Weddings are for Dancers

When Anessa texted me Saturday morning, asking if I would be her +1 for a high school friend's wedding in Chicago, my immediate reaction was no.  I was still in bed, and any choice that involves movement would have been shot down.  But then I thought, I like weddings.  And I've been raving about the Doctor and how living with his sense of wonder and adventure is my goal, so how could I turn down just such an opportunity?

So Sunday morning, off we went to Chicago!  Allons-y!

We drove to Bloomington, then took a train into the city, then a cab to our hotel.  Have I ever mentioned that I love mixing transportation on vacations?  Adds to the excitement.  I realized that this was the first time Anessa and I had ever done anything together by ourselves, and um, it could have been disastrous, what with being dates to a wedding and spending a day and a half together non-stop.  Thankfully, that was not the case.  We talked and talked and talked, and it never got boring or awkward. 

The wedding was in the hotel, which is some kind of brilliant.  You change into your fancy clothes, then take an elevator to the event!  And at the end of the night, no worries about driving home or whatever--you're just six floors away from your bed.

And this hotel.  The reception and everything was on the 15th floor, with floor to ceiling windows showing off the city skyline.  In our room on the 21st floor, we overlooked pools on roofs, Lake Michigan, and Sears Tower.  Fancy schmancy.

It was not even a little weird going to a wedding of someone I didn't know.  Okay, maybe a little, but mostly I just followed Anessa around and smiled when she introduced me as her Scott-fill-in.  The wedding was very nice, and the husband wrote his own vows something like this, "If you're asking whether I will hold your hand when you're sad and cuddle with you on the couch watching movies and eating popcorn, then the only answer I can give is this:  As you wish."  And I about fangirled right there in the middle of the ceremony.

Short break before cocktail hour.  It was an open bar!  Seriously, I will probably never get to go to a wedding as fancy as this one ever again.  And since I am still new to the drinking game, free drinks is just about the best thing ever for finding out what you like.

Dinner.  We didn't talk to our tablemates much at first, but became friends through mutual mockery when the table next to us degenerated into shrieking, drunken fools.  The girl who was most plastered got her boyfriend to dip her during the dancing, and they both ended up sprawled on the floor.  lol.  But I was impressed!  They stayed on their feet and dancing for the rest of the night!

And the dancing!  SO MUCH FUN.  There was a live band (seriously, I was taking notes of all the lovely things I would want at my wedding but could never afford) that was really good.  A little social lubrication does wonders for wedding dancing--there were always twenty or more people on the floor, from 8:00-11:00.  And I was one of them for much of it!  There were a few old couples that were completely adorable, jiving and laughing at each other.  There were little kids tossing their hair around.  And there were the 20- and 30-year olds, grooving and spazzing.  Okay, I was spazzing.  I'm not so good with the dancing.  But everyone had some alcohol in their systems, so no one cared about silly stupid dancing!  Glorious.

One of the girls at our table danced with Anessa and I, since her husband refused, but they left around 9:00.  There was another couple who said they wouldn't dance, but then the guy started hanging out with us a lot, whether we were dancing or sitting.  Totally fine for a long time, but then we took a break, and he sat by me and we talked jobs.  I recommended Pete the Cat to him because my job is so awesome. 

We got back up when the band played "Sweet Caroline" (which is the easiest song to dance to ever) and a more-drunk guy was acting like we should act out the "touching hands" part.  I ignored him and danced the other way.  Then dude-who-was-hanging-around-us reached out, so I gave him a high five.  I'm so subtle.  Well, apparently I am, because he didn't leave it at that, so I let him grab my hand and swing and spin me around a bit.  Then I stopped and skipped over to Anessa to avoid the awkwardness in my head.  Boys are scary.  Thankfully, he finally remembered he had a date, and danced with her.

11:00 came, and we headed up to our room, showered, and slept.  We had to get up at 6:00 to catch our train at 7:00, but we made it back to Peoria by 11:00. 

Awesome night.  Awesome fun.  I want to crash someone's wedding every weekend.