c . a . l . m

October was quite the whirlwind, which ended
this past weekend with my friend's wedding.
I helped coordinate the day's festivities,
which was seamless - my friend definitely
knows how to plan well.

I think my favorite part was working with the various
vendors, musicians and players involved. The wedding
industry is kind of an interesting one. And if you
choose your partnerships well, you get a nice
cohesive community of service providers who really
care about how your event turns out. My friend
was lucky to have that.

I also enjoyed relating with the guests.
It's amazing how appreciative people are of you,
even if they just met you that day.
It's a nice perk of working these things.
But I always remind them that I don't deserve
the full praise. I am just the executor.
It was the bride and groom who planned the day well.

I had an Italy reminder while I was at the church ceremony.
I was waiting at the entrance for a vendor. We called him
the "bird man", because he supplied the doves that would
be released by the bride and groom at the end of the ceremony.

While waiting there, it reminded me of my friend's
wedding in Positano, Italy. For most of the
ceremony, I, too waited in the back for a vendor.
It was the guy who supplied the flower petals that
we through at the bride and groom at the end of the ceremony
as they exited the church.

The memory gave me a nice feeling.
People were so nice to us in Italy, too.
All of the vendors there were so welcoming and warm.
It was like working with family.
And even though most of them did not understand
a lick of English, they understood
perfectly well how to work together
and were so dedicated to making sure
everything went off without a hitch.

[sigh]...I miss Italy. :(