Saturday, July 12, 2008

Andy & Kajda Downs

Let me tell you a story.

A long, long time ago in Ashleyland, I was a shy, awkward girl in high school who had absolutely no nerve when it came to the male species. And it wasn't going to be long before I headed off to school at Mines, where I would be surrounded by boys. Constantly. Where I didn't know a soul.

Enter my friend Jessica. Her best friend's brother would also be starting at Mines the following fall and he didn't really know anyone there. He would be getting back from basic training soon.

The girls got a great idea: let's set up Ashley and Friend's Brother on a blind date! They'll get along great, and then they'll each know someone at Mines.

So they did. And in April of 2002, shortly before I spent a few days in New York City, I went on a blind date. With Jessica's friend's brother, Andy.

Despite a disasterous start (there was a mix-up as far as where we were supposed to meet ... he only got half the message) and a poor after-dinner movie choice, we hit it off pretty well. A second date was quiet and awkward (not at all like the first) and we both just dropped it.

On the first day of school, I ran into him in the stairwell while moving in. Just a few months later, we were pretty good friends, part of one big crowd.

A couple years later, I met a girl named Dyan when we worked together at Storm. Through her, I met Kajda. These girls were part of a separate group that I spent the rest of my time with, the InterVarsity bunch. There's considerably less of a story involved, but Kajda was fun -- another chem-e in the IV crowd.

Now, almost three years later, Andy and Kajda are married.

I ventured out to Benson, MN, four weeks ago, not sure what to expect. This was a wedding between my two "crowds" -- groups that haven't always been known to see eye-to-eye. I would be seeing people that I hadn't since Bridget and Evan's wedding last year at about the same time, and other random folks from high school and beyond.

In the end, I knew more people at this wedding than I did at the last family wedding. Crazy thought.

It was the most unique ceremony and reception I've been to yet. They had a Catholic ceremony with a sprinkling of Kajda's previous E-Free background. That part may have been my favorite, for the simple fact that it meant the sudden appearance of Mike, who was easily the biggest surprise at the wedding. Mike was the worship leader at IV my junior year. He then transferred to North Dakota when he realized he didn't want to be an engineer. Mike is a fantastic guitarist and he and his girlfriend played one of his original songs for the ceremony. It was amazing.

The reception was beautiful and low-key; they held it in Kajda's parents' backyard, which is more like a garden paradise than yard. Afterwards, we retired to the hotel, and more craziness ensued with Josh, Colt, Ashli, Miles, Katherine, Bridget, Evan, Billars, Google, Barb, and Matt ...

On Sunday I was almost relieved to head back to Wausau. It was a great, exhausting, slightly stressful weekend.

Anyway! There you have it. I will hopefully have pictures in a separate post if Matt ever emails them to me (hint, hint).

For now -- congratulations, Andy and Kajda!

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