I'm not the first to question this, but I've always wondered why the Best Man is called the "Best Man". If he's the "best man", then what does that make the Groom, and why is the Bride NOT marrying the Best Man instead?

That said, it was an amazing experience for me to be Russell's Best Man when he married Arrisa this Saturday. Russ is my younger brother, so it blows my mind that he got married first, but he and Arissa are just about the most perfect match I've ever seen.

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The wedding ceremony was beautiful, and it went surprisingly smoothly, though there were a few shakey moments with the Ring Bearer and the Flower Girls, but then again, it was to be expected because they were all very small children, and I think half the reason for traditionally choosing kids to play those roles is for the inherent comic relief that comes from their innocent confusion during rituallistic situations where everything happens in such strict and rehersed manner but without any obviously practical motivations.

Take the Ring Bearer for example. He's just a toddler (my new nephew in-law), so how is he to understand that the rings on the pillow he is supposed to carry down the aisle are more than just expensive shiny hand-ornaments, but that they powerful symbols of the couples love for one another? I mean, I'm adult and I have a hard time getting passed the sillyness of it or even wrapping my brain around the importance of the symbolism, so not surpringly, this all went way of the Ring Bearer's two year-old head, and he never even made it halfway down the aisle, and instead, had to be carried by his father, and when he realized that his parents would not be sitting with him (because they were both in the wedding party as a Groomsman and the Maid of Honor), the Ring Bearer burst into tears and had to be carried out the church.

The Flower Girls were a bit older than the Ring Bearer so they were able to understand that they had a very specific and somehow important job to do: fill the aisle with the flower petals from their baskets. And they performed this job with caring attention as they sprinkeled the petals around while walking down the aisle, but the younger of the Flower Girls became confused when she reached the end of the aisle and realized that she still had flowers left in her basket. In a stroke of innocent brilliance, she turned her basket upside-down and dumped the remaining flowers on the ground. She tried to hand her now presumably empty basket to anyone in the wedding party who would take it (after all, why else would there be people lined up at the end of the aisle that she had just decorated, but to relieve her of her duty?). It became even more clear that she had thought that her job was NOT complete until EVERY petal had been used when she started to carry the basket to her seat and noticed that there was still one petal left in the basket, so she picked it out, ran back to the end of the aisle, and carefuly placed the last flower petal on the ground before running back to her seat. Twas truly adorable.

I had several jobs myself to perform at the ceremory as Best Man, including escorting Grandmothers and Bridesmaids to and from their places, and of course, keeping the ring safe until Russ put it on Arissa's finger.

My toughest job though, came at the reception, where I had to give the Toast. I used to be very shy growing up, but after I came out of my shell as an undergradute, I don't generally get very nervous speaking in public anymore. I suddenly developed a nervous facial twitch, however, when Russ started to tear up during my toast. I was eventually able to calm my nerves (and hopefully Russ') be making jokes. Luckily, self-depricating humor is a natural talent of mine, and by the end of my toast, I felt like I was successful in conveying how proud I am of my kid brother.

Two other highlights of the reception for me were the Jolly Jump with Russ and the Groomsmen:

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and the bride's bouquet toss:

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It was classic because Sam joked before the toss about the episode of Sex & the City where none of the women in made any attempt to catch the bride's bouquet, and sure enough, Sam just stood there as the flowers landed right in front of her. I turned to my fellow groomsmen and said, "See, my girlfriend's got my back. She's not in any hurry either."

The more I think about it though, after helping my kid brother through his wedding, maybe the time for ME to take to plunge is fast approaching. Sam and I aren't engaged yet, like Greg and Negin, but I dunno how much longer we can hold out.

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