CJ's groomsman, John, popped open a bottle of champagne. Our bubbly flowed, the clinking of glasses & the 13 of us shouting, screaming, singing in a chaotic melody of sorts.
We headed down to North Avenue Beach-where CJ proposed. But this is the thing about us Catholics you should know. The mass always goes longer than you think. I mean my uncle married us, so do you think he's going to keep it short? Ha. Well, naturally we were behind schedule. Really I should have known better. By the time we got down to the beach-I was on a mission. The limo driver knew we were on a time crunch, we only scheduled him until 6, and it was 5. More importantly, I had 170 people awaiting us at cocktail hour & I don't miss my own happy hour. Impatiently, the man, we'll call him Jorge, he pulls the limo up to the barricades lining where the beach meets the grass. I mean, come on man, at least pull the bride up to a nice little clearing. It's not easy walking in an endless flowing dress.
The groomsmen & my new husband, sensing my hesitation to go mountain climbing over this thing, threw me up in the air, like a pizza, my wedding dress drowning me like a cocoon. I laughed-but was suffocated by tool instead. On the other side, we lifted up my never-ending train and set forth to the water. Off we charged, 4 sets of hands holding up my dress behind me.
This is the other thing you should know-about Chicagoans. Summer is treated like the last day of a person's known life. The beach was filled with hundreds, thousands of people. A beach band was playing off to the side. Volleyball players, drunk girls tanning in itty-bitty bikinis lie propped up on slim belly's-reading US Weekly. Guys sat in herds, drinking cheap beer & summer tans. Readers lounging by shaded trees. Suddenly they see us, a massive wave embarking on the beachfront.
So what do a bunch of drunk, nice Midwest people do with a sight such as us? They line the sidewalk and begin cheering wildly. It's moments like this, I realize why I endure these Chicago winters. People are high-fiving my husband of 60 minutes. We fist pump with our bouquets to the beat of Black Eyed Peas. As we neared the pier the backdrop of Chicago rises behind us. My photographer frantically snaps pictures as we jump in the air. It's a great moment & you forget all about schedules and months of planning that went into this day. You just think about how all of your best friends & the guy you love next to you-jumping. Soon enough though, we are charging through the city sand-me in my ivory shoes- back to the limo, off to our next destination.
As we pull up to the Chicago Theatre. This is when my limo driver becomes an jerk. It's sad really, because nothing really can bother me on this day. So it's not like I was hard to please. The man is lazy & a bit unhappy with life in general and really those two things don't go well together. He was annoyed by his job from the get go-and now we were running late.
It was 5:54 and he says harshly, -You know you only have the limo until six.
Fair enough, fair enough, I think. I nod and remind him that we just need to snap one picture in front of the theatre and we are set. Of course-I say, I'll pay you extra for going 15 minutes over.
Jorge shakes his head quickly side to side-as if he's 5 years old & his mom tells him Halloween is cancelled.
-I go by the half hour, he says.
We all start chiming in because we don't even care. It's my wedding day, and honestly, money doesn't even matter at this point. I've lost count anyway. Let's negotiate. I have a 5 pound dress on, and I just need to get to our reception.
We tell him we'll pay him for an extra hour to drive us four blocks. My friend, who is a lawyer, begins to talk slowly and clearly to him. He's not from here and our communication is somehow broken. That or he has seen enough brides to really not care. And I believe in kharma or the circle of life-of sorts-so it makes me feel less angry when encountering people such as him.
He says then, as if a light bulb pops in his head, that he wants $500 to drive us four blocks to our reception. This is how much the limo cost us for four hours. He continues to try to extort money from us & here I am standing debating with this stranger in the middle of a crazy Chicago avenue on me and CJ's wedding day. So I walk away and take some shots, leaving the groomsman to figure it out.
My bridal party of girls find their way over to the front of the theatre where they join Tina Turner impressionist for a rendition of 'what's love got to do with it'. After realizing this is going nowhere quickly, one of the groomsman takes the air cap off one of Jorge's tires-tucking it in his pocket with a smirk on his face. The limo driver drives away without an ounce of guilt. Although, the guy is a money grubbing business owner, who we later find out writes his own fake reviews & the better business bureau doesn't recognize, does it really matter? not one bit.
It's been quite the adventure, but I know I have to take control. So I herd the group together and say: -People. Let's just get going already. -Grab a cab! Then they watch me do. just. that.
We see a checkered cabbie, and CJ and I hop in. We zipped down the street with my yellow & ivory bouquet flagging out the window CJ & And this, my friends, is how we arrive to our reception:)
When we got inside, only 9 minutes late, guests caught tail to the jerk who left a bride in the middle of the street. Well, at least I know how to hail a cab in Chicago. I guess all those years of city living paid off on my wedding day. Every one's buzzing-because who has a wedding without a bit of chaos or unplanned 'excitement.' It's really the only imperfection of the day & if anything it makes it that much better.
Right before we sat down for dinner, CJ and I dip outside for a breather. There we watch a sudden sheet of rain pouring down-the sun in the distant sky, setting. Just 15 minutes after I stood in the middle of Clark street-as the Jorge-the limo driver- drove away, without his additional 500 bucks. Lucky-we both felt then, without saying a word.
Standing there-watching the ever so brief downpour that lasted five minutes and rolled away-as if it never arrived. We made it inside just in time & felt lucky to be dry, but most importantly, to be together.
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