Me: Hey, what's going on?
C: I'm at a wedding. K isn't with me--I let him stay home from this one. Want to crash it?
Me (to D, still sitting on the couch): Want to crash a wedding?
D: Ok, sure.
Me (to C on the phone): Ok. Where and when?
C: Really? That's awesome. It's at the Elks just down the road from you. We're here now but the bride and groom are supposed to arrive in about 30 minutes. They have a lot of food and not a lot of guests, so I think the bride will appreciate having someone here to enjoy it.
Me: Ok, cool. We'll get dressed and be down there soon. I'll text you and you can meet us outside. (hang up with C)
D: Whose wedding is it?
Me: Oh, I don't know. I didn't ask.
D: Whatever. Free food!
So, being that we were sitting on the couch playing video games all afternoon, we were not in wedding attire--more like yoga pants and a t-shirt attire. I'm also not sure that I had showered yet that day. So we both took quick showers, I did my hair and make-up (I think D managed to shave) and we put on some formal wear--D in a suit and tie, me in a cute party dress I wore to our rehearsal dinner.
In the midst of this whirlwind makeover, I thought to myself, "We're going to a wedding, we need to take a gift." I typically have a handful of emergency gifts on hands for a few different reasons. Sometimes there's an item that I see on sale and I know it would be perfect for some sort of occasion, or maybe it'll make a good Secret Santa gift or something. Other items are things I've collected from some of the executives at work who, very generously, want to thank me for helping them. So I've got a collection of some really nice things that just aren't my style and a few not so nice things that I just can't bear to throw away, thinking maybe they'll find a home later.
Sorting through the gift draw, I called out to D, "A set of silver candle holders or a set of linen placemats and napkins?"
D: What?
Me: We're going to a wedding, we have to take a gift.
D: Oh. Ok. Placemats.
Now I just needed a card. I usually also have a stockpile of cards. Unfortunately, I didn't have any wedding cards. Dammit. Oh! D and had just been recently wed and all of the cards we received were still sitting in a box in the office. I opened the box and started looking for an appropriate card. And by appropriate, I meant one that didn't have our names on it and had a vague signature.
Me: Ok, we're Kathi and Tom tonight.
D: Ok, I can be Tom. Why?
Me: Because those are the names on the card.
I put the placemats and card in a gift bag, grabbed our camera and we were off. Mind you, all of the above, from initial phone call to out the door, showered, dressed and gift in hand was less than 30 minutes. We're awesome.
On the way there, I text C and we met her outside. She laughed when she saw the gift, and we went in. Yes I signed the guest book (All the best in a life of love, Kathi & Tom) and we sat down with C and some of our other friends.
C and I used to work together and the wedding was for one of her colleagues, who I actually know from visiting C at work. Turns out the bride and groom were actually already married in a Muslim ceremony a few months ago and this was their reception for family that couldn't come to the wedding. Since the wedding was on short notice. Since the bride was pregnant and all.
So there were about 8 tables set up, but only enough people to fill about 5 1/2 of them. And there was a lot of food. When we arrived the bride and groom still weren't there, but we had a good time catching up with our friends, sharing our alter-egos, and having a general good time. Except for the fact that this adventure started because D and I were hungry. By the time the bride and groom arrived (about an hour and half after we got there), we were ravenous. And getting a little tipsy since the bar was serving anyway. Eventually we got some food. During dinner the bride and groom made their rounds and were very excited to see some friendly faces filling the crowd. She was in very good spirits about us crashing her wedding.
The evening went on with some traditions (Muslim and Western) and we even danced and had cake. Then we invited the whole table back to our place to play video games (see--we came full circle).
A couple of weeks later, I stopped by to see C at work, and she remembered she had an envelope for me. Puzzled, I opened it to find a thank you note addressed to Kathi & Tom from the bride and groom! Apparently, the next time C saw the bride, she thanked her for being a good sport about letting us come to the wedding and hoped she didn't mind that she invited us since her boyfriend and son couldn't make it. The bride was very sweet and said it wasn't a problem, she was pleased to have us. But she was more puzzled because she knew our names and couldn't piece together who Kathi & Tom were. C laughed and clued her into our alter egos, forever sealing our fate as the crazy couple who crashed a wedding, but had the taste and class to bring a gift.
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