Dear Friends,

This last week I received the horrible news that a friend who had helped organize our honeymoon had unexpectedly passed away. The last memories we had were related to the wedding and the connections made between the various groups of friends and family who came together when Valerie and I got married, way back in 2009.

Lucky couple that we were, our wedding was held in Las Vegas. We had both loved visiting Las Vegas with our friends and holding a wedding in a third place avoids any arguments about which family should choose the location of the wedding venue. Go with destination weddings, it’s fun to have people come to a third place just to celebrate a union.

Some of our greatest friendships and connections are made at weddings. It would probably be worth having anniversary celebrations that try to bring those same people back together every five or ten years. Because those big social events bring people together and everyone benefits.

It shouldn’t have to wait for funerals.

One of the things we can do in an increasingly disconnected world is try to bring people together around food and drink and company. Weddings are one of the best examples of this kind of community bonding, but regular gatherings like sports leagues or religious services also work to bring people together and help build relationships. Sharing a beer or some coffee breaks down barriers between people from different backgrounds.

If you get invited to a wedding, go to it. People love to have other people around when they celebrate a new partnership and witnessing such a celebration is one of the better things we can do for our fellow humans.

Be good to each other.

Yours truly,
Nick