For the first time since July 7, 2007, I attended a wedding. Actually, this was a first for me in many ways. To begin, this was my first wedding I attended by myself. Moreover, this was my first wedding since I turned 21. Although I probably attended one before, this was the first wedding I remember that I attended where the ceremony occurred in a Catholic Church. Whose wedding did I attend? The wedding of one of my best friends who I have known for 8-9 years, Dan Anderson. While I posted pictures on FB & wrote captions for them, I thought it beneficial to write about the wedding. Before anything else though, I want to reiterate one point though. Congratulations Dan & Erin Anderson.
Friday, August 7, I flew from Chicago to San Diego. After being picked up by Dan’s parents, I arrived at the group hotel. After checking in, I ate lunch with Dan & several of his Notre Dame (ND) friends. Fast forward to that evening where the Boyles, the family of his wife, hosted everyone at their home for dinner & conversation. Traditionally, the wedding rehearsal dinner consists of the wedding party, but seeing as how numerous people traveled to San Diego for the wedding, the Boyles invited everyone to attend the dinner. Upon our arrival, one of Dan’s friends, Mary Catherine, said she did not know many people outside of the ND group. I responded telling her, “Other than Dan, his brothers, parents, & Reid Steinbach, I don’t know anybody else. I’ve never even met the bride!” As a result, a running joke between Mary Catherine, Dan’s friend David, & I became one of those two asking me how many people I knew. I thoroughly enjoyed myself that evening though. I did implore Dan to introduce me to Erin, which he finally did. I will state this several times I am sure but I want to give a shout out to Dan’s ND friends. It was their first time together since several of them graduated in May 2013, & while they could have easily caught up on each other’s lives, they included me in the conversation, albeit I did not necessarily add much initially. While I met her father, I do not know the occupations of Erin’s parents, but I promise you their property was pretty. Several goats, I believe a horse, a pool, the house being located on a hill, a great way to begin a tremendous weekend.
Saturday August 8 was the day of the wedding. Many years ago Mom, Stephanie, & I flew to Las Vegas for the First Communion of a couple of our cousins. The church in Las Vegas was newer but still beautiful. The church in San Diego reminded me of that Las Vegas church. While the San Diego church I believe was older, it still was beautiful, with many windows & doors to show the abundant sunshine. While I failed to take pictures of the church, rest assured it was beautiful.
The ceremony was so appropriate. I tell people it was 95% focused & the other 5% laid back. For instance, the gospel chosen was where Jesus fed the 5,000. When he began his homily, the priest (who did a tremendous job fyi) asked Dan why he & Erin chose that gospel. Dan responded with a fabulous answer, to which I leaned over & jokingly told the woman, Laura, sitting next to me, “If he wasn’t getting married, he’d make one hell of a priest,” to which she laughed. The priest then asked Erin why she chose the gospel & she said, more or less, what he said. The priest asked Dan & Erin another question & their responses were the same. Dan answered the question & Erin said what he said. Later, as they prepared for the vows, the priest asked Dan & Erin a series of questions such as does you want to marry (insert name), will you raise your children Catholic, will you love one another for the rest of your lives, etc. As he was asking Erin one of the questions, not even completing the question, she said I do, to which the congregation laughed, & amused, the priest turned around & said, “Excited she is.” As they said their vows, which they repeated after the priest said them, they ended with in the name of the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit, but the three names were split apart. Erin decided to unite them all & when the priest said, “In the name of the Father,” she said, “In the name of the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit.” I saw the priest smile, possibly thinking that works, moving on. Nevertheless, Dan Anderson & Erin Boyle were married.
After the ceremony, there were countless pictures, though I took part in only the group shots. We waited for the picture taking to finish, & upon their completion, Mr. & Mrs. Hennessey, Dan’s maternal grandparents, I, Mary Catherine, & David drove to the wedding reception. Behind us were the newlyweds in a nice fancy old car. Mr. Hennessey proceeded to floor the car & then let off the gas, causing the newlyweds’ vehicle to slow down & then honk the horn, to which everyone in my vehicle laughed. Mr. Hennessey repeated the process; the newlyweds honked the horn at us, & we died of laughter, all the way until we hit the expressway. Everyone in our car roared with laughter, I do not know what the newlyweds thought.
The drive to the wedding reception was beautiful. For all you Midwestern folks, you know how when you drive on Lake Shore Drive you are driving alongside Lake Michigan? Well, this was similar, except instead of Lake Michigan the body of water we drove alongside of was the Pacific Ocean. While we arrived at the wedding reception location, the Darlington House, the wedding party traveled nearby to the beach for more photos. Therefore, David, Mary Catherine, & I grabbed some hors d'oeuvres. Three maître d’s came by together at one time. The first walked by with hors d’oeuvres, the second walked by with a tray for guests to put their empty hors d’oeuvres’ utensils, wine glasses, etc., & the third walked by with glasses of wine. Being California, the wine was a plenty, & the sangria tasted delicious, so much so by the end of the night I drank enough to feel very good. Meanwhile, there was a man playing a guitar, singing everything from “Stand by Me” to John Mayer songs. He eventually became the mc of the evening & subsequently a cool DJ. Dinner was then served.
