Mansons and Capitals

This weekend, David was the Best Man at Jon Manson’s, wedding. Thursday through Sunday was filled with wedded bliss from decorating the reception hall, the exchange of vows, and the morning after breakfast.  David’s time in Pierre was spent fulfilling all his Best Man duties: ironing the groomsmen attire, planning the Bachelor Party, and delivering a witty and encouraging Best Man’s speech.  Meanwhile, my time was spent exploring downtown and some of the local businesses.  My favorite spot being Pierre 347, a coffee shop serving the best Asaigo bagel with Jalapeno Cheddar cream cheese I have tasted. 

The ceremony was a celebration of two lives becoming one.  The guests were lead to sing “Holy is the Lord” in worship of our King who brought Lanye and Jon together in mutual submission and commitment to each other.   Jon was one excited lover and blitzed through his vows with the anticipation of kissing his bride which did not require any prompting from the paster.  The celebration carried over to the reception where the guests were invited to take a large group photo with the bridal party in front of the Missouri River. Questions on white index cards served to entertain the guests and catalyze future nastalgia for the bride and groom who will later read the remarks of favorite memories, suggestions for vacations and names of children.  Dancing began with the Jon and Layne’s first dance, followed by a jazzy father daughter swing.  Guests quickly followed suit dancing and flailing to the Black Eyed Peas and PSY.  

David delivering his Best Man speech. 

The morning after breakfast was held at the State Capital’s Visitor Center where I was able to interact with David’s childhood friends and Jon’s groomsmen. The storytelling of the trouble they got themselves in and how they had impacted each other’s life sent me writhing with laughter and gave me new insight into David’s life and friendships.  He is loyal, yet lighthearted with the desire and the conviction to exhort his brothers in Christ.  After old stories were told, we could not help but make new one’s in the State Capital Building with the Humburgs and Alyssa.  After attempting every door into the Capital, we finally found one open.  The white marble staircases, stained glass ceilings, and murals of Native American’s and angels welcomed us as we stood on the red, black and white mosaic floors.  We explored the House and Senate Chambers filled with desks whose sharp objective intimidated my simple country upbringing. Leaving the Chambers, my husband sprinted around the corner in an attempt to hide. He had abandoned our comical conversation about Jake’s inability to find a trash can anywhere in the Capital Building.  Soon our laughter was interrupted with a loud, screeching door closing.  Hurriedly, we turned down the hallway looking for David and the culprit responsible for the screech.  We found David behind a glass telephone booth door with an annoyed but queer expression realizing his tactic to hide and scare us failed due to the piercing slide of the door.  We surveyed and peered and met his gaze, bursting into laughter. Echos of our voices retelling David's mishap with the telephone booth filled the stone halls of the Capital Building as we exited towards the parking lot. Our self-guided tour of the State Capital Building lingered with our laughter and we walked back to our cars heading home, leaving with the celebration of Jon and Layne’s marriage and memories made at the Capital. 

  

Alyssa and I in the telephone booths