A Wedding Story

All dressed up for the big event.  More pre-party pictures:

 (Madeleine did a great job as photographer).

I recently got a comment on my "White Girls Can't Jump" post asking why we were all in costume.  In case any of the rest of you are confused, the theme of Jack and Barbara's party was "August 16, 1969" and we went all out to look the part.  Here is the rest of the story:

After leaving Casa Doyle, we had quite the adventure getting the cake and our huge balloon bouquet safely to the party site.

Chris drove carefully, warning Abby before each turn so she could protect the cake, and we made it without any mishaps.  The restaurant was extremely accommodating, providing table linens when I discovered I hadn't brought enough and helping us set up the room the way we had planned.  The guests arrived early and everyone was in place to surprise Jack and Barbara.  

(Stay tuned to Frodo Seven for "A Cake Story")

I thought the party favors turned out very well.  The white chocolate party mix was as addictive as anything anyone experienced in the 60s--or so I was told.

Chris ascertains the location of the bride and groom

This was the second surprise party I've planned where the surprise--ees argued with their escorts because they didn't want to eat at the party site.  Nevertheless, Bev and Howard Rose delivered the guests of honor to the Humble City Cafe and you can tell me whether you think they were surprised:

They were particularly surprised to see Kevin and Abby who had flown in the night before and had been hiding out at Casa Doyle.

The first activity on our agenda was a quiz we had prepared about Jack and Barbara.  There was a prize for the person who answered the most questions the way Barbara did and another for the person who answered the most questions like Jack.  A couple of sample questions:

Which of the following Beatles lines is most applicable to Jack and Barbara's marriage:

a.  "It's been a hard day's night"

b.  "All you need is love, love, love is all you need"

c.  "I get by with a little help from my friends"

d.  "In my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me, speaking words of wisdom let it be"

e.  "We all live in a yellow submarine"

After their wedding on August 16, 1969, a young Jack and Barbara probably went where for their honeymoon?

a.  The Rocky Mountains to hike and repel while smoking grass

b.  Niagra Falls to go over the falls in a barrel while smoking grass

c.  The Grand Canyon to go skydiving while smoking grass

d.  The Bahamas to surf and sunbathe while smoking grass

e.  Woodstock to smoke grass*

*As far as we know, Jack and Barbara have never actually smoked grass.

The pick-up line Jack most likely used on Barbara was:

a.  "Hi, Barbara.  I own half a horse.  Wanna' see it?"

b.  "I'm an Agriculture major, you're a Physical Education major.  Let's hook up and run a fat farm together."

c.  "Are you an overdue book because you've got "fine" written all over you?"

d.  "All those curves!  And me with no brakes."

e.  "Your legs must be tired because you've been running through my mind all night."

Chris read Jack's answers to the quiz and Abby provided Barbara's.  They did a great job and kept us all laughing.  As it turned out, Abby got an impressive six questions right about her MIL but, as an immediate family member was ineligible to win the bottle of "Middle Sister" wine.

The bonus question was about Jack and Barbara's first song.  Madeleine had tried to slyly ask them about it earlier in the week but Jack had told her they didn't remember (not entirely true) so we asked the guests to help us pick one for them.  The choices were:

a.  "This Magic Moment" by Jay and the Americans

b.  "Oh What a Night" by the Dells

c.  "I Want To Take You Higher" by Sly and the Family Stone

d.  "I Got You Babe" by Sonny and Cher

e.  "I'm Gonna' Make You Love Me" by Diana Ross

More on that later.

After dinner, Kevin got up and did a little intro about the world of 1969.  It was funny and everyone except for us "kids" born in the 70s reminisced along with him.  My favorite line was when he observed, "my wife, my brother and my sister-in-law all put on wigs for tonight's festivities.  I just woke up this morning."

At the end, he said that wedding vows had also changed since 1969 which led into the next activity--a wedding ceremony.  Kevin was the officiator and read the vows the guests had written for Jack and Barbara.  This was my favorite part of the night. It was funny and Jack and Barbara not only went along with it, they made jokes and were very cute.

What are we getting ourselves into?

"I, Jack,  will listen at all times with a big smile"

"I, Barbara, will let you Jack do all the talking while I just smile"

"I, Barbara, promise to let you Jack treat me like the queen I am."

"I, Jack, (and Kevin almost choked on this one) declare that you are my sun and moon and when I love you, you will see stars."

"I, Barbara, promise that everything you have is ours and everything I have is mine."

"I, Jack, promise to buy you a Beamer in return for more than two deep kisses yearly."

"Deal"

Next came the exchange of rings and the cake cutting.  Jack, ever the businessman, tried to swap the groovy ring for Barbara's gold one--no luck.

Then came the first dance.  It turned out their friends had chosen "I've Got You Babe" by Sonny and Cher, the only song on the list not released in 1969.  So many people got up to dance that one of the waitresses asked me if we wanted them to move the tables.  Those of us not dancing blew bubbles.

(Here you get a good look at Barbara's bridal mullet.)

Finally, Jack and Barbara wanted to say a few things to their friends and we made a few toasts.  Once again, I was completely inarticulate when speaking about J and B.  I wanted to say something about it coming naturally to be their "daughter".  Instead I made an incoherent reference to the book of Ruth and knocked over my water glass at the end.  Abby said something much more organized and tear-free about always having fun when we get together.  I think from now on I will stick to smiling and nodding and let my sister-in-law do the talking!

And thus ended another successful party.

Throughout the evening, several people made suggestions about my pursuing party planning.  In the end though, I make a much better teacher both at the college and at The Doyle Home School and that's where I'll be directing my efforts in the near future (of course Grace's birthday is coming up...).  Thanks again to Kevin, Abby and my sweet husband for a job very well done!  Let's "Celebrate Good Times" together again very soon! 

 The Dynamic Doyles