[Editor’s Note: Today we have a guest entry from Ryan Miller, who has a great story about how he gave a uni-themed spin to his recent wedding rehearsal dinner. Enjoy! — Paul]
By Ryan Miller
My family was in charge of the rehearsal dinner the night before my recent wedding. During the planning process, my parents and sister asked if I wanted to do anything special for the table numbers. I thought it would be cool to base each of the eight numbers on a team’s number font — four of my favorite teams and four of my wife’s favorite teams. I’m from New York and my wife is from Cleveland, so all of the teams, besides our two alma maters, are from those cities.
I began by deciding which number from 1 though 8 would be assigned to which team, trying to make it so the numbers were particularly fitting. This was a lot easier for my New York teams, as Ed Giacomin (No. 1) and Derek Jeter (No. 2) seemed obvious, and Kerry Collins (No. 5) was the first Giants quarterback I remember watching when I was little. For No. 6, I went with the Cavs for LeBron, even though he never wore that number for them, because I figured it was close enough. I initially assigned No. 4 to the Browns for DeShaun Watson, just because he was the only single-digit Browns player I could think of, but then I decided to switch it so he wouldn’t be associated with our wedding weekend. Then I just filled in the rest of the numbers with whichever teams were left.
Here’s how it played out:
1 – Rangers
2 – Yankees
3 – Guardians
4 – Boston University
5 – Giants
6 – Cavs
7 – Boston College
8 – Browns
I then sent the list to my sister, who is a graphic designer, so she was able to create numbers, like so:
My mom then printed out the designs onto stickers. The rehearsal dinner was at a brewery, so we put the stickers on growlers, which we used as table markers.
All in all, they came out great! Prior to the dinner, my family suggested that we print out an explanation of the numbers, or put the team name along with the number, but I thought that was a bit too much (and too similar to table assignments at kids’ parties). I figured the stories behind the numbers could be a cool Easter egg for whoever could figure it out. In the end, though, my family may have been right, because it seemed like not that many people made the connection. Oh well!
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Paul here. I love this story! This isn’t the first time we’ve seen uni-themed table numbers, but I never get tired of them. Big congrats to Ryan and his bride, and also big thanks for sharing this story with us.
with our* wedding weekend. (The word “out” did not show up on the spell checking.)
Neat project.
Thanks, Drew. Fixed.
That’s a neat project and event! And I think the “Easter Egg” nature of it was just right – for attendees not in the know, it’s just table numbers. That’s fine! But for those in the know – most importantly the wedding couple and the immediate family who worked on the project – it’s an intimate, meaningful gesture that will be a part of your memories of the wedding for a lifetime. Feels exactly right to me. I have a hard time imagining anyone attending, seeing how any two of the table numbers don’t match each other in style and color, and not asking some questions. The most casual hockey fan will recognize 1, the most casual sports fan who was paying attention at any point in the 2000s or 2010s will recognize 2, and anyone who’s ever attended any wedding-related dinner will note the significance of the non-matchy numbered decorations.
And of course congratulations on the wedding! May the marriage be a lasting blessing to you both.
because he was the only single-digit Browns player I could think of
Dustin Hopkins’ number 7 jersey is on display at the Hall of Fame for his recent feat of being the first player to kick 50-yard field goals in five consecutive games.
Something to keep in mind in case you decide to renew your vows.
Congrats!
Very nice, but that incorrect font for 2 is painful to look at!
Congrats, Ryan!
Very creative – and I like seeing the Guardians’ under-rated font getting some respect!
“..Kerry Collins (No. 5) was the first Giants quarterback I remember watching when I was little.”
This statement made me feel my age….I was single-digits old that ‘miraculous’ day at the Meadowlands when Joe Pisarcik was under center for NYG in ’78.
The world may equate Ernest Byner with the phrase, “The Fumble,” but Giants fans know better.
Byner’s Fumble was just The Fumble.
Pisarcik’s was The Bone Headed Play Call and Fumble.
Ryan may equate number 5 with Kerry Collins, but for me it’ll always be Sean Landeta’s number.
#5 went unused by the Giants for 40 years until Landeta:
link
Guessing he picked that since #7…the number I picture him in – and as a Philadelphia Star, again showing my age…was retired for Mel Hein.
#4 for the Browns can be for the much loved and missed kicker Phil Dawson.
But, I don’t blame you for changing. I would have done the same.
Some of us Browns fans will remember #1 being “The Thriller,” Michael Jackson, back when it was incredibly rare for a receiver to wear a single digit.
This was really fun! Thanks for sharing it, Ryan! And congratulations to you and your bride!