A Tale of Three Weddings (Part 1)

We have the horrible misfortune (insert copious amounts of sarcasm here) of being invited to three weddings this summer, all of which will have tasty dessert offerings. It’s a cruel, cruel world – right? I can hear all of my summer pants screaming for mercy in my dresser drawer.

This past weekend it was our friends, Mike & Ashley – two young people just starting out … making me feel old. These two lovebirds are off to Ames, IA in a couple of weeks – Mike is in hot pursuit of his Graduate Degree – but both of their families are from this area so I am hopeful that they will remain a part of our lives.

Their wedding was held in an airplane hangar, a nod to Mike’s passion for flying. I’m 100% in support of unconventional wedding venues – think outside the box. How many people can say they got married surrounded by personal aircraft?

Mike works for this Aviation company, so it held extra meaning for him to hold the ceremony here. He has cared for all of these planes at some point, and flown a couple of them, too. To say that he’s a total geek for flying would be an understatement. The boy BLEEDS aviation.

There was a large Leer jet in the hangar (no photo!) and I asked how much it would cost for me to rent that bad boy. $2100 an hour. Who doesn’t have that laying around? It seats 8 people so you could ask everyone to pitch in, I suppose. I’m not sure how far I could get in an hour – and I’d have to get back home (ideally) so it’s not in my immediate plans. Any chance seven of you want to take a one hour spin in a Leer jet?

I have to admit that every year I get more and more emotional at weddings – and here’s why: I have a kid. As soon as the mother-of-the-bride or the mother-of-the-groom start showing signs of a lip quiver it is all over for me. It’s that Universal Tribe of Mothers, the primal ability to imagine yourself in the shoes of any other mother, and feel their joy or their sorrow as if it’s your own . They don’t warn you about that in any of the pregnancy books, it doesn’t come up in any of the birthing classes or doctor’s appointments. One mother sheds a tear and we all come tumbling down.