FISCHER: Wedding party populations

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

My baby sister got married over the weekend.

It was a beautiful day with a lovely ceremony filled with people that came out to celebrate her long-awaited nuptial.

So many people.

Like, a crazy number of people.

What was initially intended to be a relatively small gathering of family and friends somehow ballooned into a 100+ person event by the time the big day arrived.

Let me make something clear. My family is not large. Our holiday gatherings generally consist of me, my little sister and brother, our mom, and whatever partners any of us have at the moment.

The groom’s family is in a similar state.

And yet, somehow my sister managed to pack that church with more people than I think I even know. I know my sister has always been more of a social butterfly than I have but… I cannot even imagine.

During the ceremony, as a thought experiment while waiting for the officiant to get through his cheesy jokes, I tried to think about who would make the invite list in the unlikely event that I ever manage to tie the knot.

By my best count, outside of my immediate relations, my side of the invite list would probably top out at about two-dozen people. And even then, for more than half of them the invite would be little more than a formality.

Part of it is that, by-and-large, the people in my life that I consider myself closest to are often, paradoxically, the people farthest away from me.

One of the few childhood friends that I still stay in regular contact with is running around Europe doing livestock research. Meanwhile, the one friendship I forged in college that has persisted in the years since is now raising a family in Japan. Of course I would want them to be at my hypothetical wedding, but logistically that’s not a realistic expectation.

Likewise, there are probably a dozen or so people that I see every year at ComicCon that would warrant an invite. Most of us have been friends for multiple decades at this point, talking about our shared interests, giving regular life updates, and doing an annual Secret Santa. But, short of actually holding the ceremony in downtown San Diego, I don’t know how many could or would make the trip.

Such is the doubled-edged sword of the Internet Age.

Yes, it allows you make friends and stay in regular contact with people scattered all over the world. But, at the same time, at the end of the day they are scattered all over the world.

Either my sister is too social or I’m not social enough. Though, I suppose in my case, in my hypothetical wedding I’d definitely save a lot on food for the reception.

— Travis Fischer is a news writer for the Charles City Press and could think of worse places to get married than between panels in ComicCon’s Hall H. …