Monday, October 27, 2003
The wedding was a delight. A perfect fall day in DC, Saturday. Blue skies and not too cold. Kate and I took a trolley to the church mid-afternoon and waited outside briefly while other trolleys arrived disgorging many strangers along with many familiar faces met previously at Herman related events. Ben's group of friends spans many disparate social groups and it's rare that you get to meet a large number of them all at one time. Watching the people dismount the tram was a bit like watching the dramatic finale of one of those films where the different characters from the previous scenes end up coming together. Thankfully there were no devastating secrets revealed or murders committed, as often happens in such films.
The ceremony (a full catholic mass) went well. Cara looked radiant despite having been so sick the previous evening that she had to miss the rehearsal dinner to go to the hospital. Ben seemed relaxed and happy, and looked spiffy in his tux.
The reception, at the Museum of Women in the Arts, was very social and genuinely joyous. It was plain to see that everyone was happy for Ben and Cara. The terrific wedding band "The Gentlemen and Their Lady" got everyone dancing to Motown and funk standards (everyone except Ben, of course, who refrains from dancing as a matter of principal).
The "guest" band went surprisingly well. Despite the fact that the four of us had never played together before, and we hadn't had a single rehearsal, and no sound check, we sounded pretty rockin'. The captive wedding audience seemed to enjoy it - we got a lot of compliments afterwards - and no one seemed to notice the occasional screwed-up chords and muffed lyrics. In the end we were announced as The Desks, but everyone, it seems, misheard it as The Guests, which is maybe a less exciting band name but definitely more appropriate.
Ay, Oh! Let's Go!
The ceremony (a full catholic mass) went well. Cara looked radiant despite having been so sick the previous evening that she had to miss the rehearsal dinner to go to the hospital. Ben seemed relaxed and happy, and looked spiffy in his tux.
The reception, at the Museum of Women in the Arts, was very social and genuinely joyous. It was plain to see that everyone was happy for Ben and Cara. The terrific wedding band "The Gentlemen and Their Lady" got everyone dancing to Motown and funk standards (everyone except Ben, of course, who refrains from dancing as a matter of principal).
The "guest" band went surprisingly well. Despite the fact that the four of us had never played together before, and we hadn't had a single rehearsal, and no sound check, we sounded pretty rockin'. The captive wedding audience seemed to enjoy it - we got a lot of compliments afterwards - and no one seemed to notice the occasional screwed-up chords and muffed lyrics. In the end we were announced as The Desks, but everyone, it seems, misheard it as The Guests, which is maybe a less exciting band name but definitely more appropriate.
Ay, Oh! Let's Go!
