Matty J and Liz both have large extended families, not even counting the friends from Caltech and Whitman. What occurred was a large gathering of cousins, husbands, wives, uncles, aunts, and assorted other familial ties, all under the banner of a mild-weathered day in Manhattan Beach. And it was Liz's little cousins Katie and Anna that made my day, and to steal a line from one of my favorite songwriters, they had smiles look full moons: it lit up my whole month.

I met those cousins a few years ago when Heather and I visited Liz's family at their lake house in New Hampshire. I think they were 8 and 5 years old then, respectively. Their mother is the youngest of all of Liz's aunts by far, and the end result is that the two girls had few young people their age at this weekend of celebration. Meaning that they were given free reign to wander among the adults. Only hilarity could ensue.

I first caught up with the cousins, now 11 and 8, at Richmond Street, after a frustrating but fun round of golf, in which I shot a 77... on the front 9. I make money, not birdies. I walked into Richmond Street, shook a few hands, and promptly asked Dale to hand me a schooner of something or other, 32 ounces of brewed goodness. I ran into Katie while holding this large glass, and I told her that when I first met you, you were this tall [holding my open palm a few inches off the ground]. She looked at me incredulously, and continued to berate me about my drinking all night long. "How many drinks is that? How many have you had to drink?"

I think she was just shocked to see a container the size of her bathtub, and that I had completely drank three of them (and usually, at Richmond, I struggle to finish one. In fact, back when Dale and Grant and the gang all still lived in El Segundo, I had begun to just order pints instead). Although if Katie asked me how many I'd had to drink, I would tell her that this was drink 1C. Her response: "Okay, no more for you. Stop drinking!"

This is the same junior bridesmaid, who, after wedding photos were completed, announced triumphantly, "To the bar!"

The reception itself was a lot of fun for me, but wasn't at first, as I struggled to gauge what the crowd was interested in dancing to. I have to say that I rushed in packing my crate o' CDs, meaning that I left my wedding stalwarts on an Ikea shelf in Thousand Oaks, and my carried around a bunch of inappropriate songs to Verandas. I was debating and debating as to whether I would play "Baby Got Back" and in the end, I decided that an empty dance floor was better than an insulted one.

Dr. Matt and Brian were my lifesavers, and Martin did a great job of bringing bridesmaids into the foray as well. Corey, too, provided me with the inspiration to just play a lot of swing music until I got back footing back, but I struggled mightily at the beginning of the dances. My saving grace was, again, Katie and Anna, who, despite an empty dance floor, were happily twirling and dancing with their reflections in the tall windows overlooking the Pacific. There was this cute moment when Anna, with her right hand, was holding her fist to her hip, and with her left hand, was waving an index finger back and forth, sort of a no-no-no synchronized with the beat. Meanwhile, Liz and Matty J was cutting their wedding cake, and I decided that I didn't want to break Anna's heart by cutting out her song. I hope Liz can forgive me once she gets back from Fiji. Congrats to the new couple!

But despite Anna's help, the floor was still dead, and I finally was able to feel comfortable when I decided to bring out Weapon X. That's right. I led with a fun song, people slowly meandered back, and after the song ended, a slow opening emerged from my trusty Clements speakers.

What an amazing time.
What a family.
How did the years go by?
Now it's only me.

There was a split-second of groans coming from the dancers, but when the hard-driving tick tock of Gwen Stefani filled the room, I felt like I finally got it to click. What was I waiting for? In fact, I regained so much focus that I forgot to play a lot of slow songs so that the bridesmaids could dance. I closed out with Iron & Wine's cover of "Such Great Heights" and REM's "At My Most Beautiful". Jamie, thankfully, let me stow all of my gear in her Pathfinder, and I was able to have one final beer on the Hermosa Pier before calling it a night.

A favorite game is to decide who's getting married next, and because the pool is severely dwindling, the only logical answer is that Pat the Intern (also known as Pitti) since he and Holly are the only ones who are actually in serious relationships. I think a better game is, since the pool of married friends has severely expanded, is to decide who's having kids first.

Martin and I finished our 3am breakfast at the horrible horrible Hacienda hotel and I crept back to my room still wide awake. I found myself enthralled with a terrible movie on HBO before sleep finally overcame me.