The Second Best Man

By Shamus Posted Tuesday Sep 25, 2007

Filed under: Personal 18 comments

Ten years ago I married Heather. My brother Patrick acted as my best man. This weekend I finally got to return the favor. I hope married life suits him as well as it has me.

The wedding reception was smashing. This was the first time I’ve really danced since my own wedding. I was happy to realize that at thirty-six I’m healthier, fitter, and thinner than I was at twenty-six. My recent health problems are gone, and I’m down forty+ pounds. I remember people telling me “It’s all downhill from here” as I entered my twenties. I’m glad they were wrong. I’m also proud of the rest of the guys in our gaming group. This was a wedding reception of over two hundred people, and I want you to know that our party of geeks owned the dance floor Saturday night. While not everyone rolled a twenty on their performance checks, they made their attempts fearlessly and with gusto. Once in a while the DJ would put on some YMCA or (shudder) Chicken Dance and we would aggro a bunch of non-dancers. We’d execute an Expeditious Retreat and run outside to escape the audio pollution. Then the DJ would put on something danceable again, and we would renew our all-night raid on the dance floor, like an unstoppable army of bards.

Here are pictures, for the curious. One of the last images in the sequence leads to a video of the aforementioned geek dancing.

The first several pictures are from the rehearsal on Friday night. It was then that I really realized just how much weight I’d lost. I was swimming in that white shirt. I looked like a little kid playing dress-up. Looks like I need to buy some new dress clothes.

(My wife was taking the pictures, which is why you see more of my family than of the bride & groom.)

 


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18 thoughts on “The Second Best Man

  1. Adam says:

    Congratz to all involved. Many happy years to him.

  2. Katy says:

    Awww, the kids are adorable and Isaac was so camera shy! XD

  3. Dan says:

    Haw haw haw! I loved the part about the “wedding” but I don’t get why Legolas cut his hair!

    Oh…waitaminnit…

    [Charming photos, Shamus!]

  4. Rob says:

    LOL. The dancing geeks (http://picasaweb.google.com/heather.hmariey/Wedding/photo#5113949109806589490) TOTALLY happened at my wedding too! I was busy attending to wedding things but my two gaming buddies were out there all night dancing away. When Rasputin came I’m sure someone must’ve thought they were having a seisure!

  5. MONKEEYYY says:

    Wohoho! You keep a pocket watch now, ey?

    You genuinely look like you enjoyed yourself. Maybe this will put an end to some of the pessimism that I’ve been seeing so much of on your blog, lately.

    Congratulations to the newly weds.

  6. Bogan The Mighty says:

    Oh good lord of all the ones that had to be captured on tape it had to be Cotton Eye Joe. And yes we were the awesomeness of that night!

  7. roxysteve says:

    Well done those geeks.

    I went to a Greek wedding last year, and what an eye-opener it was. I never saw so many party-ready people in my entire life.

    First off, the ceremony was held in a Greek Orthodox Cathedral on Long Island. Every available space on the walls was a mural from biblical scripture. If it wasn’t a mural, it was gold-leaf. It was a real contrast to my wife’s Lutheran church or those of my Anglican upbringing, and a great place to make a lifelong commitment to another person. Then came the reception.

    The first dance was a disco-y wedding thing, then they launched into what I first thought was Turkish music and everyone, I mean everyone was dancing sixty to the dozen. Old men who came into the joint on walkers leapt around slapping the soles of their feet as the danced. Even the teenaged boys were eagerly joining in. (Contrast that to the last wedding you were at where those boys were in a sullen huddle off stage right). I wanted to join in at one point, but the dance floor was too packed and everyone was dancing too fast for me to figure out the steps.

    I’ve not had so much fun in years. These guys not only pushed the boat out, they then sank it with a twenty-one gun salvo.

    I wish your best man life and happiness with his new bride. May good luck follow them all their days, and occasionally catch them up.

    Steve.

  8. Marmot says:

    Yay! In particular, the comments about dancing brought a big smile to my face :) All the best and many happy years to your brother!

  9. Bogan the Mighty says:

    Oh and I’d also like to think that at one point I rolled a 20 on my performance, either that or the great DM of life fudged the rolls for me.

  10. Cineris says:

    Congratulations for the couple and all the rest.

    Looking sharp in that suit, by the way.

  11. chiefnewo says:

    Any “DJ” that puts on the execrable chicken dance should lose their DJing rights.

  12. Duncan says:

    Congratulations to the bride and groom and to everyone in their circle.

  13. About the aging thing, I’ve come to realize that just about every year has been happier and more fun than the last, starting at about age 29. I’m 38 now, and see no reason to believe that will change any time soon.

  14. ArmySyko says:

    Your story about weight loss is something that I’ve aspired to do in my own life and I’m always looking for a little bit of inspiration. I’m off to the gym this morning.

  15. Dr-Online says:

    I just realized something. You look like a slightly less creepy Robin Williams in some of those pictures. In the rest, you look healthy as all get out.

  16. AndrewNZachsDad says:

    Thanks for sharing that, Shamus. I pray that your brother and his new bride find great happiness in teh coming years together.

    And thanks for showing the world that geeks can ROCK!! Those were some pretty sweet moves…kinda like watching Dance Dance Revolution in tuxedoes…

    Chiefnewo, wanted to tell you about my own brother-in-law’s wedding a couple of weeks ago. Curtis is a DJ himself. The company he works with havce obtained a trumped up version of the venerable (read: old) tradition (read: mistake made sometime in the distant past) of the Chicken Dance. It starts as normal, but every once in a while the music changes to reflect other parts of the world: the Mexican Hat Dance, a Greek circle dance, an Irish Jig, and Havah Nagilah. I, too, hold a place of deep loathing in my heart for the Chicken Dance – The Emeralds played here in Edmonton at Klondike Days once; if I had been abvle to get that rifle in time…ahem. Even so, that version was fun, and not too chicken-y. There is hope yet!

    All the best, newleyweds!

    Richard

  17. Skeeve the Impossible says:

    I can’t believe no one caught this one>
    My Big Fat Geek Wedding *groan*
    To Dr-online He may LOOK healthy but you didn’t hear his lungs wheezing and all but shutting down in what could easily be the asthma attack of the year, after he got off the dance floor.
    Great wedding though.

  18. Patrick the groom says:

    Thanks…its been almost a month and it ( married life) doesnt seem much different than before. I attribute this to the groos generalization that most Americans are overly dramatic. Everyone needs to show up this friday….

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