“You’ve got to get the bride!” the wedding guest said, nearly screaming.
I looked at her and slow-blinked. It was a little early in the night for someone to be drunk, but it was the Saturday before Halloween. Maybe people felt like partying.
“Thanks, ma’am, but we’re just about to introduce the couple,” I said with my best “move it along” smile.
Behind me, the wedding party of 17 craned their necks to see who was yelling. Per the couple’s request, I’d lined everyone up to be introduced so dinner could start. The 220 hungry guests shifted restlessly in their seats as they stole a glance at my end of the room. What was the holdup?
“No!” the guest insisted. “You’ve got to get the bride.”
The father of the bride rushed up from my other side. “Where’s Anna*?” he panted. “You’ve got to get her.”
Hearing her dad, Anna popped out from the end of the line. Her friend broke into a relieved smile and grabbed her by the hand. Before I could say another word, they darted away. The father of the bride followed close behind.
“I’ll be right back,” I said to the bridesmaid and groomsman standing closest to me. They nodded, equally bewildered, as I jogged away.
“I think we’re at the wrong party”
I caught up with the bride at the front door. Next to her stood two human-sized sock monkeys.
“They were looking for a Halloween party,” the father of the bride explained to my left. He wiped away a tear. “I can’t believe this is happening,” he continued. “Anna loves sock monkeys.”
“Loves” was a bit of an understatement. The bride had had the same stuffed sock monkey since she was 2. Now nearly 30, she still took it everywhere. In fact, her beloved toy was waiting in the hotel room where, this very evening, she and her husband would spend their wedding night.
“Did you arrange this?” Anna’s dad asked.
I shook my head. “I wish I had,” I replied.
I meant it. The guests could wait. In front of me, a grown woman giggled like a little girl as she threw her arms around life-sized versions of her favorite childhood toy who accidentally walked into the wrong party.
It was her wedding day and just look who was able to make it.
*Name has been changed