When we began planning our wedding, we joked about a Star Wars theme. I wasn't sure I could pull off the Princess Leia bikini, but the white robe and side buns could work. I knew J.W. would look smashing in the Han Solo vest. When the pastor asks if anyone has reason to object, J.W. thought it would be hysterical to have a friend wearing an Admiral Ackbar mask jump up and yell, "It's A Trap."
We didn't go through with all these plans, but we did have a Millennium Falcon cake as a tribute to his late mother, Linda. She made a memorable Millennium Falcon cake for his 5th birthday that we hoped to recreate. As luck would have it, our next-door neighbor owns a bakery and is a confection artist. So we took the Star Wars toys out of storage to serve as models. J.W. came up with the brilliant idea to have a "Just Married" sign across the back and instead of tin cans trailing behind it there would be Storm Trooper helmets. Angi at Blue Note Bakery brought his vision to life in exquisite detail. Thanks to ThinkGeek.com we found molds for the perfect favors - R2D2 in white chocolate and dark chocolate versions of Han Solo in carbonite. We also had a light saber candle to decorate the table. 
When J.W. and his best friend Andy wondered about the girls they would one day marry, there was a big question about how to introduce them to Star Wars. Would they start by watching Episode IV: A New Hope (the Original Star Wars to casual fans) or the more recent Episode I: The Phantom Menace? Would these women truly understand the Force? Luckily J.W. didn't have to introduce me to Star Wars. I grew up in a movie-obsessed family and spent many weekends sitting next to my dad watching Luke discover the truth about Vader.
Star Wars actually played a role in how I met J.W. A few weeks before I was hanging out with a classic bad boy I thought I could convert. My long-time friend and guru, Adrian, warned me that I wasn't capable of casual dating because I put my heart and soul into every relationship. He warned me to steer clear of the dark side. I actually broke things off by saying my Yoda wouldn't allow it, but I was still under the spell of this sith lord. Then my college roomie and her husband, Holly and Chad, came for a visit. They were training for a trip to Machu Picchu, so we decided to hit the hiking trail. They invited their high school buddy who was Peru bound too. The four of us began the trek to the Hill of Life on Austin's Greenbelt. I spent the first 30 minutes blabbing to Holly about my dating woes and hardly paid attention to J.W. Then we had to stop for a bathroom break and it turned into a discussion about trail etiquette. What do you do when a fellow hiker has to go, but there aren't any trees around to obscure the view? We asked J.W. specifically because he'd gone on a sub-zero winter climb in New Hampshire recently. I innocently asked what the other hikers did when he had to relieve himself. With a cocky grin and deadpan delivery he said, "In my case, they gave me a slow clap." He gave the perfect 80's movie slow clap to illustrate his point. He had me at the slow clap.  |
| Me, J.W., Holly and Chad hiking in Yosemite |
I was glued to J.W. for the rest of the hike. We bonded over our love of movies. There was a debate about which Jim Carrey movie stood the test of time - Dumb and Dumber or Ace Ventura. We talked about the dream cast for a movie version of the A-Team, but sadly Hollywood didn't listen when they actually made the film a few months later. If they had George Clooney would have been Hannibal and good ole Jim Carrey would have experienced a career revival as Murdock. I was planning to write a bestseller about my recent divorce, so there was even talk about who would play me in the movie version. I liked the idea of Reese Witherspoon, but she's too type A, so we landed on the poor man's Reese, Anna Faris, who starred in those silly Scary Movies. We laughed, sparks flew and our relationship began. Now we are officially hitched and our favorite thing to do is cuddle up and watch a movie. Star Wars is in regular rotation on the cable movie channels, so we've spent lazy Saturdays watching the space drama play out.
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| J.W. and best man Andy |
In planning our dream wedding, we thought the Star Wars cake would be a fun highlight. We had no idea Star Wars would be the theme of the best man's toast and the emotional core of a day we'll remember our whole lives. J.W. and Andy met at age three and have been like brothers ever since. We adore Andy and his wife Deanna. We've spent many weekends together, even one where we played Star Wars Trivial Pursuit. Andy regaled our wedding guests with the story of meeting me for the first time and realizing that his best friend had finally met the one. He talked about our love for each other and our love for movies. He ended the toast by referencing J.W.'s favorite epic tale, you guessed it, Star Wars. He talked about the end of Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Andy reminded everyone that while those furry Ewoks danced around celebrating the triumph of good over evil, there were three specters smiling down. Andy said he thought the same thing was happening at our wedding. Instead of Luke's father, Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi, our spirits were three parents who left this world too early. J.W.'s parents, Linda and Gene, were standing next to my dad, Marty, and they were smiling down from heaven. Tears flowed as we remembered our parents and realized the people we love never truly leave us. It was a magical moment that I will cherish forever just as I will cherish J.W. 
