may 31, 2009 will go down in history, no doubt, as one of my best birthdays ever. one of my best and oldest friends got married on that date and not only was i there to bear witness to the event with my own eyes, but i was honored to be one of the groomsmen.

i had, sort of, intended to write a separate post for each day of the celebration weekend, but there was simply too much fun to be had and what little time i had to myself was used for sleep. as such, you’re going to get a rundown of the whole weekend in one, wopping post. here we go….

after what has become the standard travel experience for me, i arrived in chicago just around noon on the friday before the wedding. i was lucky enough and early enough to have hal pick me up himself. after a couple of cigarettes while waiting for my luggage we were off to, what else, scope out cars at a nearby luxury car dealership. typical hal.

then it was off to the city to pick up our tuxedos, but not before grabbing a pint and some food with a friend of ours whose office was on the way. to my surprise (and delight) i learned that not only did my tux fit on the first try, but mine was the only one to do so. everyone else in the wedding party to got fitted at the tux shop had to have theirs refitted at least once. as there is no men’s wearhouse in honolulu, i got measured as sears. that’s right, sears. and they got it right! HA HA! hal’s refitted tux hadn’t yet arrived and would have to wait yet another day to get his. needless to say, he was not happy and i had to talk him down from throwing the salesperson out the shop window. it wouldn’t be the last time during the weekend the tux shop would cause him unnecessary stress.

so, with tux in tow, it was off to the hotel, finally, so i could check in. by then, i had just enough time unpack, say hi to a few people, and shower, before we were off to shabbos dinner at his in-laws’ flat nearby.

the place they were staying was just a couple of blocks away and was quite nice. the complex was call the presidential towers and had the security to match; it was a bit rediculous, to say the least and we found a way to ‘sneak’ in. it seems they spend all their money on security, because the elevators were completely scary. they would stop at the floor and the bounce, like they were getting ready to drop right down the shaft. zoe, the bride-to-be, told us one of the elevators in the building had dropped a whole floor while she was in it earlier in the week!

a friend from college, who lives in ohio and wasn’t invited to the wedding came, nonetheless, to chicago just to see me! how cool is that? she arrived in town while i was at dinner, got into the room and met up with all of us later….

shabbos dinner was quite lovely. lots of good food, though i think the traveling messed up my stomach a bit, so i didn’t eat or drink a whole lot. still it was good fun and a chance to catch up with hal and some of the other family members i had met. the sister-in-law-to-be actually went to college with hal and i, so it was good to see her and heckle her a bit about her soon-to-be relation to hal.

then, as i imagine is standard pre-wedding shenanigans, the wedding party and a few others went out to get their drink on. after a couple rounds as a group, the sexes broke off to do their own thing. still not feeling 100%, i agreed grudginly to tag along only to change my mind and spend some quality one-on-one time with my visitor from ohio. we wandered around the city for a bit, scoped out the lobby of the sears tower, then made our way (west?) out of the city to wrigleyville to find a hooka bar.

all in all, it was an excellent first day in chicago.

after a late friday night, saturday started out a bit slow. erin was increadibly thoughtful to go out and find breakfast stuffs for her and i, only to learn there was no microwave in the room and the OJ she bought was suspect. our second attempt at breakfast was a success, however, as we ended up at the little bistro called… i don’t remember what it’s called, but it was really good. good food, good coffee, good atmosphere. really good. if i could think of the name of the place, i’d highly recommend it, but too bad.

by then, most of the people i knew who were coming to the wedding had arrived, so erin and i made our way back to the hotel. the rest of the afternoon was spent at the hotel catching up with old friends.

with the rehearsal dinner at 7pm, the time came for me to get clean and spiffed up for another fun night. the rehearsal dinner was held at n9ne steakhouse, about a 15 minute walk from the hotel and that place was nice! it was a great space for all of us to congregate before the wedding to talk story, eat, and drink. following a couple of hours, a couple of speaches, and a couple of drinks, the groom’s half of the wedding party were given their groomsmen gifts; very nice matching watches. i was seriously impressed, thankful, and honored.

