One thing I learned this weekend is that Kenyon, MN is quite a ways away from Marion, IN. A tiny town in the middle of the rolling hills of Minnesota, Kenyon is home to the Gunderson House, a large, rustic house with a rich history. The outside of the house is beautiful, and it was on the front steps of this house that Nate and Brittany got married. However, there were many fun events that transpired before the actual wedding to talk about...
I drove up to Minnesota, spending a day and a half in Wisconsin visiting my parents before moseying over to pick up my friend Jes from the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. I hadn't seen Jes in a couple years, but we picked up right where we left off. Good friends have a tendency to do that very well. He had grown some facial hair since I'd last seen him, but he was still the Jes I knew. We passed the time on the drive to our hotel catching up on each other's lives, which was very refreshing. It makes me happy to hear he is doing well. We arrived at our hotel about 45 minutes before I told the rest of the guys to show up, so Jes and I made ourselves at home.
The plan for the night was simple: Go paintballing at an indoor arena in St. Paul, then drive 20 minutes to downtown Minneapolis for dinner at a nice steakhouse. Nate and the rest of the groomsmen showed up early (apart from Nate's brother in law Drew, who was meeting us at the paintball place), so I figured why not leave early and take a scenic route to the paintball place? Nate was ecstatic to hear of our evening plans, and I learn with some relief that I'm not the only one with almost no experience with paintball. Unfortunately, we still made such good time that we got to the arena 45 minutes before our reservation time, which meant Drew wasn't close to being there yet either. To pass the time, Nate, Jes, Grant, Geoffrey, and I tossed a frisbee around in the parking lot. When we finally went inside, we signed our waivers and got loaded up with all of our equipment. Being the bachelor, Nate was provided with everything for free, plus a free upgrade to a better gun. Everyone besides the Fitzgerald brothers opted to wear a camo jumpsuit for extra padding, which smelled rather strongly of cleaner, much like the helmets we wore. We had to share the arena with another group, so we'd play a few rounds and then take a break while the other group went in to play a few rounds. We played 3 v 3, 2 v 2 v 2, and capture the flag (1 neutral flag). Going into that night, I had only played paintball once before in a forest for only 20 minutes or so (we had to stop because someone got hit in the eye). During that time I never once shot a person, so I was concerned about my abilities to do so. I'm happy to say I was able to hit several people! I also got hit 5 or 6 times...those welts have almost totally faded out now. We ended our session by doing a round of us 5 against Nate, which as you might expect ended badly for him. Nate had actually gotten hit in the neck at one point, but thankfully it had just grazed him and the mark was gone by the next day.
Once we shrugged off all of our gear, we were on our way to JD Hoyt's, the steakhouse where we would feast for the evening. I don't say "feast" lightly because we ate quite well. Grant and I each got a small "buddy bowl" to start things off, and what a heavenly treat that was! It consisted of red beans, rice, creole sauce, and it was topped with cheese and served with cheesy garlic bread. I added a couple shrimp to mine, which was a fantastic choice. Everyone ate well and marveled at how good their food was. My pork chops were phenomenal. Once we finished eating, we said goodbye to Drew and fought the post-game Twins crowd out of the city.
Nate stayed with Jes and I that night. He showered first and then I followed afterward, making a joke about how messy Nate left things. Apparently that wisecrack was enough for Nate to comment how I was like his 2nd mom, since I was always keeping track of him. I took it as a compliment. Sure, one can bring up that a best man should be keeping track of the groom on his wedding weekend, but this has been going on long before this weekend!
Saturday was a more laid back day. The only plans were the rehearsal at 4 with dinner to follow, so Nate, Jes, and I decided to visit the Mall of America. We first checked to make sure Brittany didn't need any help with preparations, but she said everything was under control. The Mall of America is gigantic. I knew that going into the trip, but seeing it, being in it, truly brought the enormity of the place into perspective. There were four levels of stores, with duplicate stores even popping up on different levels. The middle of the mall was a Nickelodeon amusement park, there was a movie theater, mini golf course, log ride, and a plethora of restaurants. We could smell the Cinnabon located on the bottom floor all the way up on the top level. That smell tugged on our heartstrings for awhile, but Nate and I decided gelato would be the better choice. We decided to walk around each level of the mall and then end with a walkthrough of the amusement park in the center. Early on we ran into Nate's family, which led to a short but pleasant conversation. Once we had completed our 2.5 hour journey, we headed back to the hotel for a bit to change into nice clothes for the rehearsal.