When I found what table I was sitting at, I grabbed a glass of wine & proceeded to the table. What ensued most likely is one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. As I sat down, the woman to my right said to me, “Hi, how have you been since high school?” “Good thanks,” I replied, & then added, “Do you know where I went to high school?” She calmly said, “Marian Catholic,” to which I remarked, “Yes, I suppose you knew that I was a high school friend of Dan & Dan attended Marian.” “Well there’s that, & the fact that you & I went to high school together, cause I was in Dan’s class & you graduated with my sister.” At this point, my thought process went from huh to oh crap. Racking my brain as fast as possible, I asked, “I’m sorry but what is your last name?” “O’Shea,” & which I finally admitted, “I’m sorry, but I don’t remember you at all!” Embarrassment mind you raced through my head, & quickly I became the reason for laughter from the rest of the people seated at my table. Unable to remember this woman, & not exactly overjoyed the laughter at my expense, I quickly hustled off for another glass of sangria. To this day, I do not remember her nor her sister, even after consulting my yearbook & FB asking a friend whom I graduated with whom I remembered. If this woman attends my five year reunion this year, my embarrassment level will rise, & I am left to wonder whom I cannot recognize nor remember.
After dinner, some of the wedding traditions began. First, Mr. Boyle gave a speech, the maid of honor gave a speech where frankly, she told Dan he finally gained sisters as he has three brothers, Erin finally gained some brothers as she only has sisters, & the maid of honor loves them all. Fortunately, Dan’s best man, his brother Matt, gave a speech that emitted laughter but at the same point presented a moral on how terrific Dan is & how Matt is glad Dan found someone so loving as Erin. Dan gave a speech, terrific as usual, & Erin did what we on More to Life called filling the gaps. When two people hold hands, there are no gaps among those hands, as the two fill in each other’s gaps, weaknesses. From the time I spent with both Dan & Erin, they do that to each other. This truly means they balance each other, they love each other, & they will work together as a team, or one. While I am no expert on relationships, I believe that will sustain them for a loving lifelong marriage. Now the dances began. The only complaint, & it is not major, is the songs only played for a minute or so, except for the dance between Dan & his mother. After that, the dancing for all guests began. I admit I normally have two left feet when it comes to dancing, & I do, but I think the consumption of sangria provided me the courage to dance. Because I believe I danced to the vast majority of the songs. I requested “Cupid Shuffle” because that has an actual dance associated with it, & I know it all too well. Everything from “Uptown Funk” to “Twist & Shout” were played, with everyone from Mrs. Anderson, Dan’s friends, the newlyweds, & people young & old, male & female, dancing at some point or another. Again, while I am no expert, I feel as though the music is successfully chosen when it results in everybody dancing sometime during the reception. Additionally, when I was not dancing, I chowed down on two pieces of dessert & sangria. The weather the whole time, even for the ceremony, was heavenly. Not a cloud in the sky, no mosquitos, not too hot but not too cold, with a breeze coming just when you started to heavily sweat from dancing &/or enjoying yourself.
I did get a chance to talk to Erin & Dan separately but briefly. To Erin I told her she is marrying one of my best friends, a person I have known for 9-10 years, & I wish her all the best & hopefully good memories with her. To Dan, I told him congratulations, I look forward to many more years of good friendship with him. As the wedding reception ended, they ended it with two songs. First, an Irish chant that I did not know the words to but gladly swayed next to Mary Catherine & David. Next, I stepped back & listened as they sang the ND fight song, something of which I have no desire to learn. As everyone prepared to send the newlyweds off, Mary Catherine grabbed one of the decorative flowers & placed it in her hair. If you are on FB, check out the photos from the wedding, & two of them are of the flower in her hair. She looked lovely by the way. I am so glad her & David welcomed me that weekend, otherwise it could have been a weekend of celebration for Dan & Erin but slightly awkward for me knowing few people. Back to the reception, we wished the newlyweds good night, & the celebration concluded.
I could go into detail about Sunday but the basic description for Sunday is I felt below average, I said goodbye to the Andersons & Dan’s ND friends, & I flew home safely. To wrap up this writing, I want to reiterate how the weekend was NOT about me. It was the celebration of the marriage of two people in love, one of them one of my best friends. Nevertheless, the weekend was a joyous occasion, full of laughter, dancing, sangria, & love. To which I conclude this writing with this phrase, “Congratulations Dan & Erin, I had an outstanding time at the celebration, I was honored & thankful to be able to attend, & I look forward to the memories I will share with the two of you.”
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