12/13/14

When I was writing out a check this morning I realized it was 12/13/14. That's a date easily remembered, and had I been single, yet in a lengthy relationship, I probably would have considered that date to be a good date to get married on. It would be lucky, no? I wonder how many other people chose that date because it was special. I hope the ones that did have better luck than I did when choosing special wedding dates.

My first flop was in choosing Valentine's Day. I wasn't even really a romantic. Never had been a faithful fervent follower of the day of over-priced flowers, chocolates, jewelry and Hallmark hearts, yet that was the day I thought would be perfect for a wedding. And it was, for the wedding. The marriage? Not so much. It lasted 7 months.

I did take solace in the fact that I hadn't spend years of planning the perfect wedding. Mine was not a dream I had since I was a little girl. Mine was more of a yeah, why not, and let's do it on the perfect date, Valentine's Day, and so what that's less than two months away. I want that date. He'll/I'll never forget it. And I never have, but not in a good way. At least I got an idea for a short story out of it, "The Valentine's Day Curse." If you're a Kindle Unlimited member you can check it out for free.

This commercial was shot the day of my wedding. We couldn't get in on time because they were still shooting it, using my "special day" as backdrop. You think I would have gotten something off the pricy tab. This spot used to run for years and years on the local television channels, especially in the wee hours of the morning. My dear departed cousin JP would always call me when he would see it come on and we would crack up reminiscing about that day...so crazy.



This is their most recent commercial from seven years ago.



They used the same background music for their spot as I did for my Valentine's Day Curse spot...uncanny!


The Valentine's Day Curse

Ok, so that was that special day. The next flop special day also involved a marriage. This time it was an even quicker turn-around, like three weeks. We did have 90 days to get married, but I thought 8-8-88 should be the date to use. He'll/I'll never forget it. 8 is a very lucky number, well, so say the Chinese. Turn those eights on their sides and it's the symbol for eternity. Our love would last forever. That marriage lasted 7 weeks. They have a reality series now on K-1 visa couples, so I probably could get at least a novella out of that failed one.

For the third, and hopefully, final marriage, I chose an ordinary day. It was the quickest decision yet, one week. In my then fiancé's eyes, it was the longest, years before I took the legal leap. But when I thought the time was right, and needed a weekend away in Atlantic City, I agreed to a quickie civil service in Staten Island. After all, it was the closest city hall in New York near the Garden State Parkway, the way to get to AC. Anyway, neither one of us forgets the date, so I guess even though it's ordinary to most folks, it's special to us.

And that brings us to today, to this special day - 12/13/14. I like the ring of it, the sound of it, it feels special, like you're in the middle of a holiday with the anticipation of something beautiful. And just as I typed that this song came on Pandora...Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah.



Beautiful. I think it's a beautiful day to get married too...all the best to those who chose today...hope you have better luck than I did. And if you did, and happen to stumble upon this post, please leave a comment and let us know.

A Typical Italian Brooklyn Wedding

During Sunday's drive around town my friend and I stumbled upon a wedding being held at Regina Pacis church. This is where my mother's funeral mass was held.

Off to the side of the church is a small basilica honoring Mary where pregnant mothers go to pray for their unborn child. I knelt before her statue during both of my pregnancies and every time I go to Regina Pacis I stop in to say a prayer of thanks. Although I never have, mothers leave photos, notes, and mementos of their children after they are born.

What follows are pictures of what you can expect if you attend a typical Italian wedding in Brooklyn...they're a little different than the ones I've experienced in Southwest Virginia.

The bride and groom will ride in a Rolls Royce.  Parked in front of and behind the RR were two huge fully-loaded tour buses which will transport the guests to and back from the reception. This has become more in vogue since extravagant halls are fewer than they were in the past. Many couples now seek ones in Manhattan, Staten Island, New Jersey, or Long Island. The guests don't have to worry about driving their or home drunk...once they get in their car back at the church, well, that's another story.

The wedding party was taking their sweet time coming out of the church and these two coronet players kept tooting the same notes over and over. I began to feel like I was in a Bugs Bunny cartoon...Lo, the King approacheth! I wonder what these guys got paid.

Yes, those are live doves, but they were the stand-ins. These birds were the ones that were released...

There were six of them, I'm assuming/hope they are trained to go "somewhere safe."

Some of the grooms were out before the rest of the bridal party and it looks as if they were all given monogramed sterling silver flasks as a bridal party gift (we do that up north) which they were already partaking from. 

This bridal party was huge! There had to be at least 15 bridesmaids and grooms, and then a couple of flower girls too. The bride was radiant and those bridesmaids gown were ones you wouldn't be ashamed to wear again.

I bet this was one wild wedding.