Help me keep count… this is wedding #4 of 2012. If the world truly ends on December 21st, in the history of Lali, this shall be known as “the year of the weddings.”
They’re still exciting, though, they really don’t get old. Personally, I struggle with the need of the commitment, the need for them (marriages) in the face of modern statistics… and then I tell that silly cynic living in my brain to shut the hell up! The ritual, the pomp and circumstance, the tradition wake up the cynic, but I level with myself and it’s impossible to ignore the shining beacon of my optimistic mind. (Brain = cynic. Mind = optimistic.)
So, I allow myself to be mesmerized by the church, the symbolism, the flowery language , and the look of joy and hope in everyone’s faces. Why not? It’s difficult to argue with Laura and James (the two lovebirds.) They are so cute together, and so committed to each other – that seems to be a trend in the weddings I’ve attended. Nothing seems forced, nothing seems out of place. In fact, it seems out of place that the marriage hadn’t happened earlier!
So, somewhat begrudgingly, I must accept that love (and peanut M&M’s*) does seem to conquer all – I also accept that deep in my heart, I am apparently a softy, easily overcome with emotion. Ugh. There goes my hard core facade and street cred.
*OK, I should explain the peanut M&M’s. That’s how Jimmy courted Laura. Jimmy is a trader, Laura was working there at the time. He saw her and thought she was (well, is) beautiful. He found out about her weakness for peanut M&M’s, and proceeded to bring her a bag every day. She went out with him, and the rest is history. (Hard to argue with love with such a sugary love story!)
St. Precopius Church in Pilsen
Laura and Jimmy Triveri – proving cynics (like me) wrong since the 21st century.
I’m putting this picture in because Laura said these are her favorite dance moves. So, I willingly made an ass of myself. You make the bride happy. You do, no questions asked.
One final picture of the couple. Their first dance. Aren’t they adorable?
May they always have a fresh bag of peanut M&M’s.
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Backtrack to Friday.
Laura and Jimmy got married over the much dreaded NATO weekend in Chicago. The craziness started early, and our offices decided to close shop at 1PM on Friday. YAY! It just so happened to be an absolutely gorgeous day in Chicago… SO, Alyson and I decided to walk back home. On our way we found Meli Cafe on Wells Street. See? Great things come from unexpected sources… and I may have fallen in love a little. We had a nice (and quite filling) lunch. It was a nice half-way stop before our apartment. And then we took the girls out for a nice, long walk to the park.
Forward to Monday… We found out the office would ALSO be closed due to NATO. Thank you, NATO.
It was also an amazing day. Alyson and I did some Target shopping. I am ashamed of how much I got at Target… not really. Another really long walk with the dogs ensured we had happy dogs, and enough Vitamin D to cover us through the winter.
This picture was taken from the car driving south from Target on Lake Shore Drive. Cloudless day, beautiful skyline.
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