Circles and Celebrations

When Meagan was little, her favorite movie was The Lion King. Simba and Nala were two stuffed animals that outlasted all others in remaining on her bed available for bedtime. Her cake for her fifth birthday – the year the movie was released – had Simba and Nala on it, and she dressed up as Nala for Halloween that year.

Twenty five years later, a new version of The Lion King was released. This time with Beyonce – Meagan’s favorite singer – providing the voice for Nala. When Meagan first learned Beyonce had been cast as Nala, she immediately texted the family, screaming with excitement.

A well known song from The Lion King is the Circle of Life. I’ve been thinking a lot about that big circle lately. There are plenty of celebrations to be had within that circle. Celebrations of births. Celebrations of marriages. Celebrations of lives that have been lived.

Lately, we’ve been sort of stuck on celebrations of lives lived in our immediate circles. These kind of celebrations can be meaningful and cathartic, and, yes, even fun.

But enough already.

So, in this anniversary year of The Lion King, Meagan got us out of our rut and put us on a different spot on that circle. A celebration of marriage.

Now Meagan is easy going and is always smiling and still gets excited over Beyonce and Disney movies. But she can’t be pushed around.

I tried to push her into having the wedding in Groton. To no avail.

I tried to push her into a dress with lots and lots of tulle. To no avail.

I offered to help, but she really didn’t need my help. I felt a little guilty about how little I was doing. Isn’t the mother-of-the-bride supposed to help?

On the other hand, I’m not much of a party planner. In fact, I’m much more of a party pooper.

When my sister-in-law asked me a bunch of questions about the wedding, I started to panic because I didn’t know any of the answers, and I was concerned Meagan might have been overlooking some things.

I checked in with Meagan, and she had all questions covered.

Except for one. When Debbie asked David about his suit, he said he didn’t need one. When I asked Meagan, she said Dave had told her the same thing – he was all set with a suit. He would wear one he already had.

That serves as a prime example of Meagan’s hakuna matata attitude towards life.

I do not share that same attitude.

David got fitted for a new suit.

At the shower, Chris’s mom asked me if I was excited. I told her I don’t get excited. Meagan groaned when she heard that and told Chris to explain me to his mom.

But as the day approached, I did get excited. And nervous. Not nervous because of the actual marriage. Chris obviously loves Meagan, and Meagan him. And they share the same approach to parenting, based on what I see of their raising of Leo, their dog.

What I did get nervous about was logistics. What was happening when and where, and what was the next thing happening when and where?

This nervousness started kicking into high gear the evening before we were to drive down to Philadelphia. I decided to send out an email to our “side” reminding them of the when and where details. My brother Matt responded by asking who should everyone text with last minute questions? I replied (to all) with Phil’s cell.

Friday the excitement and nervousness continued to build. It was so much fun running into family as they arrived at the hotel lobby and bar. Everyone had big smiles on their faces, and they were all ready for a party. They seemed so happy to be there including my brother Dave who had been complaining about the wedding all summer long. Chris’s parents made the mistake of inviting our entire family to the rehearsal dinner, and none of us are known for turning down a dinner invite. The party moved seamlessly from the hotel bar to the rehearsal dinner to the “welcome” bar.

Saturday morning started with hair and makeup. This was on top of a mani/pedi the day before. Activities well outside my comfort zone. But my girls were thrilled with my results. As I was with theirs.

My nervousness increased as the day progressed. I kept asking the photographer “Should I get into my dress now?” to the point where Heather and Nicole told me I was stressing them out.

I finally said, “I’m getting into my dress now.” And I felt much better.

Then we were off to the church. There I had to deal with the stress of the walk down the aisle. My walk down the aisle. I asked my two nephews Dave and Zach to accompany me. The three of us could not stop giggling because the church coordinator was giving us specific multi-step instructions on what we needed to do. (We don’t deal well with instructions.) One of those instructions included my nephews each giving me a kiss on the cheek. That got the three of us really giggling. As we started our walk, Dave said to me “Don’t ditch us Auntie Mich.”

Once I was seated in the pew, I started to relax. With a deep breath, I took in my daughter walking down the aisle with her father.

I spent the ceremony trying to indelibly capture everything about the way she looked.

The grounds of the venue were beautiful, and it was a picture perfect day for photos. Of course, we aren’t always a picture perfect family. When it came time for a group shot of my extended family, we had one family member visiting the wine cellar.

As photos were taken, appetizers were served on the patio. And people raved about them. Including my brother Dave who told the waitress, “Those are good shrimp.” Which is a big deal.

After photos and appetizers, the party moved inside and the wedding party made their entrances. The father-of-the-bride, the maids-of-honor, and the best man brought tears and laughs from the guests with their toasts. The toasts also made clear that there were two sides at this wedding – a Patriots side and an Eagles side. (There were actually a couple of outliers – Panther’s fans – but they were down in the wine cellar.)

The DJ kept the crowd on the dance floor. It was packed all night. My sister Jo dancing to Staying Alive was quite a sight. And so was quiet, reserved Craig (my nephew-in-law).

Throughout the afternoon and evening, people came up to me complimenting me on the event. And I kept on telling them “This was all Meagan.” And each time I said it, the prouder I got. And the happier that I hadn’t helped her. This was her show, and she did an amazing job.

The next morning at brunch, Chris’s dad commented that he had seen me with a smile on my face the entire day. That immediately called to mind a vivid memory of my Uncle Donald telling me something similar after my own wedding day – that he had never seen me smile so much.

There’s that circle.

Hakuna matata everyone.

Photos day of wedding by DOLA Photography.