Saturday, September 29, 2020, was a very special day, a day when my lifetime friend, with whom our paths have been strongly intertwined since childhood, breathed a fatal yes to his beloved girlfriend, now a newlywed wife. To make the day even more special and memorable for me, I was chosen to be my friend’s best man!
You may have opportunity to witness the wedding through the eyes of a best man or a bridesmaid only once or twice in your life. It was for the first time me being in this roll. I am extremely honored I had an opportunity to stand right besides my friend as his ‘man of honor’ on that unforgettable Saturday.
We are five, five inseparable friends. We can be almost comparable to characters from The Famous Five, well-known series of children’s advanture novels written by English author Enid Blyton. Except there is a dog Timmy among them. Nevertheless, we hung together for more than 20 years, since, as children, we all lived together in the same neighborhood. Adulthood, distances, a different way of life and the fast pace of today’s world with all the obligations that come within it, have not come to us alive during all these years, and so a group of five firmly exists today still. Over the years, everyday socializing (between us) has changed into a monthly, even yearly, but despite everything, every time we meet, it’s like in the good, old, careless times – time rolls back in an instant and everything is as it was before: laughter, childish jokes, only we understand and laugh at, and a friendship that never dies.
So why I was chosen as a best man from the rest of the friends!? The reason is not that one would be more or less of a friend than another. The main reason I was chosen, is the fact that I have been living abroad for the last six years, and me being a best man would ‘force’ me not to ‘run’ away again. That is how the groom explained it. Despide being a best man or not, I had all the intentions not to miss this important event for nothing. Surely after being picked, getting all the responsibilities which come along that, cemented me in Ljubljana even more, besides Covid-19 of course, which was in its full swing at that time.
Being a best man, gave me a lot to think about and I took it with all seriousness. I was a bit nervous, to be honest. Nervous, I might mess something up and wedding would not be as perfect as it should be. It was something totally new for me. I didn’t have a slightest clue what I have to do there and what the protocol is. A few weeks before the wedding, I was getting information from all sides (family, friends, internet browsers, etc).
There was quite a bit of organizational engagement, I must say. I manage to organize myself to be kind of right in the end, but taking the baton and organize something for others, is one of my weakest points, even more so when it comes to a larger group of people. A rule, I did not know before, says the best man is in charge of organizing the bachelor party, which meant, the first test for me as a organizer was the bachelor party. Party took place in Hungary, at lake Balaton, on the weekend, two weeks before the wedding. Why Hungary? Mainly, because it was the only one country in the region without any Covid-19 restrictions. Despite all the restrictions throughout European Union, the Slovenian-Hungarian border was surprisingly completely free to cross, without even stopping a car. What’s more, Lake Balaton, we were headed to, was so crowded with Hungarian tourists, that even when we were already well on our way, we were unable to confirm the apartment booking for 7 people – as many of us friends went to celebrate together – that busy the capacities were. Not having accommodation, just few hours before our arrival to final destination, was a little my fault, I must admit, and can be attributed to my aforementioned organizational skills and typical indecision of mine – as well as unpredictable times that left us in uncertainty till the very last second, duo the Covid-19 measures changing from day to day. In case, we could not get an apartment, we booked and paid two areas in the camp, as the only option available at that time, and took tents with us. In the end, in the last moments, it turned out that the camp was not meant for us. In the very last moments, we got an affirmative answer from one of the apartment owners and finally headed there. The booked areas in the camp were thus left empty, and the money was not returned. Anyway, Hungary looked like an island in the middle of Europe, where they had never heard of a virus that has been raging around the world for months now, and as such was the best option for fun and a trip there. Shops, restaurants and clubs functioned normally, streets and the shores of the lake were full of happy people, relaxing and enjoying last summer days. We were not sorry, we chose Hungary! The boyhood was as it should be and the weekend was great fun, for the rest, it is better to keep it a mystery.
My friend, now newlywed, and I have built and share countless of memories together, many of which I wouldn’t have been able to remember without the help of photos. There have been a lot of adventures and craziness in the last 22 years. But it wasn’t just partying, drunken heads and causing gray hair to parents. There was much more: countless hours spent on the court under the basketball hoops; thousands and thousands of words said at the Mercator office building, while nibbling on pumpkin seeds; hang outs at Badovinac bar with a drink and music coming from his pimped car Micra; jokes and laughters, sometimes even a fight; hundreds of kilometers of running over Rožnik hill; travels; few hospital visits and x-rays irradiation… and much more and more!
He is a friend with whom being in company is always something special and spontaneous, full of laughter, positive energy and crazy ideas, he is a friend I can completely trust, a friend who has selflessly come to my aid many times. A friend, in the true sense of the word, a friend everyone can wish for, a friend forever! Good luck on a new journey, my friend, best of luck to both of you! It’s just the beginning and I believe we’re going to write quite a few more crazy and memorable chapters together.