A Perfect Match

"Love: the irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired." -Mark Twain

The Weddings

I like to refer to 2012 as the Year of Love.  For some reason this has been the year of many weddings for the people closest to me.  My string of weddings started at Sam and Lauren's wedding I attended last summer in San Diego. Things really revved up in late 2011 when my cousin Rino got married to Jessica, then there was Ricardo and Kate's wedding just weeks ago in early April, Oscar and Clarita's Wedding this April, and Herbert's April Wedding.  Add to that my friend Ita's upcoming wedding in the fall, my brother's upcoming wedding in October and my friend Juan Carlos's recent engagement and it makes sense why I call this the year of love.  To put this in context, I had been to approximately three weddings total over the past ten years before this.

Oscar and Clarita's Wedding

In late April, I attended my friends Oscar and Clarita's wedding in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I was honored to had been asked to be a groomsman. They both live in Austin, but decided to have a destination wedding which made me very happy.   I had been to Puerto Rico a few times in the past, but it had been many years since and there was still a lot I had not taken in. Plus, who doesn't want to go back to Puerto Rico?

My Oscar Story

I met Oscar freshman year at Cornell.  We hit it off right away and it didn't take long for us to figure out we had a lot in common.  He was a Mexican-American from San Antonio, Texas, went to Boys State, loved football, the Spurs, and we both had the same birthday. We were also different in many ways, but we got along great. People actually thought we were related at times. We ended up living in the same dorm freshman year and we had many adventures during our college years.  From trips to Daytona Beach, Miami, to a Spurs game in San Antonio and a trip to Monterrey, Mx to visit his family. I even spent a summer at Cornell where he was kind enough to let me join the meal plan at his fraternity.  Oscar is good person and the quintessential nice and hard working guy.  He was a great student who, unlike me, always put his studies first, and was and is the kind of person without an ounce of malice in his body. It is easy to get along with Oscar, something you will hear many of his friends say.

Freshman Year at Cornell

Post-College

After college, I went out on my own path and didn't keep in that great of contact with a lot of my friends including Oscar.  He moved to Austin to make use of his engineering degree.  About 5 years later when I was a vagrant with a law degree in DC trying to figure out what my next step was, Oscar invited me into his home in Austin to study for my Texas bar exam.  I remember being so impressed with what an adult he had become with a home, stable career, investments and a very cool car.  It meant a lot that he was willing to help me out like that.  My temporary stay eventually became a more permanent one and it was great being able to pick up our friendship where it left off.  I eventually found my own place, but Austin became my new home.

I was quickly impressed with the mad salsa and golf skills Oscar had gained since college.  It even spurred me to take some lessons of my own for salsa, which sadly did not overcome my two left feet and weak sense of rhythm.  Golf I'm still working on.  I'll never forget when he first introduced me to his girlfriend Clarita.  She became a friend of mine in an instant and we got along really great. Clarita also became quick friends with my friend Christina.  As Oscar and Clarita's relationship grew, I could not believe the transformation I witnessed in both of them.  The were perfect complements for one another.   Oscar and Clarita became a formidable force who was always doing something to better themselves as a unit.  I was in awe watching how supportive they were of each other as Clarita was taking on new business ventures and Oscar was doing things like training for triathlons.  They both even influenced my eating habits for the better.  My most pleasant observation was how happy they both seemed around each other and how well they meshed.

I was very happy to hear the news that they had become engaged.  Oscar gave me an interesting primer on diamonds soon after and considering Ricardo and I also talked about that part of the process, I'm happy I know who to ask if I ever needed one. They were very organized in their wedding planning and made sure to get an early start.

The Wedding Shower

Before the wedding, Oscar and Clarita had a Wedding Shower in Austin that I attended with my friend Christina.  We had a good time and even got to meet some nice and interesting people.  Here are my Facebook Photos and Flickr Photos from the event.  The reason I have two links is that I tend to only put a few photos on Facebook and all of them on Flickr, but if you are from the web, you can probably only visit my Flickr photos.

At the Wedding Shower

The Wedding in Puerto Rico

I would have usually taken more time for a trip to Puerto Rico, but I was supposed to have a trial when I got back, so I had to cut it short to a Thursday - Sunday trip.  The trial later got moved, but my tickets were already purchased.   I left on a Thursday morning and the flight wasn't too bad, but I probably shouldn't have stayed up the night before packing and making sure my house was presentable for my sisters and cousins who were coming into Austin that weekend to spend time together.

When I arrived I was picked up from the airport by the mother of an old friend.  I hadn't seen her in many years and it was nice to spend time with her and try some authentic Puerto Rican food.  She was exactly how I remember.  I always appreciate how good some people can be to you.  It made for a good start to my trip.

