After Henry's program, we jumped in the car and headed straight for the promised land-Cleveland. It took us all day and half the night (we only fell asleep for the last 30 minutes, of course) and arrived at GG and GG's house at 11:30. Mama and papa threw us out of the car and headed downtown to meet up with their friends.
Specifically, we were in town because their friends Mister Adam and Miss Margan were getting married on Saturday. It was a grown-ups only wedding, so Bubba and I had to stay at home. The ceremony was held at Miss Margan's parent's house and was a traditional Persian ceremony. Mama's favorite part was after Mister Adam said his vows. When it was Miss Margan's turn, she had to ignore the officiant two times before she answered. This is to remind the groom that he is eager to get married, but the bride is really just doing him a big favor. And while Miss Margan refused to answer, people yelled out things like "She's out picking rosebuds!" or "She's bust brushing her hair!" Also, during the whole ceremony, the married women in Margan's family all took turns holding a veil over the couple.
Here's the whole group, affectionately referred to as the 601 guys. (In college, they all lived together in 601 Oxford Commons.) Mama is quick to remember that she was also pregnant at Miss Liz and Mister Zac's wedding three years ago. We hope this doesn't become a trend with any future weddings.
It's become a well-known fact that Mister Paul and Miss Suze have been dating for over 6 years and have only a few pictures together. (Little known fact- they just started dating when Miss Paul took Miss Susan to mama and papa's wedding.) So few, that the only one in their house is an out of focus picture in which they are both looking in different directions. Hopefully, this picture is a good replacement.
The reception was held in the Marriott in downtown Cleveland. There was a great cocktail hour with delicious hors d'oeuvres. This was followed by a delicious meal and dancing with a live band. While the rest of the group enjoyed the open bar, mama had to console herself with some wedding cake and a white chocolate-covered ice cream heart. Not a bad runner-up.
They all stayed at Miss Adam and Miss Margan's house that was about 6 blocks away. It was a slow walk because all the ladies had had their high heels on for quite some time. Mister Paul took a break to wait for slow mama and to strike a James Dean pose.
On Sunday morning, there was a brunch at the hotel. And as we walked in, who was walking out but the entire Cincinnati Reds baseball team? Mama and papa were pretty excited to see everyone. I was disappointed that they didn't see Joey Votto- my favorite player. They didn't stop any of the players, but mama did run straight into Dusty Baker- the manager. He was very nice to the crazy pregnant lady. Papa asked for a picture with Thom Brenneman. He's the sportscaster for the Reds on the radio. You may also recognize him because he calls the NCAA national championship football game every year. He was nice enough to stop and asked about our new baby and told us that he thought the transition to 3 kids was the hardest. He was so nice, we'll never say anything bad about him again.
You may recognize that long blond hair as Bronson Aroyo's- the Reds' pitcher. Mama took this during the brunch. Mister Adam says he planned it all this way. Best. Wedding. Ever.
After a quick trip to Skyline Chili for lunch, we all headed to the Jake to see the Reds take on the Indians. Adam and Margan even came out before they presumably went home and slept for 4 days straight after their big weekend.
And here's the rest of the gang. Thanks for the awesome weekend, Mr. and Mrs. Davis!
