Introducing ... The Boyles!

So here's a question: How many weddings have you been to where you knew one of the happy couple really well, or fairly well, or at least vaguely, because s/he was your best friend, co-worker, or second cousin once removed, but you didn't know the other half of the happy couple at all? Personally, I've been there too many times. So this post, and the next, are meant to solve that problem. Today I introduce . . . The Boyles! And tomorrow . . . The Eakes! (Or should that be the Eakeses? Oh heck.)

The blushing bride is Annelee Crunchy (not a typo) Boyle. Contrary to what she may say when she's trying to embarass her parents, we did not name her Crunchy because we did a lot of drugs in the 60s. Annelee is named, first, after my Swiss grandmother, Anne Susanne, who was called Annelee (or Anneli or Annely) when she was a child; and, second, after my sister Crunchy. As for why the original Crunchy is named Crunchy, my parents did too many drugs in the 40s.

Annelee is an M.D. who is in her first year of residency in OB/Gyn in Pittsburgh. She and Craig may tell you they met "through friends," but that's only part of the story. They met through friends at a nightclub, a bar, the kind of dive where the smoke carries away the dreams of the crumpled suits on the stools and the dames' make-up melts into their lined faces. Or maybe not. But it was a bar, and that's the important thing. Because it gives me endless ammunition for teasing.

But enough talk. Time for photos, so you'll recognize some of the folks who walk down the aisle.

I love this picture. It was taken in our front yard before a West Virginia University (WVU) football came in September 2006. (Let's goooooooooooo Mountaineers!!) On the far left is Annelee's youngest sister, Kitty (or Katie or Kathryn). Kitty is an ungrateful 24-year-old who chose to attend graduate school as far away from her parents as she possibly could. She started physical therapy school in Scotland last month, and I miss her so much it's physical. WVU fans will notice her Grant Wiley (#6) jersey. Next to Kitty is middle sister Lauren. Twenty-five-year-old Lauren just completed a masters degree in chemistry at the University of Wisconsin and hopes to start pharmacy school at WVU in the fall. Yes, that's a Steve Slaton (#10) jersey. In the center is one of Kitty's best friends, Seyran, but I call her Fifth Daughter (and I'm her Second Mother). Seyran is a graduate student in engineering at Virginia Tech. She won't be in the wedding, but she'll be at the wedding, adding to the general gaiety. Next to Seyran are Annelee and Craig — Annelee left and Craig right, should you need to be told.

Now this giddy couple is my husband and myself, the sainted Father of the Bride (FoB) and dreaded Mother of the Bride (MoB). Jerry and I both work for the U.S. Department of Energy, he as a research chemist and I as a public affairs specialist, where we provide an enviable return on the taxpayers' investment. Yes, we're fat and old, but not as old as . . .

Annelee's grandparents (my parents), Ray and Nancy Cramer. My father is a retired college administrator, and my mother is a retired teacher. They lived most of their married life in California, but moved to West Virginia to live with us several years ago. The handsome young man in the middle is our exchange son, José Andrés Caballero Uribe, from Colombia, who lived with us in 2004 and obviously never figured out how to change the date stamp on his camera. José is studying architecture in Cali, Colombia, and says he probably won't be able to come to the wedding, which is as sad as it is understandable.

We also have two exchange daughters. The photo on the left is Mariana (Maina) Santinoni, whom I fondly call Myna-bird when I'm not calling her Duckling. She's pictured somewhere in Europe with her boyfriend, Jan, from Czech Republic. Maina is originally from Argentina, but after meeting Jan in 2000–01, when they were both exchange students in West Virginia, she moved to Czech Republic where she attended college and is now in graduate school. I don't know if she'll make it to the wedding or not. She'll probably claim she can't afford it, and I'll claim she doesn't love me. I could win.

Finally, the beautiful young girl on the right is Mirella Miravet Hagroos, from Sweden, who lived with us for several months in 2006–07. Mirella is still in high school and probably will come to the wedding. Which will help make it joyous indeed.

To recap: Annelee, the bride, has two real sisters — Lauren (25) and Kitty (24) — an exchange brother, José (21), and two exchange sisters, Maina (24) and Mirella (18). MoB is Renie, FoB is Jerry. Maternal grandparents, who will be at the wedding, are Ray and Nancy Cramer. Paternal grandparents, who are deceased but will surely be there in spirit, are Eddie and Cecilia Boyle.

There may be a test.