There were only 50 people, but you could have made a hit reality show by putting us all in a fancy house with some wine and a DJ to see what happened. Here are a few highlights:
Hugo - Hit actor/singer on London's West End and a friend of Giulia since first grade. He's currently starring in The Book of Mormon and has several other famous plays on his resume. Hugo hung out with the girls as we did hair in the bathroom at Giulia's mom's house, and played assistant stylist for Suzanne, who is also an improv comedian.
Tia Liliana - Giulia's Italian aunt is in her 80s. She chain-smokes and loves to make conversation with new people. The conversations at this wedding were mainly one-sided, because Liliana only speaks Italian. It didn't keep her from making friends, though, and she was certainly at home on the dance floor.
Eric - The groom's middle brother Eric is a music producer and performer in Nashville. He'd never tell you himself, but Eric is a big deal. He works with famous alt-country artists and is starting his own record label.
Samantha - A Chinese-Canadian equestrian rider who left home at 14 to train in show jumping. She renounced her Canadian citizenship in order to compete for Hong Kong in the Beijing Olympics. She's now married to a former classmate of mine, who has some some kind of Belgian noble ancestry.
Sarah - My fellow bridesmaid who travels the world as a missionary for an Evangelical church. She lived in Kyrgistan for five years, now is based in Alaska, and will soon move to Istanbul to train missionaries heading to Eastern Europe and Asia.
Deborah (and Elle P.) - When he first saw Deborah, Brian nudged me and said, "that person HAS to be from L.A.". She's barely five feet tall, with big bouncy hair, skin that's tan, shiny and taut. She could be anywhere from age 30 to 55 and wears thigh-high boots, a faux fur coat, sparkly jewelry and a shoulder bag. The bag moves. Inside it is Elle P., a Maltese dog that goes everywhere with Deborah. I really mean everywhere. It rides on airplanes, comes to restaurants and attended the wedding too. Deborah goes nowhere without Elle P., but if you try to touch her she'll bite (the dog, I mean - not sure about Deborah).
Lansdon - Childhood friend of the groom and Kentucky buzillion-aire. He owns a pet insurance company and the company that sells the extended warranty service to Best Buy (you know, the warranty you aren't supposed to buy). He got talking to Samantha about horses - he owns one that's racing in this year's Kentucky Derby.
By comparison, Brian and I are pretty unremarkable. We don't know any movie stars or own any horses, and live a relatively stable life in a relatively quiet German town.
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| At ease in the chateau |
We didn't feel out of place, me in a David's Bridal and 15 euro shoes, Brian standing aloof at the back of the ceremony. We have no time to be intimidated by rich and successful and creative people. It was a lot more entertaining than a wedding full of computer nerds with mini vans.
And I looked pretty good in that David's Bridal dress, anyway, even though Hugo almost ruined my hair.
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