Picture from Friend's Wedding Reminds Me of Bad Advertising Push for Male Fragrance

My buddy, Russell, got married this past weekend, and I was honored to be asked to "ush" as an usher at his wedding. It's always cool to see one of your friends get married. It's even better when you have confidence that the marriage is a good decision and that the people are getting married for the right reasons. There's probably nothing worse than attending a wedding and mentally crossing your fingers, going, "Well, I sure do hope this works."

Okay, there would be one thing worse than attending a wedding like that. Being in a wedding like that would be worse, I suppose.

One of the coolest moments of the whole weekend happened at the rehearsal dinner when Ken VanMeter - who along with his wife Aimee have counseled every single one of my friends who are married - stood up and said something to the effect of: "Aimee and I have met with Russell and Rebecca. We have observed them and listened to them, and we stand 100 percent behind them. They are ready to be married. Their marriage is a God-thing and we endorse this marriage."

We all clapped. We all thought it too, but it means more coming from sage counselors like the VanMeters. I think Ken and Aimee should get a logo or a patch or something they could affix to couples they've endorsed. Kind of like the USDA does with ground beef. Certified Marriage Ready.

Speaking of the VanMeters, their oldest son, Ben - who is also, coincidentally, their only son - is leaving for a year-long mission stint to Malta this Tuesday. I miss him already. Looking at this picture, you might be able to tell why. He's the one in the middle. I laugh every time I see this photo. It's like a bad advertising shot for a new fragrance from Liz Claiborne.

Introducing
Manic:
The Fragrance of Weddings