Ring Bearer

We spent last weekend in Philadelphia at Kate and David's wedding.

It was Silas's fifth wedding, and over the course of those five weddings he has gone from being a source of untimely noise to being designated as the ring-bearer.

Meredith and I were skeptical of Silas's ability to get down the aisle; David, on the other hand, felt confident that Silas would perform in a clutch situation.

The morning of the wedding day, Silas's squirminess did not bode well for the sustained concentration that would be required for his long ring-bearing walk. Here he is squirming at the so-called "Love Park" in Philadelphia, trying to avoid having his picture taken. (He wanted to play in the water.)

Silas also refused to face the camera for the family portrait (he wanted to see the water), despite several attempts to get him to look at Grandpa Keithley. (The Grandparents Keithley, aka the Free Babysitting Service, were instrumental to our navigation of the wedding weekend.)



As showtime neared, Silas had settled down a bit. However, due to a late nap, he missed the kiddie rehearsal. We remained nervous about how Silas would perform on the big night.

Plan A had been for Silas to be the last kid in the procession, walking solo down the aisle with a pillow. Tied to the pillow was a wedding ring -- a fake wedding ring; David has faith in Silas but is not crazy.

Meredith and I nixed Plan A, saying that there was no way Silas would be able to walk that far by himself without taking a very long time and a lot of detours. So Plan B was that three-year-old twins Claire and Paige would flank Silas on either side and escort him down the aisle.

The photo you see below shows Silas practicing with the twins -- meaning, the twins dragged him around for a while. (The photo above is Silas with Kate's sister, Kristin, looking at the Schuylkill River.)





The reception dinner was on the late side and we knew Silas would not stand a chance without a meal in his belly. So here I am stuffing a peanut butter and banana sandwich down his throat, taking charge of the food delivery system in a (failed) attempt to keep peanut butter off his suit.



We don't have pictures from the actual event, because Meredith and I were both in the ceremony. Here is what happened:

At the last minute, Silas refused to hold the girls' hands. So it was back to the (unrehearsed) Plan A. Silas was given the pillow and a push. He managed to follow the other kids down the aisle -- stopping only once, briefly, to reconsider things -- then continuing in the right direction.

When he reached the front row, he tried to hand the ring to Kate's brother instead of David, but David intervened quickly. Silas then turned around and started back down the aisle toward Meredith, who was waiting with the other bridesmaids for their turn to process. I chased after him, scooped him up kicking, and brought him back to the front -- which, I think it's fair to say, amused the audience.



It was a beautiful wedding. As Judge Rakoff said during the ceremony, "The setting is magnificent. The bride is breathtaking. And the groom is here."

More pictures from the wedding weekend are here.