Once again I have to credit my favorite radio station WPOC in Baltimore with sharing more funny stories on their morning show. Laurie DeYoung comes up with some of the most outrageously funny stories that I find myself laughing out loud while driving to work. Not long ago the subject was unusual weddings. The concept involved men whose "best man" was a woman and evolved from there. My youngest daughter's wedding would easily fit into this unusual category. She had asked me (her Mom) to be her matron of honor and naturally I readily agreed. My husband thought it was kind of odd but as I explained to him, I was so touched by the request that I would never have dreamed of discouraging the idea. I did feel a little sorry for the pastor on the rehearsal night though. Apparently he had never had a situation where the Mother of the bride was also the matron of honor and it made for some interesting moments as he tried to work out the logistics of the ceremony. First I would walk down the aisle with one of the groomsmen and join with the groom's Mother to light the candles on the altar. As she returned to her seat, I would make a hasty retreat down the side aisle, through the back door, and resume my place in line with the best man. During the rehearsal there were many jokes about the expressions on the faces of the invited guests when I suddenly left the room before the bride had even arrived. Although a few close friends knew I was doing double duty, I envisioned the rest of the guests thinking I either couldn't face the thought of my daughter getting married or perhaps I had some strange digestive problem that forced me to run quickly to the nearest ladies room. The wedding the next day was beautiful and even though I got a lot of strange looks when I took off down the side aisle, all became clear when I reappeared as a part of the wedding party.
So when Laurie DeYoung brought up the subject of odd wedding parties, I could easily relate. The best story in this category topped my daughter's wedding and was just about the strangest wedding I had ever heard of. It seems the groom in the wedding had his ex-wife give him away and her boyfriend was his best man. The idea of the ex-wife giving away her ex-husband struck me as a rather good thought. Heck, I always thought that after a divorce there should be a big party and the wedding ceremony should be done in reverse, starting with the "I don't"'s and ending with everyone yelling out "Don't do it" when asked if anyone objected. Back to this particular wedding though, it seems that the newleyweds and the ex-wife & her boyfriend were such good friends that they all went on the honeymoon together. Now that is just a tad strange!
This story reminded me of a couple my husband & I met on a cruise a few years ago. Nancy and her boyfriend were from Pennsylvania and we spent many fun hours with them on and off the ship. As we got to know them better, Nancy began to relate their story. Nancy and her husband owned a flooring company and her boyfriend worked for them which was how they met. After some time, Nancy left her husband and moved in with the boyfriend and both continued working with Nancy's husband. This seemed rather awkward to me but as I learned more, I just shook my head in bewilderment. Not only were Nancy and her boyfriend on this cruise, but her ex-husband and his new wife were on the ship along with Nancy's daughter! Imagine my hesitation when the ex-husband, his wife and the little girl showed up next to the four of us at poolside one day. Not knowing what to expect, I just held my breath for a moment hoping there wouldn't be a problem. Nancy proceed to introduce us to everyone, the little girl ran off to the pool and the six of us grabbed a cocktail and spent several hours chatting. We ran into the ex several times and it never ceased to amaze me that they were all totally comfortable with their arrangement. Now, although I also have an ex-husband, I can't possibly imagine vacationing or honeymooning with him. Maybe it's me, but I find the whole idea of paling around with an ex just about the last thought I would ever entertain. Come to think of it, maybe the story on the radio WAS Nancy's story.