems OK to me. Maybe there will be yet another family member next time I return to America?
Take care and stay in touch. Visit if you can but we'll stay in touch this way if you can't.
John and Marianne
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Home Diaries Best Pictures Road Trip
Originally emailed June 23, 2001. Reformatted for website 8 July, 2001.
This page created on a Macintosh using PhotoPage by John A. Vink.