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Read the Goober Diary Archives
November 28, 2006:
The 3rd Annual Goober Wedding Awards
What, you thought I'd forget? It's that time of year!
No, I'm not talking about the thing with the turkey or the caroling or the excuses to overindulge in baked goods (although that is all going on right now).
I'm talking about the time to look back on all the weddings of 2006! I was invited to - and attended - three
this year, and none of them featured the kind of traditional church ceremony we've seen in years past. This
year, I went to a Renaissance Festival Wedding, a Jewish/Pagan Wedding, and a Theatrical Experience.
Before we get started on the main event, I'd like to
go back to the turkey and baked goods for just a moment to tell you how thankfully I dug into a midnight feast
this year. My friends Dolph and Kara (whom you'll see again in the wedding awards below), who are both
performers, decided to host a Thanksgiving dinner at their house at 11:00 p.m. after their shows. Since
Derik and I stayed in Atlanta this year (we'll see both my family and his mom at Christmas time), I was thrilled
to have received an invitation. For the first time, I cooked for Thanksgiving, and I was excited about it. (Once
I made a green bean casserole, but that was because the hostess had asked me to bring a side dish, and I, never having
really cooked in my life, called my sister in a panic and took her advice when she said, "Buy the can of fried onions at the
grocery store. There's a recipe on the back for green bean casserole. Just do what it says, and you'll be fine.") Dolph
and Kara roasted a turkey and made two kinds of dressing, a green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, and I don't remember what all else.
Other people rounded out the dinner with what seemed like a mountain of sides, including my own contributions: green beans with bacon,
sweet potato casserole with marshmallows on top, crescent rolls, and a cinnamon swirl cake with cream cheese frosting. (Yes, I'm still
proud of myself, despite the fact that the rolls came from a tube and the cake was a mix). At one point, as we
all sat around hobnobbing and drinking wine after dinner, I got that weird feeling I get sometimes when I realize I'm an
adult. "My God," I thought, "this feels like the kids' table, but it's not. We did all this ourselves." It was the first time
I've ever been to a Thanksgiving dinner without parents.
Now, without further ado, I bring you: The 3rd Annual
Goober Wedding Awards!
Happy Couple: Tommy and Jessica
Wedding Date: Saturday, May 27
Location: Fairburn, GA
Participation: attended
Tommy and Jessica (otherwise known as O'Malley and Tempest) are friends from the Georgia Renaissance Festival, and, though
I had seen many Ren Fest weddings from afar, this was the first one to which I'd ever been invited. I confess, I was a little
apprehensive because most of the ones I'd glimpsed had seemed pretty cheesy. Bridesmaids' dresses that looked like
cheap Halloween costumes, steak on a stake, etc. However, I knew Jessica and Tommy wouldn't settle for that crap, so I wasn't
too worried. Sure enough, their wedding was gorgeous! Jessica made her dress, and the bridesmaids all wore completely
different styles (y'all know I love that) with the same color scheme of green and gold. And the guests - man!
The Rennies brought out their finest garb (Rennies don't wear "costumes," which are cheesy and cheap; they wear "garb,"
which is to say real clothes that simply don't jibe with 21st century fashions), and I saw some of the most
beautiful gowns I'd ever seen at the festival. The outdoor setting was sunny and happy,
putting the lie to the weather forecast, which had promised rain. There was a bit of wind, but it kept us cool, so no complaints
on that score. The fun thing about having a Renaissance Festival wedding on site was that it lasted the rest of the day! The whole
festival turned into their wedding reception. They rode in a rickshaw, attended the joust as members of the royal
court, and other cheesy, fun things. We musicians made much of them when they showed up at our sets, and everyone
just had such a great time. As I said, we've had weddings at the Ren Fest before, but this time, we feted two of our own!
It was a blast, man.
Wedding Photo:
To hear more in-depth babbling about this wedding, go to the LiveJournal entry.
Happy Couple: Michael and Melinda
Wedding Date: Saturday, June 24
Location: Pine Lake, GA
Participation: attended
Michael is another friend I originally met through the Renaissance Festival; in fact, I've just realized
that all three couples this year fit that description. So another one of the many benefits I've gained from
my job at the Georgia Ren Fest is getting to go to lots of weddings. Excellent! OK, so anyway, they also
got a lovely day for their lakeside ceremony, which was just beautiful. Michael and Melinda live in Pine Lake,
which is a cool, artsy neighborhood just outside of Atlanta. Michael is Jewish, and Melinda is a practicing pagan,
so their ceremony combined things from both (I should say all) of those traditions. They did a pagan handfasting (in which
the hands are tied together with a cord), wrote their own vows, jumped over a broom (that was a new one for me; apparently
it comes from an old African custom), and smashed a glass. It might sound goofily eclectic, but it didn't come across
that way. It was very solemn, lovely, and special (though certainly not without humor). Melinda had a gorgeous dress
that was made just for her, the bridesmaids wore scarlet, and, since this was another chance for the cast and musicians of
the Renaissance Festival to show off their fashion sense, the guests glittered considerably. The reception honored Melinda's
Louisiana roots with a Cajun buffet and a Zydeco band, both of which were awesome. I had to leave early to go to Derik's
band's first gig, but it was definitely a day on which I wished I could be in two places at once! I heard later that the reception
got even better after I left.
