Getting Hitched

“Are you going to blog about any of this?” my friend Cat asked me on Saturday, at our friend Ellen’s wedding in California.

“Oh, maybe, but what would I write about that hasn’t been written about a billion times already?”

Cat: “About all the fun we’re having!”

Mike: “Yeah, I love that they got married outdoors in front of this gorgeous lake, and that the reception is going to be outdoors under this giant white tent with lights strung across the top. They really got lucky with the weather today.”

Cat: “What did you end up getting them?”

Mike: “I’m a firm believer in the registry. There’s a reason why there’s a registry! Some people try to go off the registry to get something unique, and that’s thoughtful, but I think you should just stick with what the couple says they want.”

Cat: “What did you get them from the registry?”

Mike: “Well, the things I wanted to get them were already taken by other people, and I didn’t really like what was left, so I decided to get them a gift card to the place they registered.”

Cat: “Oh, that’s smart. Yeah, when Steve and I got married, we registered for a ton of things so that people would have lots to choose from, and so they wouldn’t go off the registry, and then we ended up returning a bunch of stuff so that we could get a store credit and get stuff that we needed later.”

Mike: “Hey, does that mean you returned that table and ice cream scoop I got you? I wanted you guys to think of me every time you had ice cream. I wanted you to associate the happiness of eating ice cream with your friend who lives across the country.”

Cat: “Well, I wanted to return it, but Steve really wanted to keep it, so we kept it. We love it!”

Mike: “Oh good.”

Cat: “What else do you think you’ll write about?”

Mike: “Maybe I’ll write about the money dance. I liked that they lined up the men and women to dance with the bride and groom, and they each had to pay a dollar to dance with either of them.”

Cat: “You hadn’t heard of that before?”

Mike: “This is the first time I’ve seen it in real life, I think. They announced that the money would be used for the honeymoon, but I think a dollar was a bargain! But maybe it’s really more about the guests dancing with the couple, rather than the actual money going to the honeymoon.”

Cat: “Yeah, what else? The food?”

Mike: “Oh yeah, the food! So I’ve been to a lot of traditional Asian weddings, and maybe some of the Billfold readers aren’t aware of this, but at traditional Asian weddings, it’s not a ‘steak or chicken’ situation. It’s 12 courses of never-ending food, plus additional courses for vegetarians. Each course is put on a lazy susan in the center of the table, and they come quickly — every 7 minutes or so — because since there’s so many courses, you’re basically eating for more than an hour.”

Cat: “Will you remember all the things we ate, so you can write about it?”

Mike: “Let’s see. The vegetarians were served some dishes first, which were veggie fried rice, vegetarian egg rolls, and tofu in some sort of garlic sauce. And then we had:
1. Chicken and picked vegetables
2. Crab, sea cucumber, and chicken soup
3. Deep fried lobster
4. Shrimp and candied walnuts
5. Peking duck
6. Steamed buns
7. Chinese broccoli and mushrooms
8. Korean short ribs
9. Pork fried rice
10. Steamed grouper
11. Fruit salad
12. Wedding cake (with strawberries)”

Cat: “You should also talk about the bar and the photo booth.”

Mike: “Oh, right, I thought that was smart of them. They had a photo booth so the guests could take fun photos of each other, and then the bride and groom would also get a copy of all the photos everyone took, which I imagine would be really fun to look at after the wedding. And there was an open bar that served beer, but you could also order the bride’s signature drink which was lavender lemonade with vodka, or the groom’s drink, which was a caipirinha cocktail, and none of us figured out how to say it.”

Cat: “Are you going to remember all of this?”

Mike: “I hope so! Also, I have to go to another wedding next weekend, so maybe I’ll do a followup!”

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