By the time I arrived in Old San Juan, I had already missed the rehearsal at the Cathedral of San Juan where they were getting married the following day.  I was staying at Hotel El Convento, which was a very nice place where the reception would be held. The guys filled me in on what I had to do as a groomsman and it seemed manageable.  I met a few new friends and worked on learning as many names of friends and family as possible.  By the end of the trip I had most of them down.

That night was the rehearsal dinner at a nice restaurant.  We had our own private room upstairs and an endless supply of wine that seemed to refill the glasses on their own.  The maid of honor/sister of the bride, Sarita, did her toast speech.  It was heartfelt and moving and had most people in tears. It was the emotional insight into their close relationship.   Then the best man Danny, Oscar's best friend since he was little, did his speech and I agreed with every word.  A lot of family members stood up to share a few kind words.  It was so wonderful how much the all accepted each other into their respective families.  Oscar's sister put it best when she declared that they were a perfect match. Oscar even got up and said a few kind words.  I also got to meet the cousin of the bride, Blayre, who is also an attorney in Austin.  It is always fun to meet attorneys.  Then there was a slideshow that Sarita put together for Clarita and Oscar.  It had photos set to music starting from when they were babies until the present day.  It was so good you would think a professional had done it.  My first thought was, wow, I don't even have that many pictures of myself growing up. I felt so privileged to have been a part of the experience.

Clarita and Oscar listening to Sarita's Maid of Honor Speech.

After dinner that night the guys had drinks at this dive bar near the hotel.  It was Oscar, Danny, Chris, Alex and myself.  This is where I got to really meet Chris, who was a friend of Oscar's from San Antonio.  We got along with great. It was nice to be able to hang out with Oscar before his big wedding day and they filled me in on what they had been up to the nights before.  I was introduced to this beer called Medalla, which from what I can tell is a Puerto Rican beer.  It was my light beer of choice that weekend when I wasn't drinking Vodka soda.  I miss my Maker's and coke, but I'm trying hard to stay away from coke so I had to move to whiskey on the rocks.

Danny and Alex chatting at my favorite dive bar.

The following day, on Friday, was the big day and there wasn't much going on until 3pm when the groomsmen had to meet up before the 5pm wedding.  The girls got up early to get their hair and makeup done and Oscar was running around trying to make sure all the last minute items were taken care of.  I decided to take a personal walking tour of Old San Juan.  I walked the streets and found my way to El Morro.  I had been there once before, but this time I feel like I really took in the history.  It was a relaxing afternoon with the perfect breeze and sunshine. People were flying kites and enjoying the day. There is a nice peaceful calm about sightseeing in a foreign place all alone.

When I returned to the hotel, I helped Oscar out with some minor things and even steamed and ironed his suit and shirt while he was getting ready.  It feels good to help out in any way you can.  They had reserved a hotel room for the groomsmen where we had sandwiches and beer and where we finished getting ready in our tuxes.   It was fun and a nice touch.  Oscar's friend Ish was also there and it was fun to hang out with him.

Here I am right before the wedding.

Before we knew it, it was time for the wedding.  The highlight of the trip.  The Cathedral was grand and it had been some time since I had been to a Catholic wedding.  The small flask in my jacket didn't show, but the idea of having it was probably better than being able to drink from it. As a groomsman, I had a great view of the action.  There was a small orchestra playing the walking in music and this just cemented my view that they need to be at every wedding. The groomsmen stood in line next to Oscar at the front of the church. The moment Clarita came walking into the Church in her wedding dress was one I would not forget. The light coming in the back door added to the grandeur of the moment.  Oscar was quite overcome with emotion, a feeling that was contagious and moving.  He pulled himself together as her father brought them together and the mass ceremony began.  We then moved to sit down in the first row of pews and up in front of the church were the bride and groom and the best man and maid of honor.  It was a very nice mass and everything seemed to go so perfectly.  This definitely had all the trappings of a Catholic wedding.  I had met the priest at rehearsal dinner and really liked him.  He did a great job officiating the ceremony and it made me understand why it meant so much to bring him to PR for the wedding.  For some reason I never feel a marriage is official until the bride and groom kiss, though I'm sure there is a marriage certificate that would differ with me.  Once the priest declared that Oscar kissed the bride, they both kissed and then walked out as man and wife having taken their vows and wearing their new wedding rings. It was the type of church wedding I would imagine when I think about church weddings.

This was the same priest that married many other family members in Clarita's family.

After the wedding, it was time for wedding party pictures.  The bride and groom also went through their set of photos with friends and family and more family and then a few more with different variations of family.  I bet they never smiled so much in their life, but that had good reason to on this day.  We then proceeded to the reception for cocktail hour while the bride and groom went off to do more pictures.  I got to visit with many people and even made a few new friends. I also got to visit some some of Oscar's cousins from Mexico Chivis and Claudia. They were both so nice to me and I liked them a lot. It gave the opportunity to practice my Spanish.

