Ed and Eileen
The Wedding

We came for the wedding. We had to te really see it happen to believe it.  They really did it! They are really married! Everybody looked great.   First, we have the happy couple and some of their families.

Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo
Ed and Eileen, after the ceremony Eileen dances with Matthew (Eileen's cousin) Miniature Ed and Eileen figures stood atop the wedding cake (hand made by Ellen, Ed's sister-in-law)
Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo
Ken, Ed, and Loretta Ed, his brother Ken, and his mother Loretta dance Flower girls Rebecca and Leah (Eileen's nieces)
Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo   Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo
Melvin, Eileen, and Tillie   Eileen's parents

The GSPs

It was a GSP reunion. It's amazing how well we can clean up. It was a weekend long party, with plenty of friends and beer.  There was lots of fun and merriment. It was a time to catch up.  For a GSP event, there weren't many kids. GSP piglet Shelby crashed the reception and had a great time dancing.

Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo
Standing: Rich, Paul, Roberta, Don, Kim, Bob, Ken, Joe, Deb, Mark, Sue, Deb, Deb.
Seated: Malcolm, Maria, Renee, Jeff, Shelby, Eileen, Ed, Sheri.
Not pictured: Herb, Michele, Pete, Jill
Pete and Jill Roberta and Don
Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo
A Strang Sandwich, Sue and Kim surround Paul Rich and Don Roberta and Sue
Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo
Ed and Eileen relax after the wedding Sue, Paul, Ken, Deb, Jeff, Kim, Deb, Rich, Don Deb and Steve
Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo
Deb, stage manager for Renee's toast Herb and Shelby Shelby and Maria

The Toasts

Ken wrote and performed a song to celebrate the wedding:

I Do, Canoe

In the town of Lafayette
That is where the couple met
In the search of a higher education
Graduation came and went
Look at how much time they spent
Nixon was the leader of our nation

Engineers are never known for acting in haste
This calculating couple has impeccable taste

Late night in the library
Among the books no-one could see
Bet they don't complete their dissertations

I scream, You scream
For Edward and Eileen
Rah! Rah! Rah!

It took years of flirtin'
For them to be certain
Hah! Hah! Hah!

Engineering
Brewing beering
And this married life
They should be fearing

I scream
You scream
For Edward and Eileen
Rah! Rah! Rah!

Early morning she will swim
But he can't even spell A.M.
Late night brewing sure effects your spelling

Early evenings she's in bed
But where on earth can we find Ed?
In this song you'll sure not find me telling

Both of them are working for what's left of Ma Bell
When they put their hours in they say "Oh, What the heck"

They'll grab a few of Ed's home brews,
Calculators, and canoes
In blissful matrimony they'll be dwelling

(I Do, Canoe lyrics Copyright © (1995) by that ukulele playin' songster, Kenzo Bronson, all rights reserved)

  Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo  
  Providing scenery for Ken are Chuck (Ed's cousin) and Karen (his wife) from Eugene, Oregon:  

Ed and Eileen: The very, very, very, very abridged version -

What can you say about a 15 year courtship in the time allotted for a toast? Mere words failed Renee and she needed help. So, in their first appearance away from a campfire, Renee and the Not-Ready-for-Conception Players present:

ED and EILEEN: The VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY ABRIDGED VERSION

A WEDDING SKIT
by
Renee Gelblat
November 5, 1995

CAST
Narrator: Renee Gelblat
Ed: Paul Carlisle
Eileen: Sue Strang
Professor: Rich Kulawiec
Ed's Friend: Malcolm Slaney
Assorted People:Don Wegeng, Joe Cychosz, Jeff Schwab, Bob Safranek
Card Carriers: Deb Smith, Roberta Wegeng, Deb Herman, Maria Thompson
Stage Manager: Deb Hansen
The Narrator's microphone is set up to the side of the stage. A table is nearby with a large glass of water and enough glasses of wine for the cast. An easel is nearby for the title placard. Placard carriers will move in a circle in front of the action.
NARRATOR: What can you say about a 15 year courtship in the time allotted for a toast? Mere words fail me and I need help. So, in their first appearance away from a campfire, the Not-Ready-for-Conception Players and I would like to present:

PLACARD: ED and EILEEN: The VERY, VERY, VERY, (etc.) ABRIDGED VERSION

PLACARD: ACT I: THE MEETING
Scene: Purdue University chairs are set up for a lecture - about 8 chairs. The professor's props include some extention cords and a model rocket kit.

