Matchmaking Success: April and Chad Got Hitched

Two years ago, one of my bridesmaids and best friends, April, unwittingly fell victim to a TOTAL ROMANTIC CATASTROPHE. There’s no need to go into the details except to say I learned of this in the middle of a busy downtown street and was so stunned that I froze there on the asphalt as cars honked to avoid running me over.

In the blur of time following the news, April and I spent night after night out at bars, rooftop parties, dives featuring wood paneling and karaoke, sketchy dance clubs full of cougars, and, you get the idea. All along, we kept our friends Keith and Virginia, parents to a then-newborn, updated with new developments in the TOTAL ROMANTIC CATASTROPHE.

Around that time, Keith had begun a friendship with a super smart engineer named Chad. And he decided that Chad should meet April. So he enlisted my help in bringing the two together. We organized a happy hour, ostensibly to casually hang out, but mainly so the two could meet.

Within a month the two were dating, by Christmas they’d met one anothers families, and by this Easter, they were engaged. Keith and I spent their weekend wedding in the Texas Hill Country gloating over our matchmaking success.

Matchmakers! There’s Keith and Virginia, on the left.

Pal Justin and me and our obligatory self portrait where we look ridonkulous.

Texas pals with the bride and groom.

Highlights from the nuptials:

– Seeing April after more than a year apart and a lot of uncertainty about whether I would be able to be there on her wedding day, given the birth of Baby Eva just four weeks prior. I rushed into the house where April was getting ready and and surprised her, I guess, cause she started crying, which made me tear up, too. April looked so stunning. Dress, makeup, hair … it was all perfect, but she would have knocked ’em dead without any makeup at all.

– Leaving Eva in Washington with her dad, which actually turned out great because Matty learned a lot about how to best care for his baby and gained confidence that he could be alone with her. And the time away from feeding her meant I got to partake in the open bar at the wedding.

– One word: Bourbon.

– The weather was perfect and it was nice being in the San Antonio area, since so many of my Texas returns feature Austin rather than other totally likable Lone Star state cities.

– Reuniting with some of my favorite Texas friends, like Jay, who recently authored an e-book that he was talking up to every guest he met. That book is going to sell well, given Jay’s marketing prowess.

– Reeve showed up only a minute before the ceremony started. He didn’t have time to put on a tie with his suit, so he explained he was rocking the “Ahmadinejad look.”

– My bestie Justin and I spent a lot of time together before and after the wedding because I counted on him to shuttle me around, as is typical. This meant many Starbucks visits, trying to go shopping at a very confusingly laid out outdoor mall, sweating a lot, killing some enchiladas and later, eating possibly the best breakfast tacos I have ever consumed. Justin was a real champ because he put up with me having to sneak into the back of his car to pump milk every few hours, which I realize isn’t too appetizing a thought for a full grown man.

– While driving back from the Hill Country’s Panolo Ranch wedding venue, I nearly ran over not only a large deer but also a possum. It was quite a welcome back to Texas.