Honey_Do: The Bitch's Britches

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This is part 4 of Gretchen's Wedding Day Chronicles. If you have yet not done so, you may wish to read the first three parts beginning with post #372, "Honey-Do: In Hot Water."

The Wedding Party was gathered in a room downstairs for a photo shoot. There was a nice spread of appetizers consisting of chicken nuggets, meatballs, and stuffed mushrooms next to a plate of crackers and cheeses. The adjoining table sported water, cola and of course, champagne. While the photographer was at work, those of us not in the present shots were able to socialize and partake of the appetizers. It should be noted that we were running about 10 to 15 minutes behind schedule ever since we had left the house. No big deal, right? Wrong!
....Apparently our hostess thought otherwise. Two or three times, that I observed, she grabbed the attention of the photographer to let him know the time. Very soon she wished to start serving the meal upstairs. At first these interruptions seemed reasonable enough to me. On her last such reminder, the Bride spoke up, telling her she wanted a few more pictures taken. Did I say before that I was proud of her? She wasn't going to be denied and nothing was going to rain on her parade.
....I didn't hear one particular exchange though. The woman, responding to my daughter wanting a couple more photographs, said to her, "I don't care about your pictures. My food is more important."
....Well Nicole, one of the Maids-of-Honor heard it. I must have stepped out of the room at the time. Nicole's mother and my wife are best friends, and our two daughters grew up together. Nicole was quick to stand up for Gretchen, and confronted the woman over her rude and insensitive remark. The confrontation ended with Nicole having a door slammed in her face.

At this time, if I may, several weeks ago both families visited the Village Green for a brunch. It was about a 20 minute drive north on U.S. Route 1 in Danvers, Massachusetts. At the brunch we aware able to sample the food and to observe the staff and they service. We were give a tour after the meal. I must say that this woman was the nicest and sweetest of people. All of us were impressed with her professionalism and outwardly friendly demeanor. My daughter had already been there and liked the layout. We all decided it was the perfect venue for the Wedding!

After the photo-shoot we all returned upstairs to be lined up so that the deejay could announce our arrival. Each member of the Party was heralded as we entered the hall. Last, but certainly not the least, was the entrance of Gretchen and Scott, Mr. and Mrs. Sisson. As the Bride and Groom were having the traditional first dance, the rest of us retreated to our seats at our respective tables.
....My wife's attention seemed to be elsewhere. At that moment I didn't realize that there was a growing bitterness gnawing at her. She would be consumed by this the rest of the evening. Several times I would turn to her and her seat would be vacant. I just assumed she was making the rounds and visiting guests at their tables. I had been doing the same thing.
....The wait staff served the head table before the deejay announced that the guests, starting with table number one, could go up to help themselves at the buffet-style spread. In the meantime, the Bride herself was out among the guests saying hello and thanking them for coming. Then I heard the woman say with disdain that it wasn't right what the Bride was doing. She stated that she should be up at the head table eating her meal. It was shame to let it get cold. It was only then that I realized what was bothering my wife. She didn't seem to hear me say, "Hey, it's her Wedding. She knows what she is doing. She has a lot more on her mind than eating." I turned in her direction, but she was gone.
....It finally dawned on me that the woman who had so impressed us weeks before, who was so professional and friendly, was carrying on like she was a member of the Gestapo. I understand that she and the photographer had even had words. he simply ignored her and concentrated on the Bride's wishes. For some reason she was more concerned out "her" food than the Bride's special celebration. The fact that the Bride was reveling in her happiness seemed to be of no consequence to this "professional" woman. Several times she was heard to say, "I am a professional." She really needed to be informed that that could be taken two ways.
....It must be remembered that this was a special day for the bride's mother also. The damage was done, my wife just was not going to have a good time. I regret that I didn't know what was happening earlier, although I'm sure she didn't want to wreck my evening too. A few more drinks and I would have needed very little prompting to apply my size 10s to the bitch's britches!!
....My wife and I never had our 'parents of the bride' dance. Therefore the Wedding album will not include that picture. It won't be on the video either. I had put in a request with the deejay to play a certain song near the end of festivities. It was a special request that I thought would make up for our missed dance. The song, "Red, Red Wine" by Neil Diamond was our song when we were dating so many years before. He had the updated version by UB40, but I said if he had the original it would be better. He had it and said to me that he thought it was a much better version. I agreed. In the end, however, that dance never took place. I stood with my daughter and sang along with it when it was playing, the two of alone on the floor.

Now I must go on the record and say that except for the Nazi-hostess from hell, the whole affair was otherwise perfect! Fortunately almost none of the guests were aware that anything was wrong. The food was excellent. The music was excellent. The ceremony was simply beautiful. A good time was had by all the guests.

No.375