The wedding was on Saturday at the Depot in downtown Minneapolis.
An unfortunate and weird incident happened as we pulled into the parking lot; Jay’s shirt caught on something when he reached for his parking ticket and ripped the seam under his arm. I’ve never heard of such a thing happening! There was certainly no time to go home and change so despite the warmth of the evening, Jay determined not to take off his sport coat. He looked great.
I was wearing my cobalt blue Calvin Klein dress. Josie wore a gorgeous floor length, sleeveless dress covered in peach and coral blooms. It looked like it was made for her even though it belongs to her sister. Zack wore a Kelly green tux he bought at a Saver’s in Colorado. When he first showed it to me I was skeptical but he put it on and I had to admit; with his Irish good looks he looked like he was born to wear it. He paired it with a purple bow tie and purple chuck taylors. I wasn’t the only one who thought he looked good in it; a bridesmaid was seen chasing him around all night.
Tyler and Megan looked fabulous; Ty rocked the fancy straw cowboy hat Megan gave him for Father’s day. The kids were with Tom and Kelly who need a little grandparent practice; their first is due at summer’s end.
The ceremony took place in a large open area; it was decorated with the most gorgeous bouquets of flowers. Shades of blue and purple blooms set atop large, crystal pedestals. Chairs and ribbons and flowers led the procession to the raised platform where my brother JP officiated. Billy and Katie McC did readings. Chad is of Jewish descent (don’t know if he’s practicing or not) and many of their traditions were incorporated into the ceremony. The meaning in the breaking of the glass was explained to the witnesses and we were told to shout “Mazeltov!” at the top of our lungs when Chad crushed it beneath his foot.
We did the tradition proud.
After the ceremony, the congregation moved out to a beautiful courtyard for drinks and hors d’oeuvres. While the newly married couple greeted their guests, workmen hustled in to clear the ceremony area. Most of the flowers were moved to the dining hall. At one point when there were only a handful of guests left in the hall as the workers cleared the room but at one point, a tall crystal flower stand fell over and shattered on the floor.
“Mazeltov!” Yelled a knot of nephews without missing a beat.
It was a beautiful evening and we were in no hurry to retreat to the dining room when it was opened but eventually we all found our way inside to a large, gorgeous room filled with tables.
Toasts and speeches took place while we ate which was a good way to do it. Woody and Kathy both spoke. They were eloquent and brief. The groomsmen all talked about how Chad had declared his intent to marry Katelyn the moment he first laid eyes on her. Well, Duh; what guy didn’t want to marry Katelyn on sight? She looks like a cross between Beyonce and Carrie Underwood, only prettier. But when her father stood up and said “There’s only one man in this room who loved Katelyn the moment he first saw her and that was me…” the room caught it’s breath.
The room was cavernous and the acoustics bad. Some of those who spoke didn’t know how to use the mic and it was impossible to hear them. As maid of honor, our Katie gave a speech. It was hilarious!
After the scheduled speeches as most of us were relaxing into our dessert, half the room caught its breath again; Uncle Mickey was toddling toward the microphone.
You know how every family has one? Well, Uncle Mickey is ours.
Mickey is the quintessential Irishman; he’s known in our neighborhood as the funny, friendly little old man who can be seen wandering all over the neighborhood at all hours of the day or night. He used to love walking around the lake in the middle of the night but health problems have rendered him too blind for night walks anymore. He can tell stories till the cows come home and he knows everyone. He’s also known for saying highly inappropriate albeit hilarious things all the time.
When I say ‘inappropriate’, I’m talking Game of Thrones here.
At our table, ViAnne turned to Jay and hissed “Stop him!”
At the table next to ours, my Dad turned to my Mom with a look of unholy glee upon his face.
At every table containing Hubbells, someone groaned “do something!”
But it was too late; Mickey had the microphone and the attention of the entire room.
