(milwaukee) prelude to a kiss

(Father Tim, seated between the groom's father and myself)

For the wedding blogging, I will be using some abbreviations for principal participants as I post. Expect at least the following:

W = the groom
K = the bride, a.k.a. Simpleton from Maximum Girly
S = "Stella", who will be sitting with me during the ceremony
A = Angela, who will also presumably be sitting with me during the ceremony
FT = Father Tim, the priest

So, I went to the rehearsal and dinner tonight as my friend S's plus one. For those who don't have access to the stories behind the pseudonyms, S and I went to graduate school together, and K and I know each other from Madison. When they were both moving to North Carolina last fall, I introduced them, and now they are pals thick as frozen custard (and, S adds, smooth as gelato).

Anyway, at the rehearsal dinner, it became plain that this wedding simulblog thing has taken on a life of its own. For one, I sat next to the Father Tim at dinner, and he was very enthusiastic about it. Apparently there has been some talk from parishoners about podcasting his homilies. (Father Tim, btw, is a very gregarious and entertaining fellow, and exactly the kind of priest I would want to marry me if I were Catholic and marriageable material.)

One highlight of the dinner conversation with Father Tim was when S asked him, "Do you mind if you a personal question?" This seized the attention of everyone within earshot, because who knew what was going to follow. As it turned out, S wanted to know about the logistics of how priests are compensated. This, in fact, turned out to be quite interesting, but part of the response involved Father Tim noting that he was not the type of priest who had taken a vow of poverty. At which point S squealed, "Rock on!" and held up her hand for a high-five. Father Tim also got high comedic marks from me when later someone asked him how he became a priest and he deadpanned "A crucifix spoke to me when I was fourteen" before waiting a beat and giving his real answer.

As for tomorrow, strictly speaking, the wedding will not be simulblogged, as I checked and there is no wireless connection from the pertinent pew. So do not think you can actually click here for updates while the wedding is in progress. Instead, I will upload the post afterward, which is better anyway since I don't know if I could actually update and write and do all the appropriate standups and sitdowns expected of a wedding guest.* Note that guests will not be allowed to take photos for most of the ceremony, that the official photographer is taking very few staged photos at the church, and there is no videographer -- so, as far as the official record goes for what happens tomorrow, this blog would seem your exclusive source. Stay tuned.

* Technical details for those who doubt wedding blogging can be done discreetly: In addition to sitting in the last row of guests, I have configured my computer so there is no possibility of it making any sound during the ceremony and I have also set the tablet screen to its absolute dimmest. Writing on the tablet eliminates any keyboarding noise and means no tacky keyboard will be visible. This will look much more like me writing on a real tablet than doing anything on a computer (granted, I understand weddings do not commonly feature someone writing in a real tablet either).