On Friday, 8/16 my old sponsee and close friend married her fiancée, who is also in recovery.
It wasn’t a sober wedding; a bar was set up for the few dozen drinkers in the crowd.
I have been to weddings with open bars, and events where there was no alcohol at all, but never to one where the hosts were sober but included alcohol for their guests. I figured the attendees who had a buzz on would be the ones who danced more and laughed louder. Boy, I was wrong.
It was the sober crowd that was the first on the dance floor and the last to leave it. We danced (uninhibited), laughed (side-splitting), and were present to feel every beautiful moment of the celebration.
There were no slurred words or close talkers (you know…the ones who lean into your personal space to share their deepest, darkest secret with you, regardless of the fact that you just met them an hour ago). Nobody was bumping into anyone on the dance floor because their spatial distribution was off. Everyone’s voice octave stayed at a normal level, not rising to the state of extreme annoyance.
For those of you afraid you’ll be giving up fun to be sober, think about this:
Here is what you won’t have by being sober at a wedding:
- A debilitating hangover
- A frightening blackout
- That awful feeling that you did or said something that warrants an apology
- The 2 extra pounds on your body from eating and drinking everything in sight
- An upset spouse, partner, significant other
Here is what you will have: - Clear, amazing memories of the night
- Pictures that you are not embarrassed by
- A good feeling knowing you were 100% present on your friend’s special day
- Stomach muscle pain from laughing so hard
- Blisters on your feet from non-stop dancing
Perhaps the BEST part? The wedding was over at 9:30pm and I was home in my jammies by 10:30. Perfect.