Italian Vows

Last weekend we popped out to the 24-hour convenience store on a midnight necessity run. The door was locked; desperation shook our soul. And we weren’t alone. Behind us approached a tuxedoed and boutonniered fellow, obviously dismayed by the locked-door situation and unmistakably a groomsman just released from his duties. “Do you know where there’s another convenience store around here? I don’t live in this area, and I just met that girl I’m with.” He pointed to a car in which a young lass was primping in the flip-down visor mirror. A classic wedding hookup. While we were racking our brain, a uniformed guy appeared and unlocked the door, apologizing and saying that he’d been in the back room. All was well. We got our snacks and smokes, and the Best Man got, well, some, with any luck.

While we’re not really sure of the moral to that story (except maybe to hit the 7-Eleven before the wedding, just in case), it made us realize something we thought we’d never say: Weddings are really kinda fun. That statement is, of course, completely false if attending one includes donning an ill-fitting taffeta bridesmaid dress only to split the ass out of it during the “Cotton-eyed Joe” at the reception. But we digress. The whole hitching thing is exceptionally entertaining when it comes to people-watching and a seriously rowdy sort of fun, even more so if it’s Tony N’ Tina’s Wedding.

The off-Broadway show is completely interactive, with audiences attending the ceremony, walking the receiving line and attending a crazy, festive and super-Italian reception complete with the Italian Buffet of Love. Dance with the bridesmaids (watch those seams), flirt with groomsmen and find out all sorts of “family” gossip in the loo as the actors stay in character throughout the entire shindig. Big hair, taffeta, loud in-laws and the occasional chauvinistic groomsman bring this show so close to home you’ll feel like you should have brought a gift…or at least stopped off at the store on the way.