Teh Awesomer Wedding

Ok, Blogger, let's have a truce for now so I can write this post.

Last Thursday, I drove to beautiful and historic Hillsborough, NC for the Monson-Younger wedding. It took 7 hours to get there but was absolutely worth it. I got to the hotel with just enough time to shower, clean up and change for that day's event: the bachelor party. We even had our own coozies that were appropriately labeled Monson's Last Day on Earth. A recounting of the evening's events in full follows:

this section edited for content and brevity
. . . had a few beers on the bus . . . had a few more beers at the first bar . . . had a few beers with dinner . . . had a few beers after dinner . . . stumbled upon an in-progress speed-dating event . . . had a few more beers . . . got kicked out of our final destination . . . observed that every inch of the bathroom EXCEPT the toilet was covered in [name withheld to protect the innocent]'s regurgitated dinner . . . passed out . . .
end edited section

We went to lunch Friday at the very tasty Bandidos in downtown historic Hillsborough, nursing hangovers and beers.

Good Mexican and tasty beers

After lunch we got prettied up and went to the gorgeous and historic Younger home for some cocktails and snacks. The house was built in the 1820s and is absolutely magnificent. I wish I had brought my camera. As the wedding party departed for the rehearsal ceremony, a few of us stayed behind to make sure the bottoms of our beers and cocktails were thoroughly dry.

The rehearsal dinner was held at yet another historic location in Hillsborough. Dinner included baked beans, chicken and BBQ (the real kind) and was delicious (as is anything that Koops has a hand in). A blues band was playing most of the evening and was really fantastic, though I must admit that the times they sounded best were when either Monson or Andy was playing the harmonica with them.

Arriving at the rehearsal dinner with three beautiful ladies

After the dinner and many inebriated speeches and toasts, the younger lot of us (not to be confused with the Younger lot of us) headed to the Wooden Nickel, a great little bar in the downtown area. To give the NJ folks a sense of space, think Clydz and then cut that in half. It was small. However, they had both Blue Moon and #9 on tap, so I was happy. All I can say is that good times were had by most.

The following day I made the 2 hour drive to Davidson to have lunch with my best friend from college and to surprise another one of our friends. You might think driving four hours just to spend an hour eating pizza and garlic knots with a couple guys is crazy. You would be wrong, with this crowd, it's worth every mile.

I got back just in time to shower and put on my best for the ceremony. Most weddings are beautiful, however, this one was exquisite. Before Koops even walked in, I could feel some tears welling up at the first few chords of Canon in D. The whole process was short but oh-so-sweet. Unfortunately, there was no flash photography allowed inside the church, so this is all you get of the ceremony:

Andy does a great job watching the door despite being quite intoxicated

I'll spare you most of the details of the reception other than that it continued in the style of the ceremony: exquisite. I got my dances out of the way quickly:

First with the bride . . .

. . . then with the groom

After the reception we all went back over to the Wooden Nickel to cap off the evening, except for the newlyweds, of course, as they had some business to attend to. I had a Drink Your Blue Moon Faster Race, losing the first heat but winning the second. Note that this is not to be confused with a chugging contest. A Drink Your Blue Moon Faster Race is F1 Series to a chugging contest's NASCAR (i.e. it's not a hillbilly activity). Good times, again. The evening was capped off with 2.5 hours of excellent conversation in an attempt to sober up before going to bed to avoid the always-dreadful long-drive-home-with-a-hangover. At 4:30, my head hit the pillow immensely satisfied.

Sunday morning came very quickly and I felt the effects of limited sleep over the previous three days (not so much hungover though . . . thanks Marth). I also had a sinking feeling in my stomach, the same one I had on my drive home from Davidson after graduation. No matter how much we argue, how much we insult, how much we glare, I always know I can count on a few people and most of those few were in attendance that weekend. This picture of Andy I snagged around 9AM on Sunday morning pretty much captures the whole weekend.

Passed out on top of the sheets in full tux, but with enough sense to remove his wallet

The weekend was simultaneously one of the best and worst of my life. Why it was one of the best is easy to see. The problem is, being one of the best made leaving on Sunday awfully difficult. It's a give-and-take, I suppose. Given the chance, though, I'd do it all over again, exactly the same way, in a heartbeat.

Now I just need more friends to get married!