Last you heard, our interracial lovers got married and flew off into the sunsets of Playa del Carmen.
It should be the end of this blog, right? I mean, West met East, fell in love, got engaged, and got married, and lived happily ever after. End of story.
In fact, the battles had only just begun. Continue reading Surname Siege (#80)
In Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet, the Chinese bride and groom collapse in their hotel room after an exhausting wedding. There’s a knock on the door. The bride goes to answer it. The groom tries to stop her. Too late! All the young wedding guests pour into the hotel room, carting tables, chairs, booze, and supplies for potentially humiliating sexual games. They set up shop and party. Questionable, regrettable activities ensue.
The moral of the story? Never open the door. Continue reading Don’t Open the Door (#70)
It was the evening before my wedding. My Chinese-American fiancé and I had made the mistake of having an open bar at our rehearsal dinner. Despite Andy’s best efforts, most of our wedding party got trashed. The worst offenders were our brothers. My Big Brother, former Naval Officer, had conned my twenty-one-year-old Baby Brother into attempting to match his alcohol consumption. And while Andy’s little brother Denny had thankfully been cut off early by the bartender, he’d still downed too many shots.
As of 8 PM, Team Navy was still underway at full speed, Team China was barely afloat, and Team 21 was sinking fast. Continue reading Drunk Brothers & God: The Wedding Rehearsal (#69)
PART ONE (OF ONE) SCENE ONE (OF ONE)
Interior of the finest, fanciest restaurant in Nowhere, New Hampshire. In this restaurant, the mason jars used as water glasses have handles.
Nine women sit at a long table. They hand their menus to a waiter. Eight of them will have to wait to be introduced until they actually say something because otherwise the stage directions will take up an entire page. Continue reading The Bridesmaids’ Luncheon: A Play in One Part (#67)
Lisa’s Bridal Shop made my wedding dress in Los Angeles. I got married in New Hampshire. The dress was too big to fit in a carry-on bag on the plane. As United Airlines once lost my suitcase and an entire collection of expensive suits that I wore to various film markets, I wasn’t about to put my precious (i.e., unbelievably expensive) dress in checked luggage. I arranged for Lisa’s to ship my dress, along with some of the bridesmaid dresses, directly to Patty’s Bridal & Tux Rental shop in Nowhere, New Hampshire.
I should have packed it and shipped it myself. Continue reading Steaming (#66)
About five months before my wedding, my bridesmaids rebelled. Well, not all of them. Five of my bridesmaids were my sisters and half-sisters. My maid of honor and the other two bridesmaids were not related to me. They were my best girlfriends. Guess which group of bridesmaids revolted. Continue reading Bridesmaids Revolt (#52)
When I was younger, I found Steve Martin’s remake of Father of the Bride ludicrous. Not just the film (though the plot was cheesy and contrived), but the idea. It was outdated. Who was attending the weddings when I was growing up? Me, and the rest of the couple’s children. A modern, fresh comedy would be Daughters of the Groom. Continue reading The Daughters of the Groom (#41)
The whole bridesmaid issue is a bitch when you’ve got a lot of sisters. I had two ex-stepsisters, one stepsister, three half-sisters, and two regular sisters. Continue reading If Four Were Eight (#37)