My Sister Sarah fills in for The Chronicles

Before I talk about my sister's wedding day, I have to talk about the years leading up to it and a few things that I remember.

I remember the first time that my sister got engaged. NOT to Geoff. To he-who-shall-not-be-named. I cannot remember how old I was, young, maybe nine. I sat in my parents living room and heard that my sister was going to get married and cried. I cried, and screamed and wailed UNCONTROLLABLY. I distinctly remember blubbering the words "I'm never going to see my sister again. I'm going to LOSE her!" You see, he-who-shall-not-be-named was not a very nice person. As a child, I did not know all of the details, but I knew that I did not like this man, and that he was not deserving of my sister, who clearly deserved the best. My intuition told me all that I needed to know.

A few years later, Geoff came into our lives. Notice, I did not say "my sister's life." No, it was our lives. I liked Geoff right away. I mean, what pre-teen girl wouldn't? He looked exactly like Brandon on 90210.

This gave me great bragging rights in junior high. "My sister's boyfriend his soooo cute! He looks just like Jason Priestly!"

I remember when I heard the news that Geoffy and Renny were getting married. I was sitting on my parents' blue scratchy couch, just as I had years before for Ren's first engagement. The good news was cautiously given, and my parents braced themselves for a full-on, snot filled FREAK-OUT. Instead I just sat there and grinned and said "Great" and "YAY!" over and over again. Geoff was the best. My sister deserved the best. My intuition told me all that I needed to know.

Renee did not want a big wedding, so she planned a small shin-dig in secret. I remember sneaking to the mall with her to buy my maid-of-honor dress. It was a champagne colored slip dress with brown flowers. She bought patent leather heels for me, taller than any pair of shoes that our mom would have let me buy back then for sure! It was all very conspiratorial and fun.

On the day of the wedding, my mom french-braided my hair super tightly and sprayed it with an entire bottle of hairspray. My hair could've survived a windstorm to be sure. My sister looked like a bombshell a la Marilyn Monroe, with her short platinum curls wearing a floor length white dress. Beautiful. Ren gave me a delicate chain with a claddagh charm on it that day, which I wore each and every single day until it was stolen from me at my dance studio. It is one of the few possessions that have gone by the wayside in this life that I wish that I had back. The braided hair, the silky slip dress, my fancy shoes and the little claddagh charm around my neck...I felt so special to be a part of it all...for my sissy.

Ren and Geoff got married on the lawn of Geoff's parents' house. The wedding procession was limited to myself, with my sister and dad following behind. I had never been to an outdoor wedding, nevermind a part of one. Looking out to the sea of people, with the lack of a church aisle and someone wearing a big, floofy priest robe with a blinking light on it and a stereo system blaring Aerosmith's WALK THIS WAY, I was at a complete loss of where to go. Somewhere, in a shoebox, I know there is a picture of me standing on the front steps of that house grinning like an idiot with a terrified glint in my eye. My dad pushed me off of the steps and said "GO! GO!" I started walking, heart pounding for about five steps when I caught Geoff's eye. I snaked around to walk in the proper direction. This maid of honor thing was harder than it seemed...

The rest of the day is a blur filled with smiles. Snapshots from the wedding help to fill in my memory...Me smiling at Geoff and Renee kissing. Smiling at a pack of dogs wearing suit ties tearing after the one little girl puppy wearing a garter around her neck. Smiling like an idiot giving the shortest toast in the world, which was all I could muster at 14 years old. I believe all that I said was, "May you both live a long life, filled with happiness! Cheers!" In every photograph, there I am grinning. Not a single tear to be shed.

 
 
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