My roommate and I got home near midnight last night after attending his best friend’s nuptials.
He was the “Man of Honor” and has devoted countless hours to making the bride’s big day as perfect as possible. Last night, he brought the house down with a toast that had the bride (and me) laughing out loud one moment and sobbing the next. A true rock-star moment…
Me? I was there as a guest. But I appointed myself an unofficial member of the bridal party. While taking photos at Saturday’s rehearsal I appointed myself assistant to the bride’s mother. Because I love moms. And because she needed a little extra tender loving care to make it through such a long, emotional day.
It was a lovely ceremony, full of pomp, circumstance(s), and joyful chaos. Most came dressed to impress, and everyone glowed under the wedding’s golden-hour sun and later beneath the reception’s dance floor lights.
Nearly a hundred people gathered from far and near to celebrate two people who found their way to each other. Some were family, some lifelong friends, others new faces drawn together by love’s gravitational pull.
It was one of those nights when the air itself felt charged.
With gratitude, nostalgia, and a little bit of magic.
Weddings remind me how communal love can be. Yes, the vows are between two people, but the celebration belongs to everyone they know and even a few they don’t know, including the wonderful folks who cooked, decorated, organized, and kept things running (mostly) smoothly behind the scenes.
It truly takes a village. Not just to raise a child, but to lift a couple into the next chapter of their lives.
As I watched my friend walk down the aisle, I thought about all the invisible hands that helped shape her big day: the shoulders she leaned on when things got tough, the group chats that kept her sane, the pep talks, the shared playlists, the late-night check-ins.
The newlyweds are already on a flight to their honeymoon, and I can only imagine how exhausted they must be this morning.
The bridal party, the groomsmen, and all the support staff who made the day such a beautiful success must be feeling it too. I hope their exhaustion is matched by a deep sense of gratitude and pride—for all the love they poured into making the celebration so memorable.
Since May, I’ve had a ringside seat to much of the planning and preparation. Last night, I got to see it all come together. The months of effort culminating in a joyful, sweaty, laughter-filled reception and dance party.
Watching the crowd shake their money makers, I thought maybe that’s what makes weddings so moving. They’re not just a celebration of romantic love, but of every kind of love that gets us here—the platonic, the familial, the enduring bonds of friendship that sustain us long before “I do.” During and sometimes after, too.
This morning, my feet ache and my voice is hoarse from singing along to the DJ’s bumping playlists. But my heart feels full.
Love doesn’t exist in a vacuum; it grows in community.
It takes a village, and I’m so grateful to be part of several.
Keep calm and Monday on!
Clint 🌈✌️
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FYC = FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
ON THIS DAY = OCTOBER 13
BIRTHDAYS
1904 = Wilfred Pickles = English actor and radio host
1909 = Herblock = American author and illustrator
1915 = Terry Frost = English painter and academic
1917 = George Osmond = American talent manager
1921 = Yves Montand = Italian-French actor and singer
1925 = Lenny Bruce = American comedian and actor
1926 = John Herbert = Canadian playwright, drag queen, and director 🌈
1930 = Bruce Geller = American screenwriter and producer
1935 = Etterlene DeBarge = American singer-songwriter
1941 = Paul Simon = American singer-songwriter
1947 = Sammy Hagar = American singer-songwriter
1952 = Beverly Johnson = American model, actor, and singer
1956 = Chris Carter = American director, producer, and screenwriter
1959 = Marie Osmond = American singer, actor, and tv personality
1962 = Kelly Preston = American actor
1962 = T’Keyah Crystal Keymáh = American actor and author
1964 = Matt Walsh = American actor and comedian
1967 = Kate Walsh = American actor and producer
1968 = Tisha Campbell-Martin = American actor and singer
1969 = Nancy Kerrigan = American figure skater and actor
1971 = Sacha Baron Cohen = English comedian, actor, and screenwriter
1980 = Ashanti = American singer-songwriter and actor
1982 = Ian Thorpe = Australian freestyle swimmer 🌈
1989 = Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez = American politician
2001 = Caleb McLaughlin = American actor
EVENTS
1884 = The International Meridian Conference in Washington, DC, establishes Greenwich in London, England, as the prime meridian of longitude and establishes Universal Time.
1892 = Edward Emerson Barnard is first to discover a comet by photographic means.
1950 = All About Eve is released in theaters.
1983 = Ameritech Mobile Communications launches the first US cellular network in Chicago.
1997 = The short story Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx is published in The New Yorker.
2009 = George Takei and husband Brad Altman are the first same-sex couple to appear on The Newlywed Game.
HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES
LGBTQ History Month (October 1-31) 🌈🧐📚
National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15)
Thanksgiving (Canada)
PORTRAIT + QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The ‘what should be’ never did exist, but people keep trying to live up to it. There is no ‘what should be,’ there is only what is.”
Lenny Bruce
Thanks for the great story. Clint I need to chat with you about something. Trying to find out prior chat. The website is very challenging for a newbie. -Tom
Clint, Sounds amazing. I had a recent wonderful wedding experience. The first in decades but filled with love. It lacked magic but I'll take that. You mentioned "Waved their money makers." What are those? Fondly, Michael