Wedding Dances

I have been re-reading this part of my book that I sent to my dear friend Tonya. I came to a part where there is a wedding dance. It got me thinking...about how often I put wedding dances in my stories. Why?

I do not dance (OK, maybe after a few drinks). I do not listen to the Top 40 crap they play at dances (OK, I do in the van when the kids make me). So why do I love a good wedding dance, even if I don't know the people there? I think it all began when my dad got remarried shortly after I turned 15.

In my short story "Wade's Cafe" that I wrote at age 16, I used that wedding dance as a scene. I guess it was quote a pivotal time in my life. Everything changed from that point on...I remember being quote emotional that night, I remember dancing a lot, I remember drinking champagne at the head table, I remember my dad's friend sneaking my cousin and I screwdrivers. I remember every freaking detail. I remember my great-grandfather spilling coffee on my bridesmaid dress when the champagne bottle top blew off and it scared him. I remember my cousin Eric taking Buffy and I into the basement with his little boom box so he could play us the Bob Dylan song "Brownsville Girl." I remember seeing my dad so happy and thinking that I would burst from pure and utter joy. I was still so young. I had never kissed a boy. I had never met John. I was in the process of climbing out of a hole and finding out who I wanted to be.

To this day I love wedding dances, although I am not a big fan of weddings themselves. The last one we went to had free wine, for god's sake! Grace wiggled her little butt to some silly song, flapping her arms, and it was the sweetest, cutest thing I ever saw. Drew is old enough to be too shy now, but he used to dance like a madman, and even do the robot dance while people squealed and laughed in delight. My kids love to dance. Everybody is filled with joy, and the future holds so much potential. Something crazy and memorable always happens. If I'm lucky, I can watch people do the Electric Slide. And they always, always, play "Love Shack." :)

I can't help but be a bit cynical about the couple, though. The odds are good that they will not last. They are so in love right now, it is absolutely perfect, but that changes. It makes me a little sad, and I always try to send good vibes their way to help them stay madly in love.

So this wedding dance in my book - it needs to be more than just a silly, drunken party. It is going to be a pivotal moment in several relationships. I think I have a few ideas...