Tying the knot
Aug. 15th, 2001 04:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
twicketfaceSo, here’s a recap of the wedding that made me a husband. It’s still a blur but I’ll do the best I can.
Friday night (8/3) we had our rehearsal at the church and the rehearsal dinner afterwards. Everything went smoothly and as planned. Spent some of the time afterwards decorating the hall and getting some other things in order. The hotel did have a mini-arcade which included the original version of Paperboy (with the dirt bike handlebars to control the game). The game is much harder than I remember and I fear my hand-eye coordination was not what it was when I was 12.
Saturday morning began with breakfast with my groomsmen at the hotel restaurant. Due to a mix-up by either our waitress or the cook, the 5 of us ate for about $3.00 total. We were getting things free left and right because my brother had turkey in his omelet (instead of ham) and Eric had ham in his omelet (instead of chicken). My pancakes turned out with just the right amount of meat in them, so I had no complaints.
Afterwards, we took a quick swim in the pool and headed up to get ready. Marie and I wanted to take care of some pictures before the ceremony to save time. There is a retreat center not far from the hotel that provided the perfect background for our pictures. We took them of Marie’s parents, step-dad and brother, my parents and also the wedding party. It was hotter than a bugger but I’ll take heat over rain on a wedding day. We then rode from the retreat center to the church to get things ready for the wedding. We rented an extended van (with air conditioning!) to take us to our destinations, which was great. We got ready in the basement of the church and proceeded with the ceremony.
I was walked down the isle by parents and as soon as I hugged my mom (before she sat down) I was almost in tears. I think the whole moment was really catching up to me and what I was about to embark upon. Marie and I were living together for over a year before we got married, so it wasn’t as much of a ‘huge change’ as it could have been, but here I was getting married to the woman I love and getting a little emotional at the same time. Next our wedding party made their way down the isle and then came Marie. She was walked down the isle by her mom and dad and then joined me on ‘center stage’ for the ceremony.
We had Marie’s cousin Becky, my uncle Gary, and Marie’s grandfather read for the wedding, which was great. Marie’s uncle Loren videotaped the ceremony and reception and did such a good job with the videotaping. He was using our camcorder, so I wasn’t sure how it was going to go. We watched the video last night (the 14th) and were blown away by how great it was. I probably need a separate video card to upload video clips to my computer, but I’ll consult my owner’s manual to see if it can be done, because that would be pretty damn cool. The ceremony was beautiful and everything went according to plan. After Marie and I walked down the isle (and after the wedding party followed us) we went back and dismissed people by row. That way, it was a little more personal and we got to talk to everyone there, if for only a little bit.
The worst thing that happened at the church (which we didn’t find out until Sunday morning) was that the room where the girls got ready in (down in the basement) had their purses for the duration of the ceremony. Someone went to the church basement and went through them, helping themselves to the contents (probably about $150 or so). I suppose it would be pretty easy to do for someone familiar with the church. In my heart of hearts, I do hope it was someone who truly needed the money and not just someone who was greedy and took advantage of the bridesmaids. Amy, the maid of honor, did call the church to let them know, so hopefully it won’t happen again. Marie and I did lose some gift certificates that we had purchased for our readers and possibly a card, but when you get robbed, you can never be sure of everything you lost.
After the ceremony we headed to the reception and had a wonderful dinner and a great time dancing as well. Marie and I had a tremendous time and it was so thrilling to be surrounded by loving friends and family members. I made a slide show presentation of photographs and used Eric’s laptop to have that running on our gift table. My dad made the cake stand which turned out perfectly. Marie and I crashed around midnight or so, after much dancing and laughing.
Sunday we woke up and got checked out of the hotel. Packed up the car and headed to my mother-in-law’s house for the gift opening. We were spoiled with lots of gifts and had a lot to open. We had a lot of good food too; chocolate covered Rice Krispie treats were in full effect. Around 3pm we left for Chicago for the honeymoon after helping my parent’s pack up the minivan with our loot.