NARRATOR: It was the Fall of 1980. Eileen Gelblat, fresh from an upbringing in the suburbs of New York City and an undergraduate degree in Physics from Cornell University, was about to enter her first graduate class in electrical engineering at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Bell Labs had made her an offer she couldn't refuse. In exchange for a summer's worth of work they would send her for a master's degree. Eileen was to discover the joys of electricity, an allergy to corn, and, unknown to her at the time, love.

Enter the class consisting of a group of large males with Eileen hidden in the middle. They walk in and stand by the chairs ready to sit down. Eileen is still hidden. Ed and friend enter and stand to the side. The prof enters.

PROF: Welcome class to Electrical Engineering 10111001. Please be seated.

The class sits. The males sit down first so that everyone can clearly see Eileen who sits down more slowly.

PROF: some random lecturing

ED (grabbing his friends arm excitedly): LOOK!!

ED's FRIEND: What!

ED: I saw one. There's a ... GIRL! in this class.

ED's FRIEND: No Way! That can't be.

ED: No, I'm positive. I saw a girl. I think I'll introduce myself after the lecture.

PROF: some more random lecturing: ...and that's all for today. The assignment for next time is a plan for a time warp machine.

The class moans or boos the assignment.

PROF: This IS a graduate class!

The males in the class leave and Ed walks up the Eileen who is getting her stuff together.

ED: Hi. I'm Ed.

EILEEN: I'm Eileen.

ED: You're new here aren't you?

EILEEN: Yes, and you?

ED: Oh, I've been here a while. Would you like to go out this weekend and see the sites of West Lafayette, Indiana?

EILEEN: I'd like to see the sites, but I can't go out this weekend, it's Rosh Hashanna.

ED (looking very puzzled): What?

EILEEN: You know, observance of the Jewish New Year.

ED: What? I don't know much about Jewish stuff. How can anyone keep all those foreign sounding words straight anyway?

Eileen and Ed stay in the classroom setup.

NARRATOR: Over the course of the next year Eileen and Ed got to know each other. But at the end of the summer of 1981...

EILEEN: My one year on campus is over, I have my degree and I'm going back to Naperville to work for Bell Labs.

ED: But, I have a *bit* more to go on my degree. So I will have to stay here.

EILEEN: Will you visit me?

ED: You *know* I will.

END OF ACT I
*Clear the stage. Set up one chair at each end of the stage with a card in front of one that says "NAPERVILLE" and "PURDUE" in front of the other.

PLACARDS: ACT II: THE COURTSHIP
NARRATOR: And so the court ship began...

Ed is at the Purdue side of the stage and Eileen is at the Naperville side. Throughout this act, Ed and Eileen will be walking back and forth between the 2 locations. First Eileen is seated, Ed walks to Eileen, she gets up, they hug, Ed waves goodbye, Eileen sits down and Ed walks back to Purdue. As Ed sits, Eileen gets up and the process repeats in reverse. After Eileen gets back and sits down, Ed gets up and walks over, etc.

NARRATOR (let the above go for at least one cycle): Back and forth our two young lovers went Purdue to Naperville, Naperville to Purdue, Purdue to Naperville, and on and on...