After filling up on mojitos,  it was time for the dinner reception.  We all walked in as our names were announced and then came the bride and groom to much applause.  They had even prepared a dance for everyone that was impressive.  There was the usual dinner which tasted great and then time for the toasts, which were of tequila shots instead of champagne which was a nice touch.  Both Sarita and Danny did more than just reprise their speeches from the night before and their words were really touching.  Danny's words about Clarita were really sincere.  Clarita's younger brother Yayo got to do the final cheers as we all took our shots.

The rest of the night involved dancing the night away as the band played some great music.  It was probably the first time I've been to a wedding with a wedding band. I think it is more fun to dance in rented clothes because don't have to worry about keeping them nice and neat.

One of my favorite moments of the night was when the mariachi band came in.  They played some great songs, but then out of nowhere, they pulled out a mic and Clarita started singing as a surprise gift to Oscar.  I knew about her past as an amazing singer (a small part of the list of her many accomplishments), but man was I impressed when she started singing a song to Oscar.  It was remarkable and everyone cheered.  When the song was over and people started chanting, "otra, otra," so she sang another song, unrehearsed and I was even more blown away.  Oscar married a gifted woman with many talents.

There was the traditional bouquet and garter toss toward the end of the night and I did not catch the garter upholding my streak of getting very lucky or maybe just being sure to stand near the back  The wedding cake tasted great and I definitely made good use of the open bar that night.

After the reception, a group of us went out to the bars and had quite the epic night.   At one point we even ran into Puerto Rican celebrity Benicio Del Toro at a local dive bar.  I did not bother him for a photo, but it felt cool to be in the same bar as him.  The night ended right before the sun came up in the hotel hot tub where I was probably more sleepy than inebriated.

During the trip I feel like I got to know Oscar's best friend Danny better.  He is a great guy, was the perfect best man, and we had a lot of fun.  Clarita's sister Sarita brought her friend Chrystal to the wedding and she was quite the character and I enjoyed her company.  I don't think I've ever met a person originally from Wisconsin that was quite like her. She loved salsa dancing.  Sarita I had first met when Oscar and Clarita started dating.  Our first meeting did not go well, as we did not get along at all for reasons I don't even remember.  The next time we hung out we got along well, but it wasn't until the wedding that I felt like I really got to know her.  She was as cool as her sister Clarita had always said.  We had a lot of fun and had some great conversations.  You could see how hard she worked to be a great maid of honor for her sister.  I was happy we all got along so great because things are so much more fun when in the company of good friends.

Saturday morning was a day in which they had fun events planned for us.  We took a shuttle to a brunch at a restaurant over looking the beach which had an amazing view. The food was great too, but the atmosphere was perfect for being on a tropical island.

The groom and groomsmen at brunch.

Then we were off to El Yunque Rainforest on a tour bus.  I had never been before.  I enjoyed the the trip to the Rainforest a lot and was so impressed with the nature, the trees, the mountains and the views.  We even got to see a waterfall. 

When we got back from the Rainforest tour, it was our final night in town, so we all went out for one last dinner with authentic Puertorican food and then went out and had drinks. Since it was a Saturday night, we hit up the main bar strip in Old San Juan.  There were so many people, but I forgot how young the drinking age was there because a lot of them seemed so young.  As the night progressed, we ended up at a salsa bar where I witnessed some impressive salsa dancers.  It is times that like that motivate me to learn to salsa dance.

That is how they roll.

The next morning as Oscar and Clarita headed off for their honeymoon, I flew back to Austin with only memories and pictures.  I ended up being on the same flight as Clarita and Sarita's parents and enjoyed visiting with them.  It was an amazing vacation and a wonderful wedding.  I had such a great time.  I didn't even make it to the beach, or to see the algae that lit up at night, but I didn't care.   I enjoyed myself very much and am so very happy for Oscar and Clarita. The best part was how happy they looked.

Trip Photos

If you want the short version of the photos from my PR trip, check out my Facebook photos and if you want the longer version, here are my more complete Flickr photos.  I look forward to seeing the professional photos and maybe one day the wedding video.

Herbert's wedding

The very same weekend I was in Puerto Rico, my college best friend Herbert got married to his fiance Carolina in California.  I was sad that I missed such an important event, but I was happy that I got to celebrate with him in NYC the month before.  I hope they enjoyed my gift.  I talked to Herbert after the wedding and he gave me an update on how great the wedding went and it sounded like he and my friends who went, Jorge and Juan, had a great time catching up. I wish Herbert and Carolina all the happiness in the world and hope to finally get together with all of the old college gang at Juan Carlos' Wedding next year, which I hope might also be in Puerto Rico.

Well that about does it for me and weddings until my brother's wedding in October.  It is so wonderful to see such great things happening to your close friends and seeing them going through the different important milestones in their lives.  I would not have anticipated this when we were all just kids hanging out as college freshmen.  We have come very far in the decade since.  2012 has been such a happy year and I hope it continues.

passionate