Sheila Sims Iding
I think there were 18 boutonnières for the wedding. Joey and Addie had a huge wedding party and good for them. They have lots of family and friends and they have been in lots of weddings. Some people questioned that they had 11 bridesmaids and 11 groomsmen. Some people thought it was too many. But Joey said it best…”They would all be there anyway sitting in some pew so why not have them stand with us on the most important day of our lives?” Well said, Joseph Jacques.
So 11 groomsmen…and 11 boutonnières. And…even more. With the ushers and the reader and the dads…there were 18 boutonnières. And…even more. There was one boutonnière that never made it in the box. There was one boutonnière that never made it to the church. There was one boutonnière that was picked up early. It was going to be given to one groomsmen early…before the festivities even started.
On Friday afternoon before rehearsal and rehearsal dinner Joey left with Juergen to do some last minute errands. A different size tux for Juergen…a pick up of that one boutonnière and a special early delivery to that groomsmen.
So after the tux shop, Joey picked up one special red rose boutonnière with one of those pins and a label that said “groomsman” and he delivered it…to Andy. Andy would have been a groomsmen. He would have been there in that long line of groomsmen standing with Joey on the most important day of his life. Joey wanted to honor Andy’s memory by remembering not to forget.
So…before the whirlwind of Rehearsal and Rehearsal Dinner and Wedding Eve family times. Before the blur day of the wedding and the mass and the reception. There was a quiet moment of Joey visiting a cousin who was like a brother and taking him what was rightly his…a groomsman’s boutonnière.
He and Juergen had a beer right there with Andy and left one for him. But he left more than a flower and some beer. He left a special sign that we will never forget to remember Andy.
Today is Andy’s birthday and I will take him flowers, a balloon and maybe some Taco Bell but he already got an early birthday gift from a cousin who usually leaves him maple leaf bouquets…a cousin who wears his hockey lace bracelet…a cousin who knew to remember the one groomsman we will never forget. The one groomsman who received the first boutonnière.
Happy Birthday, Drewbs. You are loved. Still. Always. GbGs.