judecorp | Won't you stay on the Vineyard for the summer?

This has been a really great weekend so far, and I'm so glad I decided to come down and everything. There hasn't been a negative moment yet, and I think it's a good end to my looong summer vacation (I go back to work on Wednesday).

My flights were both on time on Saturday, and I even got to my father a few minutes early. I got to my grandmother's house with plenty of time to get ready for the wedding. I got in touch with Monique and she came to pick me up and we were off to the church. We thought we were going to be late but we were exactly on time, and the other people racing into the church at the same time as us were the other people we knew - our friend Sushil from high school and his girlfriend Purvi. We all got to sit together, yay!

The wedding wasn't too long (read: not a full Mass, but almost) and Jessica and Mark looked amazing. There weren't a lot of people so the receiving line wasn't too painful. Jessica's mother and father (who were like my surrogate parents in high school) didn't recognize me, and when they finally knew who I was (I hadn't seen them in 9 years), they embraced me in enormous hugs and showered me with affection. They have, for reasons I'm not entirely sure about, always loved me best out of all of Jessica's friends. I got to say hello to her younger sister and meet her husband (who is apparently the cause of some family scandal), and then we went outside to blow bubbles. Br. Roger, my 10th grade religion teacher, was also at the wedding and we were so surprised to see that he remembered all of our names (but we found out later he had checked the yearbook the night before).

We had some time to kill before the reception, so Monique and I went back to her house so she could put on some makeup and I could change clothes.

badadam called while I was there and he got to talk to Monique. We ate some Ben & Jerry's and listened to some Ani, and then it was off to the wedding, which was held at Aldrich Mansion in Warwick Neck, RI. If you have seen Meet Joe Black, you have seen the mansion. It is a gorgeous place, with Italian marble floors, separate dining areas, tall shelves full of books, and beachfront property on the Narragansett Bay. Of course, the OPEN BAR also helped!

After a bit of mingling where I met a boy who looked like an older version of Corey from "Boy Meets World," we went through the introductions and the toast and then went to our tables. Jess's mom assured me that "I was sitting at a table full of young people, so I was sure to have a wonderful time," and she was right. Table 16 did some serious bonding over the course of the dinner and dancing. Monique, Sushil, and I already knew each other, and I got to know Purvi better because she was sitting right next to me. She is so much fun! To my right was Dave from Arizona (friend of the groom), and next to him was Scott "Penz" (usher). Also at the table was Danny and his girlfriend Joleh (friends of the groom). We were all 25-30 years old, and most of us were crazy. We took see-food pictures and other sultry pictures of doom with the disposable camera on the table, and Monique took it upon herself to announce that I had had an enormous crush on her in high school. I nearly blushed, but that was quelched by Penz's indications that he was, as he put it, an "ass pirate." ARRRRR! After dinner was the cake-cutting, followed by those fateful words: "The Bride and Groom will now escort you to the Dessert Room." This room had, get this, SEVENTY-FIVE DIFFERENT KINDS OF DESSERTS! We were in heaven. Everyone at Table 16 took 3 or 4 things and we passed our plates around. I think I gained 7 pounds this weekend.

We danced the night away, and I smooched the bride and groom, and then Dave, Monique and I walked down to the water to chill out for a little bit. We then went to the hotel everyone was staying at for a little after party and then crashed at home. I brought my grandmother a vase of fresh roses, so she was happy, too.

After fitful (hungover) sleep, I called my Chaz for our beach date! We went to Narragansett Town Beach for several hours where we collected sea shells and snacked on Beach Food (she had a hot dog; I had clam cakes and Del's Frozen Lemonade). After our beach excursion, we went to sit on a restaurant's outdoor patio and split a salad, a plate of penne pasta with sea scallops, a slice of key lime pie, and a pitcher of sangria. (mmm!) She dropped me off and headed home. I went to bed early and slept in. I think I've finally caught up on sleep from the weekend.

Monique and I are definitely on the same wavelength when it comes to things like this: I like where I'm living (she in Chicago and I in Columbus), but it's weekends like this that make us wish we were living closer.