PLACARDS: placards with years 1982, 1985, 1988 marked on them slowly go across. These are held below the action.
NARRATOR: They continued through the fall colors, the bitter Midwest winters, the spring flowers, and summers heat. Presidential elections came and presidential elections went. The Midwest flooded and the Berlin wall came down, and still Eileen and Ed continued. If only, the three hour drive between their respective abodes could accumulate frequent traveler miles. Then the honeymoon could have been a world cruise.

Stop going back and forth.

But there was more to this relationship than travel between Naperville and Purdue. There were summertime trips to West Virginia for whitewater rafting....

Ed and Eileen walk to center of stage and pretend to paddle a raft. They sit on the same side so the raft goes in circles. Then they walk back to their chairs.

NARRATOR: and there were vacations to far away and exotic locations such as Hawaii.

Ed and Eileen walk to the center of the stage and do a little hula dance. Then they walk back to their respective chairs and Eileen starts the back and forth the sequence again.

PLACARD: 1990 goes by
NARRATOR: At this point, you may be wondering why Eileen was still waiting for Ed to graduate. The reason is very simple. Ed really knew how to keep a woman's interest. Just when it seemed that Eileen's interest was beginning to wane, Ed would utter those magic words that all women long to hear...

ED: (at the middle of stage raises one hand and proclaims): JUST ONE MORE SEMESTER!!!

Ed walks to his side and back and forth walking stops.

PLACARD: 1991 goes by
NARRATOR: Eventually, Ed's prediction came true and Ed's encyclopedic work on speech recognition was done and Ed really did graduate.

Remove Naperville sign. Starting at Ed's side of the stage, Ed walks by (in cap and gown?) followed by the rest of the cast each carrying a book and humming "Pomp and Circumstance". The parade starts on Ed's side of the stage and they walk to the other side where someone looking official hands him a diploma looking rolled up piece of paper and an envelope. Everyone walks off the stage.

PROFESSOR: Congratulations on your graduation. Here is your diploma and a letter of condemnation from the Sierra Club for destroying the forest.

END OF ACT II

PLACARD: ACT III: ED MOVES IN
Set up the Naperville sign and chair in the middle of the stage and the Purdue sign and chair at the end again. Ed is on stage at his end. On his chair is a box with a large computer print out on top.

NARRATOR: Now there could be no more excuses. If the relationship was to continue, it was time for Ed to get a job, or two, and move to Naperville.

Ed picks up the box with the printout and walks to Eileen. Ed puts the box on the chair and gives Eileen a big hug. Take away the Purdue sign and chair. This box has a beer mug in it that will be used later in this act.

EILEEN: I'm so glad that you got the job at Bell Labs and that we're finally going to be together.

ED: I'm so glad too. All that traveling was really getting to me. I just have a few things to move in.

EILEEN: That's not a problem. At least not since I bought this nice big house. (Eileen looks at the box) How much stuff do you have anyway?

ED: Well, I have this box... and this (let the computer printout cascade down the side of the chair) is the inventory list.

EILEEN (looking horrified): OH! Well you can have the basement just make sure that I can still get down the stairs and to the washing machine.

ED (calling offstage to the rest of the cast): Okay! Bring them in.

We will need about 10 boxes of various sizes. The rest of the cast forms a "bucket brigade", passes the boxes in, and Ed piles them around the chair, leaving the box with the beer mug in it accessible. Eileen continues to look horrified.

NARRATOR: Despite the volume of Ed's belongings, Eileen and Ed managed to find a place for everything and everything had a place, although some of it had to be stored offsite. Now there was nothing left but to discuss the "big decision."

Eileen and Ed stand by the chair with the boxes. Ed takes the beer mug off the box and stares at it as if it had a very, very interesting beer in it.

PLACARD: 1994
EILEEN: Ed, we have to talk about us.

ED (still staring intently at the beer): Later

EILEEN: It's VERY important.

ED: Later

EILEEN: You have until the end of the year.

Clear the stage. Ed and Eileen remain in the middle of the stage.

