Scott and Carlie's Fantastic Wedding

Kerry and I got back today from four wonderful days in Playa del Carmen for Scott and Carlie's wedding. It was a triumph. They picked a lovely resort for the event. Naturally it had a beach and a pool, several places to eat, and a variety of entertainment. It also had a substantial section of jungle in the middle of the resort, such that every trip to our from our room took us through wonderful trees and a variety of animals: peacocks (who slept outside our room each night, one evening actually visiting our balcony), flamingos, howler monkeys, guinea fowl, iguanae, a big tortise, and agouti (which I only just now figured out what they were).

About 65 people traveled for the wedding, making it a relatively large affair for the beach. Scott and Carlie actually drew more than the 65 formally invited; many beachgoers decided that watching these two strangers (to them, not to each other) get married was more interesting than watching a freighter cruise by on the ocean (which it did. How many couples can say they had friends, family, topless men, and a 30,000-ton vessel present as they exchanged vows?) And in the midst of all that was a beautiful ceremony.

With all respect to the sentiments expressed by other people at other weddings, the toasts offered to Scott and Carlie that evening were exceptional. And among those toasts, Reuben's stood out. Reuben had lived with Scott and Carlie in a house for a couple of years in Dallas, so he probably knows them, as a couple, as well as anybody. He offered up five little-known facts about the couple (eg, Carlie can't survive more than 30 minutes without eating and, surely unrelated, when Scott and Carlie have a fight, they make up by cooking a huge meal). He then read a poem that Scott wrote to Carlie four years ago. It began, "I sit here drunk / More drunk than horny," and it may have actually gotten worse from there. More notable than the quality, or lack thereof, of the poem, was Scott's sheer embarrassment. Those who've met Scott only briefly can attest that he is not a shy man; to see him actually sink to the ground as Rueben read the first line was a rare moment.

Faithful reader, please do not take my going on about animals and bad poetry to suggest anything other than delight for my brother-in-law and new sister-in-law. Kerry and I are could not be more pleased that they have one another, and we look forward to seeing their marriage grow through the years (not least since we'll see that marriage in less than two weeks, when they come visit at Christmas).