Fab-beautifulness!

I just got back from my cousin Zach's wedding up in the mountains. Zach's the first one of us cousins to get married, and I have to say he's going to be a tough act to follow! The ceremony was gorgeous, taking place on top of a mountain southwest of Asheville - and I do mean a mountain: to get to the ceremony site, you had to take a shuttle. My sisters and I hitched a ride with the juggler (more on this in a minute...) in the bed of his pick-up truck, and we were just about vertical for a few minutes there.

Zach and Perfect Karen (that's her official name, btw) married on the peak of Big Butte Mountain, with a picture-perfect view of the surrounding Smokey Mountains right at sun-set. They incorporated traditions from Karen's Cherokee heritage. And then we paraded back down to the reception site, led by a quartet of local entertainers including a unicyle-mounted juggler, a fire-spinner, a drummer and "The Girl," who had the rare talent of hula-hooping while walking downhill.

At the reception, we enjoyed a meal that only a Comer could devise - chicken tenders, tater-tots, etc., and a perfect first dance, sung by my cousin Jon, Zach's older brother. Then, instead of the typical round-robin of wedding party dances, we had one big family dance, with everyone on the floor at the same time.

This morning, Zach and Karen both gave moving remarks at the family brunch, and we watched a video made by Zach's father, my Uncle David, chronicling their relationship. It was a reminder that Zach and Karen are so beautifully perfect *because* of their human flaws, not despite them. They took the time to explore and test their relationship before taking the plunge.

The whole weekend confirmed for me what I want from my eventual life partner: be silly with me, be goofy with me; trust me, believe in me, and let me believe in you. And above all, love my family and be part of them; play the card games, and the board games; play in the river; sing and dance - because those things are fleeting, and yet those are the things we remember once they're gone.

On the ride up, I passed the time telling my nephew the same stories my mother used to distract me with on those long trips to see family. And I thought, that's what lasts, that's what matters. The guy who finally gets me to walk down that aisle has to appreciate that as much as he loves me.

Good luck, Zach and Karen, and welcome to the family, Karen! You're beautiful and funny and fun, and we're so unspeakably lucky to have you!