The Best Weekend of My Life!

Hi, this is Jessica reporting live from the best weekend of my life. And you, my lucky audience, are going to have the honor of hearing every detail that I can recall.

We left later than we had planned to on Friday morning, and we arrived almost exactly on time in Charleston. The ride was uneventful and long, but I managed to finish another book, so go me! We checked into the hotel and then it was off to the rehearsal at the pavilion. We arrived a bit early, so my Mother and I walked on the beach and collected sea shells. Even though I live near the beach and I have a dorm room and my home bedroom full of sea shells, I cannot resist the temptation to pick up a couple of handfuls more. I'm especially attracted to the curvy ones - like the olives, Atlantic augers, moon snails (that's not a technical term, but let's just pretend it is), conchs, and whelks. And then after that, lots of familiar and new people arrived and I got to meet some really awesome people. We surveyed the area and we bridesmaids practiced walking down the planking, down the stairs, and then down the aisle. As the tallest by a hair, I went first, and then Becca, and then Michelle, and then Jenny, and then Bethany in place of Kim. Then we ran through the ceremony and when it came to the part where Calvin was to hand over the rings, he actually had rings that he and David had pulled off water bottles beforehand. We all had a good laugh over that, but then Darren got dive-bombed by a seagull - but we turned that one into a good omen.

And then it was time for dinner at Wild Wings, the home of the incompetent hostess, among other things. There was no excuse for the restaurant's poor planning and ineptitude. We had to wait over an hour outside in the semi-cold. However, it does not follow that that time spent outside was in any way bad. I know that I had a good time, meeting new people and sharing funny anecdotes about professors who answer student's cell phones claiming to be the Sheriff’s office or stories about Darren and Thomas getting into my Mother's spare ribbon and lace and calling themselves "Ribbon boy" and "Lace Man." And then we were shown inside and had an excellent dinner, and Darren and Kim being the wonderful couple that they are picked up the check for all of us. Course, if I had known, I probably wouldn't have ordered all those expensive margarita pitchers.

The next day, Becca and I were dropped off at Kim's beach condo and met all of her friends from Ohio. Then it was off to the mall for Kim to get her makeup done, and she looked gorgeous! She is beautiful with or without makeup, but she really looked lovely with the makeup. After that, it was a mad dash back to the condo to get ready. I have no idea how to do hair and I have never put makeup on, so I was completely clueless as to what to do to get ready. That's when Missy and Cecile (not sure if that is spelled correctly) offered to do Becca's and my hair and makeup. I know it was Kim's day to be a princess and she really was, but with a whole team of people working to make me beautiful and succeeding (a work of certifiable genius in my opinion) I felt like a princess, and I even had a sweet prince to dance with at the reception! Then it was time for pictures on the sand, and then Becca and I were off to see Darren and offer some moral support for a moment. I thought he was holding up pretty well, even though he seemed in desperate need of a hug. He and all the groomsmen and the best man and all the men looked pretty good, pretty damn good. And then it was back to the condo to wait.

Just before five, we all piled into the van and made our way down to the pavilion. It seemed like a forever long wait, but then the guys were walking and we girls were taking our positions. As I stared at Bethany, waiting for my signal, all I could think was, "Oh God, this is it!" I was so worried that I was going to walk too fast, or too slow, but I think I did fine, and I made it down the stairs without falling (trust me when I say I've fallen down many a hard staircase in my day). And then Sean escorted me down the aisle and then my trek was over and I got to watch every one else be as nervous as I was. And then came Kim on the arm of her father, and that was the first time that I almost started crying. Sentimental moments always get to me, and that was no exception. Kim looked so beautiful and so happy! The vows were really sentimental which made my fight to not cry all the more difficult. When Darren started getting choked up and had trouble saying the last word of his vows, I really almost started sobbing. But we all made it, and then it was back down the aisle, up the stairs, and back to the pavilion for the fun part of the evening.

We all congregated downstairs and started getting to know everyone and offering our congratulations to the happy couple. Then it was time for the speeches and I think Jenny and Calvin did an excellent job, and I again started tearing up at places. And then it was time for the food, as most of us were starving. The food was great, as was the banana pudding. Darren and Kim then cut the cake and prepared to place a morsel in each other’s mouths, but they instead swiped the faces of Calvin and Jenny. Then it was time for Darren and Kim to have their first dance as a married couple. The song was "Bless the Broken Road," and it was just so touching to watch them dance to such a beautiful song, I almost started crying, again. And then Kim danced with her father to the one of the most touching songs I have ever heard, "I loved her first," by Heartland. I wanted to sob so hard right then, but with a few light jokes, I made it through the dance. And then it was time for everyone to start dancing. We did the electric slide, the chachaslide, the funky chicken dance, and, oddly enough, the Macarena. And then they played a few songs so people who are terminally Caucasian in terms of dancing (like me) can have a chance to get on the floor and at least appear graceful. I had a wonderful dancing partner for at least four dances, which is a record for me, having only danced one slow dance before last night.

And then it was time for Kim to throw the bouquet and of all people, the youngest, my sister Becca, caught it. When Darren threw the garter, someone I didn't know caught it, and then Darren and Kim said that was it - no having that guy put the garter on 16-year old Becca. She didn't even know about that part, and it was funny to see her eyes bug out when I told her it was a tradition.

Thomas drove Kim's car round front and I think it was somewhat of a surprise to several people. Darren and Kim, however, knew all about it. I had a personal tour of the handiwork, including writing in soap, shaving cream, balloons, and inflated prophylactics. Later, when we girls went back to the house to change out of our finery, we helped Darren and Kim clean the car. Apparently, when we were finished, the car was cleaner than it had ever been since Darren had met Kim. By the time we made it back to the pavilion, the work was already done! So then it was time for goodbyes, handshakes, and hugs. My family and I headed back to the hotel and practically crashed. I hadn't done anything really strenuous all day, so I can't even imagine how everyone who worked hard to set up the pavilion felt at the end!

This morning, we went over to Darren and Kim's townhouse, and Mom, Becca, and I got to open our birthday presents. I loved mine! I haven't had a chance to get into it, but the second I get a chance, I'm taking it. Of course, I'm really not that obsessed with Johnny Depp (Don't get me wrong - he is an excellent actor and he is gorgeous), I just put on for laughs (seriously). And then it was time for hugs and goodbyes again, so we said goodbye to the new Mr. and Mrs. Cumbie, David, Calvin, Pi, and Hobbs, and then it was back to the road. And now here I sit, glad than my long narrative is finally drawing to a close.

All in all, I had a wonderful weekend - I can't stop smiling - it was so much fun and so perfect! I hope everyone had a wonderful time and I can't wait to see everyone again!