It was a busy day yesterday. The groomsmen had all been staying in a campground and their plan was to get ready in the campground washroom. Very Harrison, I must admit. But we offered our room and adjoining suite as a place to get ready in. Which ended up being a wise decision since ALL the boys needed their shirts and pants ironed. Jordan (AKA Team "dad") was on suit inspection duty.
So, after a surprisingly delicious lunch at what, by all appearances, was dive of a diner in Westbrook, the clan of seven groomsmen, the groom, two parents, Samantha (AKA Iron maiden), Gabriel and I gathered into our room to get ready. There were suits strewn about, hanging from the water pipes in the bedroom, all over the bed, people were coming and going, shaving in the bathroom sink and Sam was tenaciously ironing the creases and wrinkles out of shirts and pants. I was snapping pictures of the groomsmen getting ready like I was paparazzi.
Suddenly, 2:15 struck and the boys filed out the door heading to the wedding. Marion and Earl got ready too, asking if I needed any help. I was still spinning, but I was sure I was all set. The room was oddly silent. Bags were packed and ready. Game plan was set to be put into action. Gabriel was asleep. I was planning to get him ready as the last thing. I proceeded to get dressed and pin my hair. I still needed to get to the store before the wedding to pick up so more food for Gabriel. We would have time. It would work out perfectly.
The room was still hot with the mugginess of summer heat in Maine and the lingering heat of thirteen bodies scurrying around getting ready. I was covered in sweat already. I grabbed the bags to head to the car to pack it. Everything was there. I reached for my keys on top of the bookshelf.
No. keys.
My heart started to race. I quickly scanned our neat and organized room. I quickly unpacked all of my nicely organized bags. I repacked them. I unpacked our suitcase. I stuffed it back together. I pulled the blankets off the bed, I dumped all the bags on the the bed. I then repacked again. I moved all the furniture. I checked the heat registers. I was dripping sweat. Gabriel was still asleep. It was 2:45. I needed to be there by no later than 3:30. I had 45 minutes and it was a 30 minute drive. I called Jordan. No keys. I asked him to ask the groomsmen. No keys. I called a cab. The would take 20 minutes to get here. I unpacked and repacked all the bags a third time. The room was now a disaster. I checked the ground and the car through the windows. Finally, I got as much as I could together, woke Gabriel, changed him and sat waiting. And waiting. And waiting.
At 3:25, the cab driver showed up. I was ready to cry. We had 30 minutes of driving ahead of us. And he didn't know how to get there. The church has no real address and he had no idea where Temple Street was. He had a GPS but I wasn't confident. Fortunately, I had my GPS (that I will likely have to pay $50 in roaming fees). We made it, sweating and with a sob stuck in my throat, just in time to hear Amy and Harrison say "I do" and fill the church hall with the sound of Gabriel's raspberry kisses all over my cheeks and Elfrienda, Marion's mother's cheeks too. (Much needed comic relief). But the church was fabulous--big, open octagonal temple filled with wild flower bouquets was located minutes from the beach at Ocean Park. Harrison and Amy were glowing and beautiful. Amy had reconstructed part of my wedding dress, making it her own and it looked stunning on her.
After the wedding, everyone headed to get ice cream and more pictures at the beach.
We still had other problems to solve--Gabriel needed supper (and I had no way of getting food, being car-less). Everyone I knew needed to be in pictures and then get to the reception on time, but we finally were able to send a dear family friend Audrey to pick up some food.
Gabriel was reaching his breaking point, actually, I am sure we passed it, and I was pretty much out of milk. Waiting in the parking lot of the reception with no food, empty breasts, a screaming baby, in a ruined saggy silk dress, was a sad sight to see.
But eventually the night picked up for us. Food arrived for Gabriel, he ate and went to sleep like clockwork in the sling at 8:00. We listened to some beautiful live music, were entertained by Amy and Harrison's antics, heard some sweet speeches and ate some very good food. Jordan did an excellent job on his speech, which included some imagery from Northern New Brunswick and reflections and quotes from Pierre Elliot Trudeau's memoirs. The reception venue was beautiful, the people were fun-loving and the music was great for dancing. We all hit the dance floor at one point or another and stayed until 11 pm.
And eventually, after a good night's rest, naps, food, reflection and going through the 500 pictures we still managed to snap, the day didn't seem that stressful after all. And we found the keys at 10:00 tonight. Well, we didn't find them. One of the groomsmen did. They must have fallen off the stand and was gathered up with his items. I knew I hadn't lost my mind!
What we got out of the deal? We stayed another night, relaxed and napped all day, dipped our feet in the ocean and hung out with Rachael and Marion. Not so bad after all.
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