We arrived a minute late to when Brittany had said to be there, but considering that Nate lost track of his keys right before we left, a minute isn't too bad. Having never been in a wedding before, I found there was a lot to learn about timing and when things happen. After a couple times of going through the proceedings, I felt I had gotten the gist of things. At the rehearsal I was able to finally get to spend some time with the bridesmaids, most of whom I knew from my time at Huntington but didn't know very well. It was nice to get to talk to them again and also meet some new people, like Brittany's sister Bethany, the matron of honor. Another new person I got to finally speak to was Nate's 13 year old sister Brielle. I had been to Nate's house in Michigan once before and had seen his family when Nate moved into our dorm room at the start of the school year, but I hadn't seen Brielle in years and had never really spoken to her. She stood in front of me during the wedding, so in rehearsal we had plenty of time to talk. Thankfully she isn't shy and enjoyed poking fun at me and being slightly violent and not leaving me alone...which oddly enough meant she took a liking to me and we got along really well. After the rehearsal, we all had dinner together at a nice place in a nearby town. Naturally all of us Huntington folk sat together, which actually was a bit of a shame because I would have liked to have talked to some other people who were there too. Regardless, it was a delicious dinner spent with great company. Nate's father, keeping with the characteristic of Drachts being wonderful people, generously paid for everyone. After dinner was over, us young'uns went to an ice cream place in Brittany's hometown and walked around as a thunderstorm began to loom in the distance. It was a nice way to wind down the night. With rain beginning to come down, Jes and I took our leave, made a quick stop at Wal-Mart for car decorations, and retired to our hotel to watch the storm blow through. I read my best man speech to Jes, who is the only person to ever hear it because as it turned out, there were no speeches during the reception. (this was an oversight on my part because I should have asked about it, but it happens)
Finally, we get to Sunday, the day of the wedding. Jes and I woke up early and sat around for awhile. When the time finally came, we changed, snapped a quick picture for Instagram's sake, and headed to the Gunderson House.
It would be the only picture I took that day. Once we arrived I stowed my phone in Grant's unused shoe and it stayed there until the reception was over. The groomsmen received their flowers and eventually Brittany came downstairs to privately meet with Nate outside. She looked beautiful. The private meeting between the soon to be married couple wasn't quite private, with squealing bridesmaids peeking through a window. All I know is that Nate was smiling from ear to ear pretty much from that point forward. He was enthralled by how Brittany looked and was caught up in the moment. We all took pictures next and then killed some time waiting for everyone else to arrive. Sonya and I were able to spot our friend Evan in the crowd and had a chance to quickly go out and say hi before the wedding began. Bethany and I walked out to our spots like pros, and the tiny ring bearer made it to me to deliver the rings without a problem. I was concerned because I had seen him twirling the box around earlier and heard the rings sliding around inside, but I worried for nothing. When asked for the rings, there was no issue with the exchange. Let me tell you though, standing so close to the proceedings was a powerful thing. The words the officiant was saying seemed to hold more power, just like the words of the song Grant sang and the words of the beautiful original poem Danae recited. There was one point in the proceedings where Nate was supposed to be repeating the words of the officiant that he didn't respond and the officiant had to say the line again. I don't know exactly why that happened, but here's my theory: after he had first seen Brittany in her dress and they met in private, Nate described how Brittany looked as "breathtaking." I think Nate was so caught up in looking at her that he stopped paying attention to what the officiant was saying. I thought I would be able to keep my emotions in check during the ceremony. I was wrong. To hear her grandfather quote a song he sang to his wife, to see tears on Brittany's face, to hear the last notes of a song being sang warbled by emotion, to see two wonderful people getting married feet away...it was too much. After the ceremony was a casual reception. Tasty food was served, yard games were played, and enjoyable conversation was had throughout the afternoon. Nate and Brittany had a beautiful first dance on the porch of the Gunderson house too. Unfortunately I missed out on the bouquet and garter toss, but I don't regret it because I was too busy decorating Nate's car with Brielle, Bethany, and her husband Joe.
From that point on, people slowly began trickling out and heading home until finally it was Nate and Brittany's turn to say goodbye. Once they had gone, the remaining people did some cleaning and celebrated a successful day by eating at a Mexican restaurant. Just like getting ice cream the previous night, it was a fitting way to wind down from the day. After that was over, we said our goodbyes and headed back to the hotel. I can't help but think of all the wonderful things that happened this weekend and how blessed I am. I was able to travel to a new place and have great conversations with new friends and old friends. I ate great food and experienced new things. The weather was perfect for the wedding and even the traffic going by kept quieter than they could have been. I came to realize just how amazing both the Dracht and Fitzgerald families were. Above all, I got to see one of my best friends get married to the girl of his dreams. The joy and love these two have for each other is something I hope someday I will be able to have because it is an amazing thing to behold.