from there, we returned to the hotel, briefly, to size our awesome watches, then headed out again. for more drinking. and to share memorable, embarrassing, and funny stories about hal. it was also just another chance for some of us to catch up on years of absence in each other’s lives. but unlike the night before, this one ended early, as we all needed to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the big day.

excited for the day ahead of me, i had some trouble falling asleep….

the big day was finally on us. the groomsmen had been ordered to meet in hal’s room about 1030, adorned with our tuxedos. it was at this point that hal learned that a couple of the tuxedos weren’t up to spec and, as he as a tendancy to do, blew up just a bit. we did our best to keep him calm, to put it in perspective for him, but i’m not sure how much good it did. eventually, it passed and we were finally off to the chicago botanical gardens for wedding photos.

while the photos of the wedding turned out quite nice, at the time they were being taken, i couldn’t help but wonder if they really knew what the hell they were doing. at one point, they wanted the bridesmaids to walk out onto rocks overlooking a waterfall. in their heels. in true form, the best man, looking out for the best interests of the bride and groom, said ‘i don’t think so’. catasrophe averted.

we returned to the staging area, as it were, for some of the behind the scenes formalities, prayers, ketubbah signing, etc. then, we were ready for the real show to start….

just about every wedding i’ve been to has been in a cool location and this one was no exception. the scene was picture perfect, something taken out of a movie; the sun was shining, the sky was a beautiful shade of blue, and all around us were flowing fountains and flowers of every variety. the chuppah was simple, but blended perfectly into its surroundings, like it had always been there. as jewish wedding ceremonies go, this one was pretty standard: moving, religous, and brief. in less than 30 mintues, it was over. i can’t say i cried, or was even misty, but i was bursting with pride and honor as i stood there, just feet away from one of my best friends, watching him recite his vows to his beautiful wife. i tear up just a bit now, thinking about it, but at the time, i was so happy and grinning from ear to ear.

then i misunderstood my cue and started to walk out before it was my turn. not my finest moment, to say the least, but at least no one seemed to notice and it didn’t detract from the moment.

from there, it was on to drinks, pupu (orderves), and fun! the rest of the night is a bit of a blur (aided partially by the alcohol). it was all dancing, speeches, more dancing, dinner, more dancing, and even more dancing before the party ‘officially’ ended. we climbed back into the bussed and returned to the hotel, where a small group of us who were unwilling to have the night come to an end continued to drink, laugh, and enjoy each others’ company. 3am came before we were finally too exhausted to continue.

monday morning came much too soon and the end of the weekend was nearly upon us. unwilling for it to end, i checked into the possibility of extending my trip by a day or two, only to learn it would cost me over $1000. i guess fate was telling me it was time to return home. but before that, one more gathering was to be had: brunch (it wasn’t brunch and i don’t know who decided to call it that. it was a breakfast that started at 9am). it was one last chance to share the company of those who i hadn’t seen or spoken to in years.

the weekend’s original intent of a wedding had grown into a reunion of sorts and i was thankful for it. sometimes you don’t realize how much you miss people until you see them again after years of absence.

unfortunately, heartfelt goodbyes ensued and before i knew it i was packed and headed for the airport. there was one last, small gathering at the airport, as i ran into friends who had left early to make sure they didn’t miss their flight. i spent 45 minutes or so with them and their two children before they borded their plane. the weekend was just about over. all that was left was a long day of traveling back to the islands.

all in all, it was an unforgetable weekend. an unforgetable wedding and reunion. events like that really do remind me of how blessed i’ve been with such friends as i have. even after years of absence and lack of communication, we fell into our old banter as if not one day had passed. it made the whole weekend that much more memorable.

i even met someone i’d like to get to know better. too bad she lives on the other side of the world…. so it goes.

i suspect there will be some of you that would like to see photos. here they are. more will be coming, hopefully before too long.