What Is A Wedding?

Craig & Amanda are getting married.

On one level it's not that much of a stretch. They've been living together for years, they own a home together - on one level they are just making it official.

But marriages go much deeper than that - it's the emotional impact of a wedding that tips everybody upside down. Makes everybody giddy.

100 people will gather in pure happiness for Craig & Amanda. People who will look at them in awe, love and respect, people who will talk to them and hug them, happy to be within the circle of their joy.

Rituals will be followed and none of them will seem silly. Almost every wedding is the same, yet we all observe and participate in the rituals as if it's the first time we have ever seen a garter get tossed.

I honestly don't know if Craig & Amanda will do all that stuff - they are a ways down the road in life and they are pretty independent. I'm guessing some of it will be included, some will be excluded. But whatever they do, it will be fun. It will be appreciated.

Friends and family. This is what injects energy into a wedding. Friends partying with friends, family partying with family. There will even be cross-pollination to take things to a higher level.

You walk into the hall and happiness infects you through osmosis. There is a vibe in the hall and that vibe is contagious, and it grows and spreads as people greet people and talk and laugh.

You stand at the bar, sit at the table and it all feels natural. Even though you are wrapped up in a monkey suit, you don't think twice about it. You just are, it just is.

Carol and I will be surrounded by family at the wedding and we cannot fucking wait. People who we are comfortable with, some we haven't seen in a while, but they are family. A judgement-free zone that allows maximum space for fun. And conversation. And connection.

Unlike what you get in your daily life.

A wedding is all about love, celebration, acceptance, fun, release, escape - it is a magical day dropped into your weekend to really spice things up.

The next day you get to bask in the glow. Kind of like medicine on top of medicine. A bonus day. Bonus joy.

When I was much younger and attending weddings at a rapid pace - kind of like a 162 game baseball season - one after another after another, I took them for granted. Felt they were pretty corny and repetitive.

With some distance in my life, my perspective has changed. Weddings are meaningful. Especially this one.

First of all, it's my son. Heavy duty. Secondly, we haven't had a wedding in this family for quite some time. So the ritualistic gathering of the tribe takes on that much more meaning.

Bring it on.

We are ready.