Wedding Photo:
To hear more in-depth babbling about this wedding, go to the LiveJournal entry.
Happy Couple: Dolph and Kara
Wedding Date: Saturday, September 23
Location: Atlanta, GA
Participation: Marshal
You may remember Dolph and Kara from his onstage proposal to her at my Park Tavern gig last summer. That was back
when I could still fit into those glitter jeans from Target. Memories... but enough about me. Dolph and
Kara's wedding was probably the least traditional I've ever been to. I've been to Hindu weddings and pagan
weddings (two this year!) and gay weddings and Catholic weddings and Baptist weddings and Jewish/Methodist weddings
and, I'm sure, more that I'm leaving out, but all the weddings I'd been to before Dolph and Kara's had had a very
solemn ceremony followed by a fun and raucous reception. Dolph and Kara, both actors, decided to really
play up the "fun and raucous" aspect of the proceedings, and their wedding was literally a performance.
Kara found an awesome venue that's an antique store with a back room for private parties called "The Moulin Rouge Room."
That room is dimly lit with a red glow and features a stage and round tables, like a cabaret. The invitations resembled
old-fashioned playbills, inviting guests to a "one night only performance." When guests arrived, they were encouraged
to get food and drinks before taking their seats, making the ceremony a dinner theatre experience.
We all cheered and applauded as the members of the wedding party all made dramatic entrances, and the ceremony
(which also included handfasting and original vows) was peppered with dramatic and comedic moments, in keeping
with the theatrical theme. The bride, eschewing traditional white, wore a shimmery lilac-colored cocktail dress. It was probably the most original wedding I've ever seen.
And, with all the Rennies in attendance for the third time, the fashion parade of the attendees was in fine form!
As one of Dolph's marshals, my duty was mainly to help keep things running smoothly, but, truth be told, Kara's marshals
pretty much had it under control, and I ended up with little to do besides directing guests at the front door and cleaning
up at the end of the night. That was fine with me, since it left plenty of time for dancing and socializing! It was
a great night.
Wedding Photo:
To hear more in-depth babbling about this wedding, go to the LiveJournal entry.
And now, the awards:
Best Ceremony Location: Michael and Melinda - their lakeside ceremony was gorgeous.
Best Reception Location: Dolph and Kara - I would love an excuse to go back to that venue; it was so cool.
Best Vows: Michael and Melinda - It's funny; they weren't what I normally think of when I think of wedding vows.
It was more of a conversation than a ceremony. Everything they said to each other was very personal, and I felt like I knew them better
after they said their vows to each other than I ever had before.
Best Comedy Moment: Dolph and Kara - They signed the license as part
of the ceremony, and, lacking a pen, the officiant made Dolph lean over so that he could sign it on his back, while Dolph
wore a put-upon, longsuffering expression.
Best Ceremony Music: Tommy and Jessica and Michael and Melinda will have to share this one because
my friend Rivka played harp for both of them!
Best Reception Music: Dolph and Kara - What can I say? Dolph makes a mean iPod playlist. I danced
so much, I couldn't feel the balls of my feet for a week. I do feel that I must give props to Michael and Melinda here
for the Zydeco band that played their reception because they were really awesome, and I danced to that, too.
Best Drum Section: Michael and Melinda - They had an African drumming ensemble
play while the wedding party walked Melinda to the reception site.
Best Dance Floor: Dolph and Kara - The place was hoppin' all night long!
Best Reception Food: Michael and Melinda - That Cajun buffet was awesome
and all the more impressive for having been catered by Melinda's dad.
Best Bar: Dolph and Kara - The bartenders were nice, and they flirted with me,
and that's really all I ask from a wedding bar experience.
Most Beautiful Cake: Michael and Melinda - I'm so sad
that I didn't get any!
Most Delicious Cake: Dolph and Kara - My friend Nancy made it,
and it was awesome! Of course, I didn't get to try either of the other wedding cakes, so they kind of win
this one by default. Perhaps I should have let someone else judge this category...
