“There are only two things: love, all sorts of love, with pretty girls, and the music of New Orleans or Duke Ellington. Everything else ought to go, because everything else is ugly. ” – Boris Vian, Renaissance Man
Lauren and I both loved New Orleans. We each had our own reasons for the love, but it was a love we shared. We loved the city so much we were actually going to get married there!
We figured with our shared love of the city, and the fact that both her friends and family and my friends and family would have to travel, it would be a perfect place! We had all the plans laid out.
Thursday: The core group arrives in the city for the dress rehearsal and dinner. Perhaps after dinner we would go to a venue and catch a show…most likely we’d head to Frenchmen and bar hop.
Friday: Everyone starts to arrive. During the day we’d go on family friendly organized activities; check out the beautiful sites and sounds that New Orleans holds. At night…at night would definitely not have been family friendly. We found a balcony on Bourbon Street that we were going to rent out that had an open bar and included 100 sets of beads to start you off on the right foot with the people below.
Saturday: The day of the wedding. Because we know our friends and family, our ceremony wasn’t going to start until late afternoon, giving everyone plenty of time to take care of their hangovers before having to get ready. Our ceremony site was to be the beautiful courtyard at Hotel Mazarin, followed by a reception at their hall. Andre “Dre” Lovett was set to play her down the aisle, and maybe even more at the reception. The only thing we hadn’t decided fully on was if we were going to have a “Second line” parade or not. Lauren really wanted us to lead the parade with the fancy umbrellas, so chances are we would have had it.
We both loved the city. We both loved the people. We both loved the music, the sites, the food. We both loved the city so much we were going to get married there. We both loved the city so much we were going to get married there on February 18th, 2017.
This Saturday, I will be going out to celebrate Lauren and I on our planned day of marriage. If you are in Michigan and would like to join, I’ll probably be going to my sister’s bar.
As this time of year is going to be rough on me, I’m probably going to be more withdrawn for awhile. Please don’t be offended if I don’t respond to you, if I don’t post for awhile, or if I disappear. When I can, I will write. When I can, I will call.
I love you all, and if I could, I’d give you all a hug.
Our Tale 