Boo-Boo Takes a Bride

Brian and Beth Engagement Dinner?

I just returned from Springfield, MO where I was part of a tiny little event called “Boo-Boo Takes a Bride” or “The Wedding of Beth Medley and Brian Leas.”  Oh, by-the-way, Brian is my older brother and Beth is now my sister-in-law (which feels totally cool to say, but still sorta weird!)

Brian and Beth met for the first time on Sunday, February 2nd, 2004. Apparently, I also met Beth that day but had no recollection. (Did I mention it was my friend Carrie’s 21st birthday party where they met?) They didn’t start dating until a coworker/friend matchmaking scheme hooked them up in 2007. Brian had recently purchased a house and Beth was working on her MBA. Before too long, they had a dog and two kittens together and Beth moved into the house where she slept on the couch.

Proof of their first meeting. Brian was the one "with the sister." And yes, I was that fat. See, makes my current level of fatness seem almost skinny!

The courtship had its bumps, but isn’t that the true test of a relationship? If you can’t move past challenges because you truly care about someone, then you shouldn’t be in a relationship. (the same is true of friendship) I don’t think you can say you are in a relationship until you have to deal with the fact that people are not always going to act, react, or think the way you want or expect them to.  Let’s get off the soapbox and move on to the fun stuff…

Every girl dreams of a giant engagement ring and a sweet proposal. Brian delivered on that dream when he proposed to Beth with a Ring Pop at Mr. Bulky’s (a candy shop) at Battlefield Mall in Springfield, Missouri. After she said yes to the candy ring, they headed to the jewelry store and picked out a real engagement ring, which he later used for his formal proposal.

Much to both mother’s delight, the vows took take place in a Catholic church thus removing the pretense of a chastity cot as the couple is no longer living in sin.

So Happy Together- la la la

Driving down to Springfield on Thursday I thought about how quickly the weekend and the wedding would be over. That before I knew it, the event would be a memory and I’d be on my way home again. I think that is the key reason why I feel disconnected to major events in my life. I try to avoid them because the time will pass anyway and the event will be over so quickly.  I often ponder how I will feel or what I will think. Standing on the altar watching the vows was an interesting experience. I felt sort of removed, yet, there I was, my feet hurting and my knees locking, contorting my face as I struggled to keep my composure. It was some sort of mixture between crying and smiling that I just wouldn’t let myself express.

As I drove home Sunday night, the day after the wedding, I pondered that drive from 3 days prior. Yes, the time had passed. I’d been busy. I sweated. I hugged. I cried. I showered a lot. I wore pretty clothes. I got a new sister. I realized that my brother’s life had just changed forever and with that change in his life, a change in my life came- a good change.

Beth is good for Brian. I questioned the relationship at a point when Brian didn’t seem happy- he’s my big brother and he takes care of me! He’s a great guy and deserves nothing but the best. Once I met Beth and saw how much Beth loved Brian, I was sold. They really just “fit.”

Two topics that come up with family when your brother gets married: 1) when are they going to start having kids? and 2) when are you going to get married? HALT. I confess to enjoying and openly participating in baby-having (and baby-making; duh, of course I’m the one cracking the somewhat crude one-liners ever so subtly) conversations. I want to be Aunt Katie. They’re going to have adorable, smart, wise-ass little babies and I need to help cultivate the youth and I need someone other than cats to spoil.

Beth plays the coy bride as she prepares to toss her bouquet.

It was a bad sign when the bride threw the bouquet and it hit the ceiling- dropping to the ground at the feet of a little girl. I tried to grab the bouquet from the little girl while it was still on the ground and then as I recounted the incident to my cousins (who saw it) I said I wasn’t proud but  kids shouldn’t be able to stand to catch the bouquet and in an effort to further assert my rightful claim on the winning catch I proclaimed a zealous, “I’m 28 bitches!”

I call this "bouquet of humiliation." This is perhaps the most flattering picture ever taken. H-O-T. My hair is thinking about auditioning for a remake of the Flying Nun.

Keep in mind I was the third oldest woman in the group, followed next by the Maid of Honor and then the age dropped off to 21 and younger. MY TURN, kthnxbye! Or at least one of the two over 25. I ended up with a single  flower from the bouquet which I said meant I’d just have a child out of wedlock. *sigh* The American Dream. Maybe I won’t even do it the old fashioned way. Yeah, maybe I’ll get artificially inseminated!

Family congregated from all over the country to witness the vows. My mom’s family is a bit larger, so they naturally out-staffed my dad’s side, but how great was it to see my uncle Steve, my step mom, Joanne, and my dad!

When I first walked into the hotel lobby, I was truly struck by the similarities in mannerisms between Brian and my dad. After 12 years, I’d forgotten that they walk the same, hold their heads the same way, stand the same way. I also saw myself at times (around the eyes.) Maybe it’s only with your parents that you can have a long gap in time but when you finally see each other again, feel familiar. The image I will always have of my dad when I think about him will always be slightly younger, shining his black shoes at the kitchen table. I wonder, is his image of me always of the little blonde girl? Will I forever be 6 years old in his mind’s eye? Will Brian, now married, always be 8? It may not be possible to accurately describe the feelings. I found myself on the low end of loquacious as I was absorbing the situation and just “being.” I also find it odd to be around both my Dad and Bob at the same time. I love them both as fathers because that’s what they are. They’ve both known me at different times and only now are overlapping in their experience. What would this post be about or how would it read if penned by one of them? Both would be proud of Brian. Very proud.

Post wedding, the Wedding party, including the Bride and Groom, congregated back at the Maid of Honor’s house to finish off the beer. I am still debating with myself if it was a mistake for me not to go and socialize with the other people who were close enough to be included in the wedding party. To be honest, I was exhausted, there was drunk potentially being gotten at the gathering (which I really just don’t do any more),  and I really just wanted to shower, get in my jammies, and chill with family. My entire family is never together and even on my mom’s side, the family is usually only all together once a year. I also truly enjoy chatting with my aunts, uncles and of course, my cousins. I also figured the Bride and Groom would only “make an appearance” and then be on their merry way to go about relaxing .

I got to spend quality time with family though which was capped by good, girly cousin time. When did those girls get so old, smart, and pretty? And when did they all get so busty?

So, now the couple is in Carmel, California enjoying the cool, rich people’s beach and maybe running into former Carmel mayor, Clint Eastwood. I hope they at least eat at his restaurant.

Brian and Beth Photo Booth- or "We're a couple of goofballs."

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