NARRATOR: So there they were, on vacation in Quito, Ecuador. The date was December, 31st. The time was a quarter to midnight. Little did Eileen know that Ed had made up his mind before this point but, we think for dramatic effect, he was waiting for THE right moment. Finally the right moment came and Ed uttered the words that are traditional words that had been passed down for generations in Eileen's family.

ED: So you want to get married, or what?

PLACARD: APPLAUSE
Everyone leaves the stage. The entire cast gets their glasses of wine and stands by the narrator.

NARRATOR: It was Eileen's acceptance of this heartfelt proposal that has brought us to this joyous day. So I would like to propose this toast.

Everyone raises their glasses.

NARRATOR: To Eileen and Ed, may your marriage last EVEN longer than your courtship.

We finish the wine and all take our bows.

Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo
Renee , Paul, and Sue - Our narrator and stars of the production Paul as "Ed" The real Ed and Eileen taking in the show
Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo
Deb setting the scene As the years roll by... The "graduation line"
Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo
Paul and Sue as "Ed" and "Eileen" The big finish Paul and Sue relax after the show

The Gifts

Eileen and Ed didn't register for wedding gifts in any conventional manner. That has never stopped the GSPs. At this wedding, the GSPs arranged to give the happy couple enough place mats to keep their dinner table covered for years. The goal was to bring the tackiest placemats you could find. Walmart and the gift shops around Hico West Virginia were popular sources. Other contributions were personalized and home-made. The complete list of placemats, in excess, as only GSPs can do:

Official Placemat Wedding Gift Inventory
Placemat Name and/or Description Material Quantity
"Aladdin," Walt Disney (with encapsulated floating glittery things)
vinyl
1
"Barney," Little Bop, and Friends (one labeled for each day of the week)
vinyl
7
Barnyard scene (5 cows, barn, windmill, fields, ...)
cloth
2
"Boo!" (Haloween imagery)
vinyl
1
Bugs Bunny and The Tazmanian Devil, Warner Brothers
vinyl
1
Country scene with two Chickens
vinyl
1
"How to Enjoy Your Delicious Steamed Crabs"
paper
8
Ed Brewing in West Virginia, 1991
plastic
1
Ed Lecturing (wearing graduation gown) in West Virginia, 1991
plastic
2
Ed Posing in traditional West Virginia campfire style, 1991 (matching set)
plastic
8
"Lines and Flowers," 10" x 14"
paper
50
Golden diagonal ridges
vinyl
1
"New River from Hawks Nest State Park, West Virginia"
plastic
4
Irish Pubs
(McSwiggans, Murphy's Bar, O'Donoghues, The Marble City Bar, ...)
plastic
cork base
6
General store barnyard friends: buttons and bows Kitten in a House Dress
(with indentation to insert coordinating napkin!)
cloth
1
"Learn the Signs with Mickey and Minnie", Walt Disney
vinyl
1
"Mighty Morphin Power Rangers"
vinyl
1
"New River Gorge Bridge, Fayette County, West Virginia"
"Longest single-span steel arch bridge in the world!"
plastic
4
Pepé L'Pew, Warner Brothers
vinyl
1
Haloween Pumpkin Patch (Glows in the Dark!)
cloth
1
General store barnyard friends: Reclining Cow
(with indentation to insert coordinating napkin!)
cloth
1
Wiley Coyote and Road Runner, Warner Brothers
vinyl
1
"Read a Mat, Eat and Learn Table Manners"
vinyl
1
""T" is for Tigger, who loves to bounce high.", Walt Disney
vinyl
1
Sylvester and Tweety Bird, Warner Brothers
vinyl
1
curiously tabulated by the groomal, Ed Bronson   107

 

Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo
Ed and Eileen with the Road Runner Aladdin was popular Ed and Eileen respond to the moon placemats
Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo   Ed and Eileen Wedding Photo
Ed realizes there are lots of moons   Deb and the GSPs brought a large card