The Invisible Man & Weird Wisconsin Wedding Traditions

Of my boyfriend Chris’ gang of close knit friends, I have only NOT met one, Dave (A.K.A. The Invisible Man) Obviously, that would mean that Dave had never met me either. This whole not meeting thing led both Dave and I to believe the other didn’t really exist, thus the nickname. Every time Chris would talk to him on the phone, playful banter would ensue. In fact, on Dave’s wedding invitation I was only referred to as “guest.” It was all in good fun though, but the time had come to meet the Invisible Man.

This weekend Chris and I flew to Chicago, rented a car, and drove to Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin for this farm boys wedding. We arrived Thursday afternoon with the intention of going to dinner with the Invisible Man. No dice though since he called in sick. (I was really starting to believe this trip had been a waste of money on someone that didn’t actually exist…not really, but sorta.)

Anyway, Chris and I hit the local mall (which consisted of a small strip mall containing about 10 stores) to find a shrug to go with my outfit for the wedding. I lucked out and grabbed the very last one in my size and color, and, oh yeah, it was on sale! After a bit of shopping/browsing, we headed to the Old Country Buffet attached to the mall. Now, I’m not a huge fan of OCB, because even though they have something that will satisfy most any human on the planet, I have found that its generally not the best quality food for the price. However, Chris was craving it (which was unusual) so I gave in, besides, what else were we going to find. So after a hearty meal of a-little-bit-of-everything, we headed back to the hotel to wait for Woody, Krissy, and Alex, who arrived around 11 pm and were sharing a room with us.

The schedule for Friday was to help decorate the chapel and reception hall, pick up tuxes, and attend rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Krissy, Alex, and I stayed home in the morning and relaxed while the boys went off to help decorate. The lack of my presence probably encouraged Dave’s idea that I didn’t really exist, but I didn’t really care. When they finished decorating, the boys went to pick up their tuxes, and then headed to Cullver’s to meet us for lunch. I’ve never been to a Cullver’s, and to be honest I wasn’t terribly impressed with the food, but it was food nonetheless AND I finally met the Invisible Man, his bride to be, her two boys, and two of Dave’s sisters. (Photo Note: They boys gettin' all spiffed up for the big day. It was so funny because Woody, left, had never shaved with a real razor before. So, Chris had to teach him...hahahahah!)

They were an interesting bunch, and I could tell that Dave was a nice guy. Yes, you guess it, he started in on me the moment I walked in with “So where’d you get this one Chris and how much are you paying her?” But I apparently redeemed myself pretty quickly when our food came and I tried to take Chris’ burger because it was bigger. They all laughed and we were fast friends. After lunch we picked up the vans for the wedding party, stopped by Walmart to pick up a few things, and headed back to the hotel to hang out until the rehearsal. While at Walmart, we picked up one of those pre-loaded game controllers that plugs into the tv and played around with the halloween costumes (don't they look great in foam hair?) The boys had a blast playing old games like PacMan and Galactica. For $15, it was a great waste of time in the hotel without the burden of a huge old game system. But sooner than the guys would have liked, it was time to head to the rehearsal.

The wedding ceremony was held in this quaint complex of old buildings that had been collected from all over the state. There was a one room school house, a blacksmith, a

printing shop, a toy shop, a hairdresser, an old mill, and of course a one room chapel. Though they had originally planned to have the wedding in a larger church, the ceremony was still beautiful…and small. It only lasted about 25 minutes, which was perfect because it was so warm out. After the wedding was over the weird Wisconsin wedding traditions begin.

Apparently in Wisconsin, several hours are scheduled between the ceremony and the reception so that the wedding party (and significants) could “bar hop” to the reception location. What the heck were the other people supposed to do between the ceremony and the reception? Why would you want to get your nice white dress all mucky in a bar? Are bars even open at 11am? It all seemed kinda weird to me, but I went along with it. We ended up only going to one bar, and thankfully, it was fairly clean with lots of other activities to partake in besides drinking. Weirdness I tell you, WEIRDNESS! Anyway, we finished at the bar after everyone had had a couple drinks and was thoroughly loosened up from the mornings tense events (you know, the whole getting hitched for life thing.) The reception was pretty average, with food, beer, dancing, and music, and ended relatively early (about midnight.)

Oh yeah, and did I mention the other crazy tradition they do there in cheese country? (This didn’t happen at this wedding, but got talked about, and often does at other weddings.) The groomsmen steal the bride DURING the reception to go to ANOTHER bar for a drink…then brings her back. In the mean time, the bridesmaids to the same to the groom. Doesn’t anyone think that so many IMPORTANT people would be missed???? Again, WEIRDNESS!

On the drive back to Chicago the next day, we hit a bit of rain, but nothing too serious…or so we thought. When we got all checked in and everything, all the flights were delayed. We didn’t get back to our house until 2am when we should have gotten home around 10:30pm. It was crazy! IT’S JUST A LITTLE RAIN PEOPLE!!! (coming from the crazy Oregonian girl sitting in the third row knitting the night away.)

Anyway, so that was my weekend. Chock full of mystery, excitement, and new traditions. It was nice to finally meet the Invisible Man, but I look forward to seeing him at a time that isn’t quite so stressful. It was really great hanging out with Woody, Krissy, and Alex (oh yeah, Alex and I got married for the weekend, but it was short lived. We broke it off cuz he gave too many other girls nookie and I couldn’t deal with that. Isn’t he just TOO cute! See picture below.) I can’t wait to see them all at Jake and Molly’s wedding in the Spring!

Oh YEAH! I knit. I knit on the plane. I knit in the car on the drive to Fond Du Lac. I knit in the hotel room. I knit in the airport during our delay, and I knit at all other knittable opportunities. Though I didn't get a TON done, I moved to another skein, which always takes longer since I have to add the beading before joining. Needless to say this project is coming along. (Really wish I could post pictures, and REALLY wishing I hadn't told my sister about my blog so that I could do so freely. Oh well!) Finally, I leave you with this priceless picture of (my weekend hubby Alex) and the age old Wisconsin tradition of "starting 'em young!"