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A Nice Day for a Fall Wedding (with Book Giveaway!)

Two weeks ago today, my brother got married.

Brother R and his new bride—who has instructed me to call her either “Master Ninja R” or “Mrs. Brother R” on the Internet—are medical residents on the east coast, and they had about 5 minutes* off of work in which to get married. Family and friends traveled there safely, the wedding was beautiful, we all danced at the reception, the cake was delicious.

So much for the good news. But there were some weird bits, too—and those, my friends, are the ones I will share with you today.

1. My dad is one of eight siblings, and they all eight of them gathered at the house of one of my aunts. Since I was tooling around eating boudin while they all practiced wedding music, I thought I’d make myself useful by boiling up a batch of candy. This take on pralines is something of a family tradition.


Slight problem: my aunt possesses a gas stove. I had never used a gas stove before in my life. It makes FLAMES IN THE HOUSE YOU GUYS.

My cousin: “You’ve never used a gas stove before? Ha!”
Me: “Have you? Do you know how to turn it on without setting fire to us all?”
My cousin: “…No. I've never used a gas stove before.”

Ok, as it turns out, using a modern gas stove is pretty easy. You don’t even have to light the burner with a match, which I remembered as a feature of Scary Gas Stoves of My Childhood. And the candy turned out great. Along with boudin, it gave the musicians lots of energy.

2. When the food wasn’t quite ready at the wedding reception, someone (I have no idea who) gave my dad a mic and told him to sing (I have no idea why). So he did. He sang “Sweet Baby James.” Why not?

3. There was a photo booth with many props. My sister and I took this picture. Why not?


4. Of the three people in my immediate household, five-year-old Little Miss R was the most energetic, cheerful traveler. (Of course, she didn’t have to pack her own stuff or pay for tickets.) When one of our flights home was canceled, we pinned our hopes on standby seating home lest we get stuck overnight in Atlanta.

Little Miss R: “I want to stay here! More airport!”
Me: “Incorrect.”

(We did get standby seats in the end, after 10 hours of travel, and I threatened the gate agent with a hug.)

So--I'm turning it over to you guys now. Tell me something goofy that happened to you at a wedding, while you were cooking, or during travel. To one random commenter, I'll give away a copy of my first Matchmaker historical romance, IT TAKES TWO TO TANGLE--in which there is little cooking or travel, but there is most definitely a wedding. I'll pick the winner Sunday (tomorrow) at 5 pm ET. Open internationally! 

Historical romance author Theresa Romain pursued an impractical education that allowed her to read everything she could get her hands on. She then worked for universities and libraries, where she got to read even more. Eventually she started writing, too. She lives with her family in the Midwest, where she is working on her next book. 

Twitter: @TheresaRomain 
  

*Slight exaggeration. It was actually ten minutes.

Comments

  1. I don't know if it's goofy, but I had booked a trip to see my son, traveling from So. California to Orlando, Florida for September 19, 2001. Then 9/11 happened and all the airports were closed for a week. They finally opened them up the day I was to leave, and my sister refused to drive me to the airport because she didn't want me to fly. I had to find an alternate ride, who had to drop me off in the parking lot at LAX where I had to take a shuttle to get up to the airport. The lines were long, everyone was stressed, and the plane was packed. I had a great time though, once I got there, and the flight back was practically empty, I had a whole row to myself.

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  2. This book looks so good! I love photo booths !!!

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  3. My airport story: the year my husband proposed to me, he decided at the last minute to go to my hometown to formally ask my parents' permission. All the flights were booked so he had to fly to the closest city to us and had planned to take the boat to my city. (His flight got delayed so he missed the boat and had to find a cheap hotel to stay the night.)

    I loved Little Miss R's very positive attitude at the airport! Wonderful that you were able to get standby seats. ^_^

    Congratulations, again, on your brother's marriage!

