Weddings, Big 10 Country Style

I did a terrible thing to my mom the first weekend in August - but it turned out alright in the end. Two of my good college girlfriends were getting married on the same weekend. One was a brunch wedding on Notre Dame's campus; the other an evening wedding in Madison, WI. Being that South Bend and Madison are much closer together than, say, DC and either of those cities, I though - why not go to both weddings? Then I get to be part of both these friends' special days.

So off I went to the morning wedding by myself at Notre Dame. It was a lovely wedding though I did not know anyone except the bride and groom. Personally I thought it was genius of the bride to have a brunch wedding as that's about my favorite meal. The significance of not knowing anyone at the wedding is that I was going to be drinking mimosas by myself. When I called my mom between the wedding and reception I told her just that and I don't think she believed me. Ha! Proved her wrong. I downed a few mimosas while making friends with the bride's grad school friends. After brunch and congratulating the bride & groom, I was on my way with my mom (and sister in tow) to Madison.

Five fairly contentious car ride hours and a couple of outbursts later we arrived in Madison, threw on our outfits for wedding #2 (my mom was my date) and made our way there. We had missed the wedding itself but arrived at the beginning of the reception, in time for the toasts & all. My college girlfriends & I got our groove on, catching up & dancing. Being that we are all Minnesota alums, bride included, we went up to the DJ to make sure he played the Minnesota Rouser. His response? "I am a Wisconsin alum." Negotiation ensued for the next five minutes, with him making excuses - "I don't have the Minnesota Rouser" and "I don't know where to find it" - until he finally came around, provided he could also play the Wisconsin fight song, which we deemed appropriate given the bride is also a graduate of the University of Wisconsin. It was a fabulous moment, one in which I knew I was back in Big 10 country.

And the plus side of dragging my mom on this marathon wedding weekend is it finally ended a debate we'd been having for years about my own fictitious wedding. While I recognize weddings are celebrating marriage, a commitment to one another, love, et cetera at the end of the day I want my own wedding to be a fabulous dance party. I happen to believe good food and an open bar help dance parties be their most fabulous. My mom differed, believing open bars and really drinking in general at weddings was an unnecessary expense.

Well, after three signature cocktails (yes - the bride had a signature cocktail for her wedding) at wedding #2 my mom changed her mind.