This Saturday my brother from another mother is getting married! It’s a special occasion for a number of reasons, personally it has been such an honor to be asked to be his best man. This has been the first wedding party that I’ve been in. We still get to eat first right?
A couple people have asked why I am not doing their wedding. I think there’s a couple of reasons for this but mostly because of how my relationship with Austin has evolved over the past few years. Though part of me would love to have done it…I am truly happy playing whatever part he wanted me to. Besides the guy performing the wedding is a ministry buddy of mine who I introduced Austin to a couple years back and is now lucky enough to have him interning at his church.
One of the most significant roles that the Best Man plays in a wedding is planning and executing the Bachelor Party. Now bringing 7 guys together for an event is no small feat, but attempting to create a fun, memorable and CLEAN party is even more challenging. In the end I think it came together well…and according to the groom he really enjoyed it. The party had many variations over the past 3 months…my only regret is that I wish I had more resources to work with.
Here’s a rundown and some pictures from this past weekend;
First it was dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings – One of Austins Favorite restaurants and his choice for the night.
As we left BWW the rest of the weekend was a complete surprise to Austin – because I knew how much he loves being surprised. The first surprise was that I rented a 2011 Ford Mustang. We needed to ride in style and I wasnt about to drive this cat around in my 95 Escort with no air conditioning. After BWW we headed out to the Grand Lodge out in Forest Grove (with some fun in the car on the way). Now if you havent been to the Grand Lodge its worth a trip even if you dont stay overnight. The hotel was built in 1922 as a Masonic Lodge and holds alot of history. McMennimans took it over and made added alot of cool stuff. Friday night we mostly hungout in the various bars & restaurants there. Especially liked talking by a fire pit outside till they closed up and kicked us out at 1:30am. We were then treated to some ghost stories from Byron, a unique character who worked the front desk through the night…who himself might have actually been a ghost.
Saturday – after 4hrs or so of sleep we woke up to a nice bath in their soaking tub. Then it was an early lunch…we gave Austin some gifts there, including a grill from all of us. Then we played one of Austin’s favorite sports: Discgolf right there on the front lawn of the Lodge. From there we headed out to Hagg Lake…again a big surprise to Austin…had a boat waiting for us to take us wake-boarding and tubing. The weather was perfect and everything came together nicely on the lake…putting all of my anxieties aside.
As I knew it would, the weekend went by in a flash…got alittle emotional driving back home. Alright enough blogging, time to get crackin on this toast Im supposed to give and another little trick up my sleeve 
After several months of prayer and seeking wisdom from trusted friends & mentors I’ve decided to move back to Michigan.