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  4. My goofy story involves both a wedding and travel! I was coming back from a friend's wedding in West Palm Beach, FL and drove with other friends to the airport at 5 am. I assumed we were getting on the same flight given that we had the same fight times. For some reason thogh, delta didn't have a record of my flight. As it turns out, I had forgotten that I flew through Ft. Lauderdale!!! By then, it was too late and I missed my flight! It would have cost hundreds of dollars to get home that day, so I cut my losses and went shopping with a friend and flew back the next day. LOL

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  5. My sister got married last weekend. We only had to drive 20 minutes downtown (it would have been 10 but rush hour), and Baby Galen complained about that. Can I borrow Little Miss R the next time we travel? Goofy? My sister's husband is Ethiopian, and the DJ played a mix of American and Ethiopian music. The Ethiopians have a way of dancing that involves kind of sharking their shoulders. Baby Galen was right there with them, and it was so cute and funny.

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  6. Years ago, one of my husband friends got married . The guest list was huge and it was quite a lavish production. Not all of the friends in his group were invited.
    The ceremony was held at our local church, there were 8 bridesmaids and groomsmen, flowers everywhere, soloists and a bagpiper! Reception was held at her family's home under a tent overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Awesome buffet and lots and lots of champagne.
    One of our friends assumed that he was invited as the rest of us were going. He showed up with a date and sat next to me in the church! We knew that he wasn't invited, but he didn't! He kept asking me why everyone was staring at him!
    The bride didn't mind and to this day no one has ever mentioned it to him! :)

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  7. Barbara--oh my goodness! I remember how nervous everyone was about flying then. Good for you for braving the skies and having a wonderful trip.

    Cpullum--thanks. :) The photo booth was fun! There was a whole basket of props, and I think Little Miss R tried them all on at some point in the evening.

    Tin, thanks for the good wishes! And your husband sounds like such a romantic. What a great story--though at the time, he probably would have preferred smoother travel. :)

    FitnessDiva, way to make lemonade out of lemons. Love it.

    Shana, I would have loved to see that group dancing! My new sister-in-law is Polish, and all her relatives from Poland had a marvelous time dancing with our Cajun and Italian family. As for traveling with Little Miss R, she loves new things. It was nice most of the time, but I was NOT going along with her plan of an airport sleepover.

    Susan, whoopsie! Glad no one said anything since he was already there (and behaved himself, I assume). That sounds like a gorgeous ceremony.

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  8. Not really goofy but sad/pathetic: My very own wedding, there is not a single impromptu photo at the reception that I didn't have my cell phone in my hand. (I didn't have a purse and I have no idea why I didn't leave it in the car since all the most important people to me were there...I do remember showing pictures of our pets to my grandma from my phone at the dinner.)

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  9. Sounds like a fun wedding, even if it only lasted ten minutes. ;)

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  10. I attended a summer wedding in a church with no air conditioning. It was probably nerves, but the bride fainted at the altar. They are still married, so it wasn't an omen.

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  11. Theresa--I'm sure from your food choices you are very familiar with south Louisiana and the HEAT. Me, too. My embarrassing church moment was passing out at a large wedding when I was the maid of honor. In my defense, the wedding was in a non-air-conditioned church in New Orleans in late July. Yes, my best friend had a sick, sick sense of humor. Oh well. I got even. She was in my wedding on a rainy day in February in Baton Rouge.

    Off the subject--would you share that recipe for your family candy? I recognize good stuff when I see it! Thanks!

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  12. Can it be about my own wedding travel story? Mr. B and I got married in his parent's house and only had time for a two day honeymoon and he planned a short little trip to Washington D.C. The neighbors saw us outside taking pictures and came running over with a canister that said RICE on the side to throw at us as we got into the car to leave. But one of those sorry culprits also loosened something under the hood and the trick was we were supposed to get about a block down the road, the car would stop dead and we'd have to walk back to get help. Only they didn't do a good job. It only died at every single red light. Do you have any idea how many red lights there are in Washington D.C. and how many people honk their horns if you stall out? More than the two on Main Street in Tishomingo, Oklahoma where I grew up. I was ready to trade the car in for dross-eyed mule and a covered wagon...and a honeymoon under a shade tree out in a pasture.

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  13. And that is supposed to say CROSS-EYED mule...my fingers are picking up on my head cold and typing like I sound today!

