Moose Jaw, Land of Open Skies and Weddings

So, Apocalypse Kow went down to Moose Jaw last weekend for our good friend (and member) Jago's brother's wedding. The Barber and I drove down together sans ladies, as my Peach couldn't get Friday off and his Megs had to stay in town to talk to her Masters' supervisor. So we had some quality one-on-one time that we've never really had, to talk about all manner of things, and since it's an 8-hour drive I finished one of my books, Stiff (which is FANTASTIC; stay tuned for more ravings about that later) to boot.

We were greeted at Casa Jago with Jago's Mama's Chili (tm) and other various snacks, which we devoured hungrily and then rushed off to the wedding rehearsal. It was interesting to see Jago the Younger all spiffed up (and wearing an interesting t-shirt), and I was particularly impressed with his bride-to-be. Smart, funny, pretty, and a pretty good head on her shoulders. He did pretty well for himself. After the rehearsal, Kow went out to a cabin on the lake and proceeded to drink beer and play Trivial Pursuit until 3:00 in the morning. I lost to Jago, a position I'm not used to when playing Trivial Pursuit, but there you go. Also: when five different questions in one game have "Dan Ackroyd" as part of the question or as the answer, it's time to think of some new questions, Trivial Pursuit people.

The day of the wedding we went to Bonanza and ate mediocre buffet for lunch, and then the ceremony. It was pretty good, and when we went up to sing "At Last" a number of people's jaws dropped in shock. I guess they were surprised that a five-man a cappella group would be singing at a wedding, and that I would be singing in falsetto the entire time. (I was assured afterwards that it was good shock, but at the time, I just saw row after row of Moose-Javian with their jaws hanging open and eyebrows raised after I sang the first line. And people wonder why I don't look at the audience when I sing...)

The reception was pretty good, too. Decent grub, some nice speeches, and good company. I will admit I cried a little at the Father of the Bride's speech; not that it was particularly good, just that he talked about his new son-in-law in such glowing terms. Makes me sad that I'm not going to get that. Ah well, focus on the good, me. I also teared up during the groom's speech where he thanked us for coming, and that he had us involved with the wedding because he'd never seen his brother sing with us before. It was an honour to be a part of it even before he'd said that. We did another set at the wedding (30 minutes and Christian-friendly, so no Green Day or other bands that reference prostitution and drug use), which was really well-recieved - surprisingly so, actually. I think it was one of the best performances we've ever put on, which is only apropos.

The ride home was pleasant, if a little long (although that might be because I was reading Emma on the way back, not bad but not nearly as good as Stiff). It was a nice vacation, and I was really struck by how big the sky was in Saskatchewan, particularly on the car ride home. Unlike the "so flat you can watch your dog run away for three days" stereotype, it does have hills and trees, but there are stretches of flat prarie with only a few trees in the distance, and you have 180 degrees of sky. Just gorgeous.

I guess it's apropos that I'm blogging about a wedding tonight, because Peach and I just came back from Shakespeare at the Park (Taming of the Shrew, which was decent enough), a date for what she has dubbed our "pre-versary". Exactly one year from today, she and I will be married. (Taking a moment to digest that fact.) Holy crap, we have 365 days to get this all planned out, and we just booked the reception venue this week. Let's hope the pressure doesn't get to us...