I noticed that I haven't posted anything for about a week, and that the last post was just the text of a speech I gave at the wedding of Nathan Carter to Krista Carter (formerly Osborne). So since the wedding is sort of the biggest thing that's happened to me for the past little bit I figured it should get it's own post before I start back up into the blow by blow blogging that you've all come to know and love.
The wedding took place last Saturday at Minstrel Cafe in Kelowna. It's the last commercial building on Lakeshore Road before it heads up into the Chute Lake / Lakeshore split and into the boonies where I used to live. I'd never eaten there since it's been Minstrel Cafe, though Krista and Nathan had performed there a few times. The wedding ceremony took place outside in the garden while the reception took place both inside and outside, with the toasts and performance parts of the evenign taking place inside. Krista's Dad, who is a minister, performed the ceremony and Nathan's Dad, who is a Doctor of Divine Pyschology, performed the role of master of ceremonies.
Note I don't have any photos from the ceremony, though Chad if you're reading this that might be kinda cool.
Part 1 the Ceremony: or where comes the bride
The wedding invitations said 7 pm, which of course meant that the wedding would start bang on 7, as opposed to the more traditional arrive at 7 and then wait around. So Justin picked me up from my parent's place at 6:45 which I figured would give us enough time to drive the three minutes to Minstrel Cafe and arrive comfortably for the wedding. I had a bottle of wine for Nathan's father to thank him for letting us stay with him while we were in Olds on our road trip last month, and a fondue set as a wedding gift for Nathan and Krista. I wore a pair of snazy white shoes, which I also do not have a picture of.
We basically arrived to find that everyone but Jeff Weston, who was also following the arrive at 7 logic, was sitting in chairs in the resturant's back garden. We managed to find two seats in a row near the back, just behind an ethusiastic fellow with large teeth who looked like Tucker Carlson. (Though not with the TV friendly boyish Republican charm of our boy Tucker). We sat on the left, which I suppose means we were there to root for the Winnipeg Jets.
Shortly after we sat down and Jeff arrived the wedding party came down and took their places. Then Krista and the bridal train, or whatever it's called, entered. The ceremony was performed, and having only been to one other wedding in the last twenty years it seemed pretty standard. A bit more religious, but for two families with a deep belief in God, a very religious version of what is traditionally a religious ceremony was to be expected. I didn't sing when we were asked to sing the religious theme music of the evening, but enough people were that it didn't really matter that much.
Watching movies I've been taught that weddings are fraught with dramatic possibilities. Will the bride show up? Will someone stand up when the priest asks "Does anyone have any reason as to why these two should not be wed?" (a question that I must note was not asked at either wedding I've attended), will a former lover of either the bride or groom show up at the last moment to whisk one of them off their feet; there are a number of options of exciting events that can occur during a Hollywood wedding ceremony. The good news, for the bridge and groom if not for the spectators, none of that happened. The ceremony went through without a hitch, and while I'm sure both bride and groom were nervous on this life changing day there was no expectations that anyone was going to provide drama by saying someone else's name when exchanging vows and rings.
They stuck with traditional vows, instead of making up their own or just freestyling on the spot. It was classy and sweet and while more religious than I like my Saturdays it was the perfect sort of wedding for the two of them, in my opinion. A low key, though serious and romantic affair.
Part 2 the reception: or what no three mcs and one dj?
After the ceremony there was a brief break for mystery rolls, deep fried squid and wine. The food was a buffet type setup, and the tables cycled through the room with the food layed out on a table, following the wedding party's table and the family table. The wine was good, the food was pretty good and the weather was nice. This was important since the friends of Nathan weren't quick enough to get a table inside and so we were on the patio.
Nathan's dad was a good master of ceremonies. When I had given him the bottle of wine at for letting us stay with him I had made a joke that it was a bribe, because during the three minute car ride with Justin to the wedding I had decided that I wanted to give a speech or a toast to Nathan during the wedding. He said he'd see what he could do, and after a bit of pestering managed to work me in.
Which I suppose is my only real complaint about the wedding, which is mainly a selfish one. Nathan is one of my best friends and to have been asked to be a part of the wedding, whether it was giving a speech or being able to help out in some other way, would have been a real honour. Krista's friends were schedualed as speakers and performers and none of Nathan's friends were. Granted unless we were going to reform the Okanagan Mission Concert Band we weren't going to be able to bust out with a musical performance but having some role would have been really special. I know Chad felt the same way. And while I did manage to weasle my way onto the speakers list it would have been nice to have had a few days to prepare a speech as opposed to writing it on my Blackberry during the wedding ceremony.
Of course Krista and Nathan were not getting married in order to give Nathan's friends a chance to do a comedy routine or anything, but watching the wedding with having no real part to play was like watching a good play with people you know in the cast, as opposed to being part of such a play. (That and the Justin and me being two single guys in a group of friends where everyone else has long term girlfriends was kinda crappy. The "Oh the two single guys are a homosexual couple" jokes go sort of boring after the first two.)
In the end it was a wonderful ceremony, and I know Nathan and Krista are going to be very happy together. There was some dancing. Tucker Carlson caught the garter-belt and flashed his teeth. Krista's mom, claiming never to have met me before, complimented me on my speech and I spent some time hanging out with Nathan's brothers.
The evening wraped up fairly earlier and I missed the chance to say good-bye to Nathan, he's since moved down to Vancouver with Krista, or see him open the fondu set. Justin drove me home and I went to bed. And that was the first wedding of any of my high school friends that I've attended. It was odd, Nathan's married. Weird, eh?
