Laurabelle’s Blog

On Friday our friend Mike and his beloved Alli were married in Eugene, Oregon. Jeff was a groomsman. We drove up for the ceremony; it was a fairly mixed trip.

• Two of the groomsmen had legal trouble with the car they were riding in and had to be picked up fifteen minutes before the wedding rehearsal; I volunteered and found them waiting on a street corner. In trying to follow the GPS directions on the way back to the hotel, I ran over a curb (hiding almost invisibly between two ramps!) and scraped the undercarriage of the car.
• After the rehearsal dinner, I tagged along with the groomsmen when they bought beer and snacks for the bachelor party. The checker carded only me, even though I was just standing there and neither paying for nor going to drink any of the alcohol. Most ironic, I am actually older than any of the groomsmen. The checker said it was Oregon state law that she had to card everyone in the group; I asked if she was going to card the men, and she said I was the only one who didn't look 21 to her. I was annoyed but handed her my card; in retrospect I should have insisted that she was being sexist and that I wouldn't hand over my ID unless she carded the men too. (Like the groom, they are all sweethearts and would have backed me up.) I am still annoyed.
• The dress I wore to the wedding is long and swirly, and to all reports I looked fantastic. I had some luck there; the wedding hotel was right next to a shopping mall, and I was able to get my nails, makeup, and hair done in salons there on short notice.
• The ceremony was beautiful, the bride blushing and graceful, the groom proud and elegant. They had a whole dance prepared for their first dance, which was awesome.
• In the afternoon before the wedding, the groom and his parents gave dancing lessons to bridal party and guests who didn't already know how. We learned foxtrot and swing and were able to use our new skills (and my swirly dress) on the dance floor later that evening. We were passable I think, but too nervous to relax into the music. We're planning to dance more and work on that.
• On the way home we started hearing sounds like something dragging or hitting the road. We pulled off and looked under the car; the protective plate had come partially loose and buckled down a few inches on the driver's side. We made it home, but I see a trip to the shop in our future.
• My throat started getting a little dry yesterday evening, and this morning I have a full-blown sore throat.