Wedding bells

This was originally written as a rehearsal dinner speech, but I didn't really touch on all of the subjects that night, so I thought it'd be good to post it here.

The theme that stuck out to me about the entire wedding week was the miles everyone traveled to Athens. To give you an idea, the wedding party traveled a combined 8,691 miles. That’s a bunch.

We of course want to recognize our parents, who have supported us our whole lives, especially during the engagement and planning process.

To travel the 500+ miles has turned into a regular trip for my parents since they’ve traveled this way four times last year alone. It reminds me of those thousands of miles that traveled to take me on hockey trips for 10 years around the Southeast and Midwest. Not to mention the trips moving me to all of the internships from St. Louis to Lexington.

They’re still on the other end of countless phone calls as I drove to high school practices, games, or in the middle of Atlanta work traffic. I’ll always remember the first time I showed Kristi’s profile to my mom and Laura when they visited on Labor Day weekend, 2008. “You ought to pursue that Kristi from Athens,” Polk said. Fortunately, my pursuit has worked out pretty well.

Ron and Dawn have always been very supportive and fun to hang out with, especially on their boat, which was the destination the first three or four times we met them. My early-morning trip to the Shell station in Athens for coffee with Ron is especially memorable because he gave me the thumbs up to propose. It’s extra funny that I didn’t get out my intentions before we got back to the house, so I can only imagine what our extra “trip” driving aimlessly around the east end of Athens looked like.

Before the proposal, as many of you know, I moved in with the best landlords around. As if helping me land a job wasn’t enough, Bruce and Carole opened their home to me, which is at the top of the list of the most gracious things anyone has ever done for me. How many future father-in-law’s do that combination, find a job and a place to stay? And I would get blisters if I typed all of my memories of those last nine months. But you really don’t know your future in-laws as well as I do unless you’ve discussed the Arizona immigration law while changing a kitchen light bulb at 6:45 in the morning. I also have a new perspective on George Stephonopulos and General Hospital.

My funniest memory had to be the time after dinner when I was watching the Braves game. Bruce notices a raccoon on the deck presumably moving toward the bird feeder for a snack. All of a sudden he starts stomping toward the back door, clapping, and making whatever noise he could to scare off the raccoon. Which didn’t really do much, honestly. So Carole jumps in, leaps on the ottoman and begins to hiss at the raccoon, to which I can only assume the critter was simply laughing through the window. “Is this the best you’ve got?”

But on a more serious note, I have to credit Bruce and Carole for being there for me during the engagement for pep talks, words of wisdom, and funny stories about the bride-to-be. You can be sure I’ll steal a lot of the things that makes their marriage successful, from Bruce carrying in boxes of Carole’s school stuff, to pouring a glass of wine, to sharing evening prayers. And of course, Bruce might have spoken for several of you when I first brought up proposing, he only replied with a “Bout time” and quickly went to the basement to get a bottle of champagne and three glasses.

Of course, I’d be remiss if I left out the siblings-in-law relationships.

• Thanks to Sam for cornering me in the garage Mother’s Day weekend to start the ring discussion. She also accompanied me to the Mart to pick out the ring, and offered advice and suggestions.
• Thanks to Emily for being the first of the Zs to reach out to me on Facebook. There was a time when we only teased each other about constant sports updates and the countdown to Luca’s hospital arrival. Emily’s also the one to bestow the Uncle Stink nickname that’s, well, stuck.
• Thanks to Brian for always offering a helping hand or suggestion, including our family trip to the Inn at Christmas Place in Pigeon Forge when he whispered during our goodbyes that he’d be happy to take me to the Mart to go ring shopping. He’s always been one of our biggest supporters, and let’s say had a more colorful variation to Bruce’s ‘Bout time.’
• And thanks to Paul for helping me become an official Georgia resident by using his police officer powers to get my new license plate. As we moved my stuff into Bruce and Carole’s house, Paul also had one of the turning point conversations with me that you have when you’re thinking of proposing to your girlfriend. He offered a helpful perspective to the Zavitz clan, and some old-fashioned marriage wisdom.

The groomsmen that I was lucky enough to stand beside are some of the best guys you would be fortunate to meet. While most of us at one point lived in the same town, most of them live hundreds of miles away now. But all of them regularly check in with a call or text.

When I moved to Anderson and changed phone numbers, during a hectic time starting a new job seven hours from home, Wes called at least once a week, which we’ve still kept up. I’ve known Brent longer than any of them, from freshman biology class in high school where we talked way more about college basketball than dissecting frogs. We’ve kept things up on instant messenger at work. But believe me, both of these are guys who you want to talk to if you’re thinking of picking games anytime soon.

Rob and Jon perhaps know me best professionally, since we worked together for two years each in Anderson. They were among the first I talked to in March when I initially thought about proposing. For someone who’s been married for a couple years, Rob had plenty of good thoughts about marriage and all the benefits and things to look forward to after the wedding festivities are over. And if there’s someone I’ve talked to at all hours of the day and night, it’s Jon, who I had regular conversations with on really late Friday nights after football games as I drove down 106 to Athens. I’ve always thought, besides Kristi, Jon understood me personally and professionally better than most, mostly because we had the same job for two years. And finally, Andy Bridges, who is the guy I call if I have a car repair question, to hear a good bar joke, or laugh at his constant bashing of the Colts. The best way I could describe him is a classy redneck.

Finally, a big shout out to my big sisters, who are always there to lend an ear, and offer advice. I'm especially excited that they've developed their own friendships with Kristi.