All in all, it was a fantastic wedding and we heard lots of “this is the best wedding we’ve been to” remarks. I guess we know how to throw a party. Everyone kept asking me ‘how it felt’ and I must say it didn’t feel all that different. I guess I’d be scared if it did. I had committed myself to Marie a long time ago, the ceremony was more of a formality. It feels weird to wear a ring so I’m still getting used to that, but the commitment is more than just a week and half old ;)
Next up, the honeymoon tales…
Friday night (8/3) we had our rehearsal at the church and the rehearsal dinner afterwards. Everything went smoothly and as planned. Spent some of the time afterwards decorating the hall and getting some other things in order. The hotel did have a mini-arcade which included the original version of Paperboy (with the dirt bike handlebars to control the game). The game is much harder than I remember and I fear my hand-eye coordination was not what it was when I was 12.
Saturday morning began with breakfast with my groomsmen at the hotel restaurant. Due to a mix-up by either our waitress or the cook, the 5 of us ate for about $3.00 total. We were getting things free left and right because my brother had turkey in his omelet (instead of ham) and Eric had ham in his omelet (instead of chicken). My pancakes turned out with just the right amount of meat in them, so I had no complaints.
Afterwards, we took a quick swim in the pool and headed up to get ready. Marie and I wanted to take care of some pictures before the ceremony to save time. There is a retreat center not far from the hotel that provided the perfect background for our pictures. We took them of Marie’s parents, step-dad and brother, my parents and also the wedding party. It was hotter than a bugger but I’ll take heat over rain on a wedding day. We then rode from the retreat center to the church to get things ready for the wedding. We rented an extended van (with air conditioning!) to take us to our destinations, which was great. We got ready in the basement of the church and proceeded with the ceremony.
I was walked down the isle by parents and as soon as I hugged my mom (before she sat down) I was almost in tears. I think the whole moment was really catching up to me and what I was about to embark upon. Marie and I were living together for over a year before we got married, so it wasn’t as much of a ‘huge change’ as it could have been, but here I was getting married to the woman I love and getting a little emotional at the same time. Next our wedding party made their way down the isle and then came Marie. She was walked down the isle by her mom and dad and then joined me on ‘center stage’ for the ceremony.
We had Marie’s cousin Becky, my uncle Gary, and Marie’s grandfather read for the wedding, which was great. Marie’s uncle Loren videotaped the ceremony and reception and did such a good job with the videotaping. He was using our camcorder, so I wasn’t sure how it was going to go. We watched the video last night (the 14th) and were blown away by how great it was. I probably need a separate video card to upload video clips to my computer, but I’ll consult my owner’s manual to see if it can be done, because that would be pretty damn cool. The ceremony was beautiful and everything went according to plan. After Marie and I walked down the isle (and after the wedding party followed us) we went back and dismissed people by row. That way, it was a little more personal and we got to talk to everyone there, if for only a little bit.
The worst thing that happened at the church (which we didn’t find out until Sunday morning) was that the room where the girls got ready in (down in the basement) had their purses for the duration of the ceremony. Someone went to the church basement and went through them, helping themselves to the contents (probably about $150 or so). I suppose it would be pretty easy to do for someone familiar with the church. In my heart of hearts, I do hope it was someone who truly needed the money and not just someone who was greedy and took advantage of the bridesmaids. Amy, the maid of honor, did call the church to let them know, so hopefully it won’t happen again. Marie and I did lose some gift certificates that we had purchased for our readers and possibly a card, but when you get robbed, you can never be sure of everything you lost.
After the ceremony we headed to the reception and had a wonderful dinner and a great time dancing as well. Marie and I had a tremendous time and it was so thrilling to be surrounded by loving friends and family members. I made a slide show presentation of photographs and used Eric’s laptop to have that running on our gift table. My dad made the cake stand which turned out perfectly. Marie and I crashed around midnight or so, after much dancing and laughing.
Sunday we woke up and got checked out of the hotel. Packed up the car and headed to my mother-in-law’s house for the gift opening. We were spoiled with lots of gifts and had a lot to open. We had a lot of good food too; chocolate covered Rice Krispie treats were in full effect. Around 3pm we left for Chicago for the honeymoon after helping my parent’s pack up the minivan with our loot.
All in all, it was a fantastic wedding and we heard lots of “this is the best wedding we’ve been to” remarks. I guess we know how to throw a party. Everyone kept asking me ‘how it felt’ and I must say it didn’t feel all that different. I guess I’d be scared if it did. I had committed myself to Marie a long time ago, the ceremony was more of a formality. It feels weird to wear a ring so I’m still getting used to that, but the commitment is more than just a week and half old ;)
Next up, the honeymoon tales…
