So last night my dear friends and got married.
It was a fabulous occassion. I shall now recap the entire day of fun and frolic.
I started out by meeting up with Partytom down on Michigan Ave for a little shopping. I needed new cufflinks, and Tom needed, um, something (I don’t remember what). I think what we both needed was a chance to hang out with each other.
We ended our shopping excursion at Rock Bottom brewery, where we enjoyed several tasty beverages, and were them joined by . Kim enjoyed a Chicago style hot dog with nuclear green relish (she thought there was something wrong with it, Tom and I reminded her that hot dog relish was SUPPOSED to look unnatural. That’s how you know it’s good).
I traveled back to my house to wait for my sister’s arrival. She managed to find her way to my place from the safety net of the suburbs, and after preparations, we joined my neighbor Mark in a cab to the Knickerbocker Hotel, for the wedding.
The ceremony was perfect. The ballroom was made up in a very lovely way, with a beautiful chuppah. Everyone, especially Tracy, looked magnificant. sang a lovely aria, and I have to tell you, everyone sitting around me was blown away.
Cocktail hour was a lot of fun. There was a martini bar set up, with a “menu” of funny Jewish-themed martinis (I remember attempting to help Tracy and Brian come up with some of the names, which included the Mazelpolitan, the Mandeltini, and the Rosh Hashini). I ordered a “Yamukazi”, to which the bartender replied “we don’t have Kamikazes.”
“No,” I said. “The Yamulkazi”. I pointed to the menu.
“Oh,” he said. “That’s a peach martini. I don’t know why they put up that menu with the weird names.”
Dumbass. I didn’t tip him.
We all had received little decorated bells to ring to represent Tracy and Brian’s love, or something. I just used them to ridiculate a joke about “Turkey in the Straw”. I apologize to , who had to hear it about ten times.
Dinner was fantastic and delicious. The toasts were insightful, tasteful, and at least ‘s was funny. Watching Brian’s dad give the toast, there were several times that I could really see Brian in his dad.
When Tracy and Brian gave their toast, Tracy explained the meaning of the party favors on the tables – something about how the candies in the tin represented their combined heritages, or some such nonsense. But we all knew the real reason – Brian loves candy. Plus, Hebrew Bazooka Joe is awesome.
Of course, they had a photo booth set up in the back. Tracy is addicted to photo booths, and Brian proposed to her in one. It was the most fun thing ever. There was a constant line for the booth, and EVERYONE was being goofy – friends, family, etc. Some noteable pictures included:
Lippy being fed strawberries by two hot chicks
Noah undressing me
Erika and I emulating Brian and Tracy’s engagement photo, culminating in her punching me in the face
Dallas and I attempting to act out Dancing With Gaia in four frames
Tracy grabbing her own boobs and then later trying to tell Brian that I did it
Once the party wound down (which included Tom and Fisher playing “Will it float?” with the lovely centerpieces, Brian and Tracy invited everyone up to their bridal suite. This thing was huge. It was bigger than most people’s houses. It was the kind of room that Sinatra would have stayed in, and hell, he probably did once or twice. We all had a good time hanging out up there waiting for the bride and groom – Tracy’s mom even sang a song for Tom.
Finally, around 2 am, it was time to go home. It was a great wedding, and just about as perfect of a wedding for two such fun and friend-loving people. I’m not sure I could have described what Tracy and Brian’s wedding would have been like, but this was sure the best way it could have happened. It was great seeing old friends like Dallas and Devon, and Michael and Adrianne (who are moving back to Chicago..w00t!). And it was a joy to meet and witness the two fabulous familes that my dear friends came from, all joined together in a goofy, wonderful, important day.
Mazel tov, Tracy and Brian. You are good people. And you are even gooder when combined. Kind of like those Transformers that my mom would never buy me – you know, the ones that could join together into a giant robot? Yeah, that’s what you are like, except you don’t have lasers.