Best Toast: Dolph and Kara - The officiant's
wife (they are both friends of the couple) made a toast that I thought was kind of pedantic at first, but
it resonated for me, and I still remember it, especially the part in which she said, "It's not about finding the perfect partner.
It's about being the perfect partner."
Best Bouquet Toss: Tommy and Jessica - They got to
ride in a rickshaw during the parade, which always passes by the pub in the middle of my 1:30 set. All the single women
gathered on the steps of the pub, and Jessica threw the bouquet as she passed by.
Best Garter Toss: Dolph and Kara - Not only
did Dolph and Kara ham up the whole thing admirably (both the retrieval of the garter and the release), but, following
their example, the putting of the garter onto the woman who caught the bouquet was the most fun I'd ever seen people
have doing that. Usually, they are non-actors who are cringing with embarrassment and praying for it to be over
so they can slink back to their tables, but Marcus and Rykie are no ordinary dorks; they are extra special
Ren Faire dorks, and they should be proud to share in this award.
Most Pictures: Michael and Melinda - They got pages and pages of beautiful pictures,
both in color and in black and white.
Best Wedding Gift: Dolph and Kara - They love artwork
and received a lot of it, most of it handmade by friends. Now that they've put it all up in their house, they
have a cocoon of wedding love around them at all times. I particularly love the embroidered sampler someone gave them
of a dragon with their names underneath.
Best Wedding Dress: Tommy and Jessica - This
one is a really hard call. All three of this year's dresses were just perfect, in really different ways. However, Jessica's long dress
with the medieval sleeves and the blue jewelry decorating the bodice was the one that stole my heart. With her
dress, veil, and red/gold hair blowing in the wind, she looked like Eowyn standing in front of Edoras.
Best Veil: Tommy and Jessica - See above, with the
blowing in the wind. Of course, Jessica was the only one of this year's brides to wear a veil, but I still liked it.
Best Hair: Tommy and Jessica - She got
pretty pretty princess braids from the hairbraiding booth at the Ren Fest, and she has really gorgeous hair to begin with (especially
in the sun),
so the overall effect was beautiful. However, Melinda's long, raven locks and Kara's curly updo
were both beautiful as well, so this was another tough one to call.
Best Shoes: Dolph and Kara - Just to be clear, this
award goes to both Dolph and Kara. Her shoes were dyed the same shimmery lavendar as her dress and shone in the lights, and
his shoes went with his Indian outfit; they were cream colored with upturned toes and gold trim.
Best Use of Accessories: Michael and Melinda - The members
of Melinda's wedding party, along with several other friends, walked her to the lake for the ceremony behind opened red parasols.
When they got to the ceremony, they all shut them at once, revealing the beautiful bride. A very cool and dramatic moment!
Best Bridesmaids' Dresses: Tommy and Jessica - Can
you tell I really liked the look of this wedding? The bridesmaids' dresses were all different and all handmade and
managed to fit into the Renaissance Festival theme without looking like cheap costumes.
Best Marshals: Dolph and Kara - I have to continue the longstanding
Goober Wedding Awards tradition of making sure that at least one of the awards is actually for me.
Best Attendee Fashion: Three Way Tie - The thing is, there were so many
Rennies at all three of these weddings, and Rennies are SO great at dressing up, that the fashion on display at all of them was perfectly
fabulous. It was garb for Tommy and Jessica's wedding, afternoon "summer formal" for Michael and Melinda's wedding, and
evening formal for Dolph and Kara's. We all looked great! (Well, I suppose my Joni Minstrel costume wasn't the best statement I could
have made for Tommy and Jessica, but I was technically at work, so I had no choice.)
Best Favors: Dolph and Kara - They gave out flavored lip balms
with their names, a wedding date, and an art nouveau picture on them. My only disappointment is that the one I got
wasn't cinnamon flavored; those smelled the best.
Best Invitations: Michael and Melinda - This is another really,
really hard one because Tommy and Jessica rolled up their invitations and put them in little bottles with corks in them so that
getting into them was like a scavenger hunt, and Dolph and Kara designed theirs to look like an old-fashioned playbill (and they were SO pretty),
but my favorites were the gorgeous red invitations decorated with black calligraphy and silver
accents. They were cleverly folded, too. I loved them.
And so another year's wedding photos
are pressed into the photo album, and I move on into the unknown future. I've got two weddings on the horizon so far
for next year, and it looks like the nontraditional theme weddings will continue. Yay! It may be time to invest
in some really good "lady of the court" garb if I'm going to keep getting invited to these fancy dress occasions. Being a wedding
junkie has its price.
What’s
in my stereo at home:
- Army of Anyone - Army of Anyone
What’s
in my car:
What's
playing at work:
What
I'm reading:
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
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