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  14. I don't need to be entered into the contest as I already won this wonderful book, but I wanted to share my story because I think it's a great one for romance readers and writers.

    After our wedding and reception we were driven to the hotel we were staying at for one night before we left on our short 3 day honeymoon. We had arranged for my parents to drop my car off at the hotel so we could leave from there. Well, you probably guessed, that that did not happen and I never did find out why. When we woke up (yes, we slept) the next morning there was a message on the phone in our room telling us that we would have to call my parents to come and pick us up. So after we ate breakfast I called home and told them we were ready to be picked up. Our packed bags were in my car trunk and whoever handed me my overnight bag forgot to give me shoes. So Eric and I waited down in the hotel lobby for someone to come get us. I had no shoes on and my wedding dress draped over my arm. My parents both came and Eric and I had to sit in the back of the minivan. I forgot to mention I could barely walk and it really hurt to sit because of dancing all night and well, you know (I am one of those rarities that waited until I got married). Talk about a walk of shame. Then on the way to my parents house, my mom informed me that Eric's family was all going to be there to say goodbye and she suggested maybe we should open our gifts so his parents could see. They had flown in from PA. So not only did I have to face my parents the day after my wedding, but his parents, brother and best friend. I was so embarrassed. Now it makes me laugh. I could just picture that happening in a book.

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  15. My story has to do with travel. My kids were little more than toddlers and we were not looking forward to the long flight and layovers. We convinced the kids to try to nap on the carry on luggage while wearing the eye coverings we had gotten from the flight and used a couple of my sarongs as light blankets. They fell soundly asleep in the waiting area and multiple groups of Japanese tourists made requests to photo the kids. It was terribly funny.

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  16. Katie--that's odd! You must have forgotten you were hanging onto it. My wedding reception was such a whirl, for all I know I was wearing a Viking helmet.

    LSUReader--yes, indeed. I lived in Baton Rouge as a kid, and most of my relatives are still there or in the central part of the state. (Geaux Tigers!) I hope you were ok after your friend's wedding! July in NO with no AC? Oof, that's really rough.

    I'd be glad to share the praline recipe--just email me at theresa @ theresaromain.com. Actually, email me anyway, because I think you just won my October book from the Romance Dish. :)

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  17. Carolyn, ack! What on earth did they do to that car? I don't know why the "hilarious" tradition of car pranks started. Mr. R and I hid our cars at our wedding reception. (Of course, then the groomsmen just drove to our house and shoe-polished the windows.)

    Sarah--oh, I am so glad you shared that story! I am laughing and laughing. You're right, it's like something from a contemporary romance. The shoelessness is just the icing on the cake.

    Lil--too cute! Oh, they must have been adorable. And how nice for you that they took naps--sleeping children are one of the best gifts while traveling.

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  18. Does having a grease fire count as goofy? :) It was my own, stupid, fault. No real damage done, but the house was filled with smoke! I was.... and still am... a cooking newbie :)
    anastasia_falling@yahoo.com

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  19. Cheryl, I missed your comment earlier! Mea culpa. :) The wedding itself was about an hour long. But they chose the wedding date because it was literally the only window of time they both had off of work until March 2014. Doesn't that just make you want to run out and become a medical resident??

    Anastasia, I…might have had one of those before. Kind of scary! Glad there was no damage. What were you cooking?

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  20. What a fun time you must have. :)

    Hmm... I sucked at cooking. I made a big batch of pasta that no one ate and ended up throwing it away.

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  21. May, aww. :/ What was wrong with it? I can't remember ever trying pasta I didn't like.

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  22. Hi, everyone--thanks for your comments! It's been such fun to read your stories about food and wedding and travel oddness.

    I visited random.org, and the winner is Kim from 4:07 pm yesterday. Congrats, Kim! Please email me at theresa @ theresaromain.com and we'll figure out how to get you your prize. :) And ack--I'm so sorry I missed responding to your comment yesterday! I must have refreshed the post at just the wrong time. That poor bride; I'm glad she was ok and that the couple is doing well.



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