Fear the Crab

The day started off as usual, with a bit of laundry.  I spent the better part of the morning vacuuming Maile’s van to get rid of as much dog fur as I could.  The vacuum cleaner I have doesn’t have a carpet attachment, so I had to use this dog-fur-removal brush with rubber bristles and “comb” it along the upholstery with the vacuum hose close by.  Considering the size of the minivan, it was a significant effort, and yet I still haven’t gotten everything out.  Some of that fur has just taken root.

The vacuuming was necessary because starting tomorrow Maile and I will be using the van to ferry people and materials around in preparation for the festivities on Sunday.  The big thing for Saturday will be picking up the dresses, so we don’t want dog fur clinging to the bridal party as they make their way down the aisle.

But that’s tomorrow.  Today involved a few more activities.  Next on the agenda was getting my car-deprived groomsman to the boutique so he could try on his tuxedo.  Unlike mine and my brother’s experiences, George’s tuxedo fit perfectly.  The alterations for the rest of the tuxedos were finished, so I took home all three sets.

After the fitting, I picked up George’s family, and we inched through the beginnings of rush-hour traffic to attend the rehearsal at the hotel.  We were among the first to arrive, and as everyone slowly gathered, we ran through the motions a couple of times.

The guys have it easy.  We’ll be standing behind a screen and some panels in the front, out of sight, with the officiant until it is time to start.  Then we’ll march in order of our standing positions around the edge and take our places at the archway.

The women will be waiting in the banquet hall (since it’s right next door to the ceremony site), and when the ceremony begins, they will make the long walk down the aisle towards the waiting men.  While they make their way towards us, the guys have to stand with hands clasped in front, something a bit unnatural to all of us, but we all agree that it looks a bit better than hands behind.

When Maile arrives, I have a few procedures I have to remember to perform.  First I need to “greet” Maile’s mom (who will be escorting her down the aisle), and that can be either in the form of a hug or handshake, before I take Maile’s hand that her mother gives.  Then, and this is very important, wait for Maile’s mom to step away, and then take Maile’s arm around mine and face the officiant.

The first run-through, I was too hasty and took Maile’s arm before her mom had a chance to move away.  It totally looked like I was body-checking my future mother-in-law in my eagerness to get the ceremony over with.

During the rehearsal, the matron of honor started to get teary-eyed, testament to the paper-thin walls holding back the tears.  I suppose the practice run gave her a sense of what the actual day would be like, and she started to imagine the sensations.  Now, if she were the only one, it might not be too bad, but Maile and her other bridesmaid can be affected by the mere sight of the bawling one, starting a chain reaction that threatens to upset the delicate balance of time between my standing around and my eat-drink-be-merries.  It will likely be unavoidable, but hopefully it will be minimized.

The matron of honor wasn’t the only one to be affected.  My groomsmen both expressed a bit of nervousness, afraid they might screw up the ceremony somehow with an improperly placed eyebrow.  I think, though, that after the rehearsal they feel much better about what they have to do, since it’s easy to see where they need to stand and which way to face.

It’s not quite over for them, though; both best man and groomsman have things to say during the reception, and there’s no formal rehearsal for THAT.