“Good evening,” He said, his voice ringing clear as a bell across the room. It figures he knew how to use a mic. “I’m Katelyn’s Uncle Mickey. I’d like everyone to raise their glass for an old Irish toast…”
At this point, you could almost feel half the room brace themselves.
“May the road rise up to meet you,” Mickey intoned, “May the wind be always at your back. May the rain fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again…May God hold you in the palm of his hand.”
It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard.
He got a standing ovation.
As our side of the room wilted in relief, Andy turned to our table and said “The Chicago folks will never know what a collective butt clench the Minnesota people just experienced…”
Then the Bride and her father began their spotlight dance to Jimmy Buffets Little Miss Magic.
“…and now I’m going to cry.” Andy finished.
Then the dancing began.
The groom’s Mom flew in a band from Chicago. She apparently didn’t trust the land of Judy Garland, Bob Dylan and Prince to be able to provide a decent wedding band. But her guys were very good. Every song was danceable. The mix of fast to slow was just right and the two lead singers were killer.
I sought out my future son in law for a dance. Adam is a fantastic dancer. The guy moves like he’s on strings. I figured it would be fun being Ginger to his Fred Astaire.
We danced.
Thirty seconds into the dance I realized I was not Ginger; I was the coat rack.
It was great!
Outside, it had turned into a beautiful cool July evening. The courtyard where we’d had cocktails was the perfect place to retire to when the dancing got too hot and sweaty. Every member of the family was out there at one point or another. Once, I was out there with Margy and Heidi when Billy walked by holding Jen’s heels.
“I told her I’d get her dancing shoes,” he explained. “she’s got some flats in the car.”
“In 25 years of marriage,” Heidi said, “Joe has never done anything that nice for me.”
“Yeah, he’s such a jerk.” Billy nodded. “Off saving the country and stuff.”
“Ughh.” Heidi rolled her eyes.
Later in the evening, I was outside again when Andy and Finbar (both 16) announced their intention of doing back flips across the dance floor. Andy is a champion diver and Finnie has a black belt in karate and I know both of them were perfectly capable of doing back flips but that dance floor was crowded and marble to boot.
After playing for well over an hour, the band took a break. They had a sound track for their break so no one had to stop dancing.
In fact, shortly after they took their break, Mm-Bop came on. The wedding guests went bonkers. You’d have thought it was the movie Footloose and none of us had been allowed to dance for decades the way we took to the floor.
I’m sure the very talented fella who had just spent the last hour and half singing his heart out shook his head and muttered “F******* white people.”
Long before Mm-Bop, Jay had thrown caution to the wind and taken off his jacket. Who cared if there was a tear in his shirt’s arm pit? After several hours of vigorous dancing, the tear extended all the way across his chest to the buttons. The poor shirt hung in tatters. He didn’t care; he was having way too much fun. Taking a break from the dancing, he got into a conversation with one of the guests from Chicago. The Fellow was interested in Jay’s family so the man in the tattered shirt pointed out his son in the Kelly green tux and his other son in the huge cowboy hat.
The band sang one more set before packing it in for the night.
But that’s when the after party started!
Those intrepid partiers who were still on hand were ushered into yet another room where food buffets were set out and a DJ was at a much smaller dance floor.
The floor was packed with young people and on closer inspection I saw that they were all my nieces and nephews. Zack and Josie were dancing at the far side of the floor. I grabbed my camera and prepared to take a shot of the two of them when suddenly…
Andy and Finbar back flipped the length of the dance floor.
It was awesome.
They got a huge cheer from their cousins and gasps of wonder and appreciation from the rest of the crowd.
After the synchronized flips, Jay and I figured the evening had peaked. So we made sure the kids all had rides home or hotel rooms to crash in and we went home.
It was very late and I was exhausted but I still had a hard time falling asleep. After dancing on a stone floor for several hours, my feet felt like they were in a vice grip; they throbbed until I finally fell asleep.
It was a great wedding.