Wedding of a close relative - Essay Example

WEDDING In October 2008, my best friend got married. He had met a very interesting woman on an airplane. She was a stewardess who flew tens of thousands of miles every year. He was a salesman who sold toothbrushes for a living. At first there seemed very little they had in common, but in fact they shared a lot. When he first flew on an airplane where she was a stewardess, he was powerfully attracted by her smile; she was very attracted by his too. They both had high wattage smiles and an infectious laugh that made everyone around them feel like they were having a good time.

She kept bringing him more and more drinks on the airplane for free, and eventually sat next to him in the empty seat. They hit it off right away. They were also both big fans of baseball, curling, soccer, hammerthrow, and the javelin throw (which they had both come first place in in high school). Six months after meeting, they were engaged. A few months after that they were both married. This was the first wedding I had ever been to. I had known the groom, Jimmy, for many years. We had played a lot of sports together, been to Las Vegas, and even done a little skydiving.

I was working at the time as a Scuba instructor at a beach near the Pacific Palisades, and so I was thrilled to hear they would be having the wedding nearby at a resort I was familiar with. They were going to get a big name DJ and have everything decked out by the latest designers. He had a lot of stock options from his company and had decided to cash out and go into consulting instead. The wedding happened on a Saturday night and it was very extravagant. There were about 300 guests, many of whom were famous celebrities.

The music was really bumping and when I arrived I immediately hit the dance floor. I had had a few red bull and vodkas before hand so I was totally in the zone. I broke out a few of my moves that I had learned as a member of a breakdance Olympics team I had competed with one summer when I lived in the Bronx with my aunt. After a few minutes a wide circle had grown around me and people stood and clapped, cheering me on. It was very special. About an hour later the actual ceremony took place.

A Buddhist monk oversaw the actual wedding and gave the rings to bride and groom. It was amazing to see how Buddhism had managed to migrate all the way from China to California. What an incredible story. After the ceremony we all hit the bar and started pounding back shots. My friend, the groom, was feeling a bit nauseous and while he was in the bathroom I spent a little while dancing with his new wife. She was an excellent dancer—just my type. When he came out of the bathroom he looked a bit jealous, but he soon forgave me and bought me another drink.

It was funny, at that point I began to feel very sentimental. I told my friend and his wife I how much I enjoyed their friendship and what wonderful people they really were. Usually, I’m not that emotive, but maybe it was combination of the red bull, the California sunset, and all the breakdancing—but I really felt it. I even began to feel a bit teary. My friends all smiled and sympathized with me. As the guests began to leave, I looked around at the mess left under the tent, and felt a great sense of contentment.

I thought about the great time that had just transpired and the new lives struck out upon by the bride and groom. I thought to myself: This is the way the world should be.