Kate and Mark's Wedding - Lake Valhalla Club - Montville, NJ

I really thought I was done with the period of my life where it seems I am always going to weddings. Most people go through this time shortly after college when all of your friends have realized they have found the love of their life and decide to marry him/her. College came and went over 5 years ago now and save for the occasional matriomonial, I assumed the period of non-stop wedding attendance was done for me. Most of my friends from college got married while I was in grad school. I gave them the best gift I could afford, but I figured I had avoided spending large sums of money on wedding gifts due to my graduate school based poverty during the non-stop weddimg extravaganza following college. However, there seems to be a recent increase in my wedding attendance featuring at least four this year with a fifth scheduled for next summer, none of them featuring me as the groom. The first wedding occured in the Empire State Building on Valentine's Day making it difficult to surpass as a unique event though it featured limited in personal emotional investment for me. The most recent wedding, while lacking the exciting location made up for it with both friends and an open bar not to mention a thrilling Villanova victory over Pitt in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

That shot prompted what has become the standard celebration for big sporting event moments here at Pics of Me in Front of Stuff - a Bearfight. Gabe, a Pitt fan, was the unfortunate co-drinker, or my new term 'bartner'(bar + partner), in this instance.

Scottie Reynold's One Shining Moment aside, the second wedding, which will henceforth be known as Kate's Wedding since I work with Kate aka the bride, was an excellent time and that was not just from the open bar. The weather allowed for the ceremony to occur outside and Kate looked resplendent in her wedding dress. However, the most memorable event of the ceremony was Mark, the groom, stated his vows via song which he accompanied with a guitar. Reportedly, many people in his family are skilled musicians and must be in his DNA because Mark was no exception. His original song was a wonderfully unique way to declare his love for Kate. Throw in his business and invention and Mark seems like excellent husband material. I kind of wanted to marry the guy after his performance though it would not be recognized in most states. My impromptu homosexual urges aside, I hope Mark and Kate had a wonderful wedding day and enjoyed their honeymoon in Hawaii.
The rest of the ceremony and the reception were the standard wedding fare with the usual dancing and drinking that comes with these events. The reception was followed by an after-party at the hotel bar of the wedding party. At that point, the events get more blurry. At some point I was called the 'epicenter of debonair'! Though the memories are hazy, from the pictures I do not remember taking I am sure everyone had a fantastic time!

Congratulations, Kate and Mark!