Another three day weekend come and gone. Not much happened this weekend. I mean, I got married, had a huge celebration of a reception, danced like a maniac, and shared the moment with my beloved family and dearest friends. So, from the beginning…
Friday: Set up and Rehearsal
We, that is, Milca, her parents, her Uncle Reuben, and I, went to the Nature Friends to set up for the wedding, and to conduct a rehearsal with the music and everyone there. The weather was less than admirable with light showers most of the morning and afternoon. We were able to get a window of rainless time to conduct a rehearsal of the procession and recession, but we had to do the actual ceremony run through inside. I continuously prayed that this rain keep coming on Friday so that there wouldn’t be any on Saturday, the big day.
Besides the rehearsal itself there were decorations to be hung, tables to be arranged and set, and lights to be strung. We ate empanadas and little sandwiches from the Argentine market. Yummy.
The night went by pretty smoothly, except for a mild headache which was helped along by some Excedrin. I slept like a baby.
Saturday: The Big Day
I woke up early enough to play a little video games, which didn’t make Milca all that happy, but it did allow me to calm my nerves by hunting and killing anything that resembled a Metroid (damn life sucking bastards…). Then the madness started. I picked up my brother Corey, the best man, and went to the Nature Friends. We helped set some last minute details, then went to Pie n’ Burger to get the pies. 18 fresh apple pies in your back seat can make you a little batty. Seriously, I went a little nutes from the smell and strongly considered telling everyone that there were only 17 pies. Perhaps 16, as Corey would need some bribing.
Pies were dropped off at the NF, then Corey and I went to get Mason and Michael, some friends of his that were helping out, got some food to prevent my stomach from eating itself, then went to the NF. From there we took one of the passenger vans to the bottom of the hill to wait for Milca, her dad, and the drivers we arranged to drive people up and down the hill. When the drivers got there I gave one of them the keys to the van I had driven down, as they might need them more than I would. This was a mistake, because when Milca and her dad arrived in the other van they went up the hill like bandits and didn’t come back for some time to pick myself and the crowd that had been gathering in the mean time until 20 minutes before 3, the starting time for the ceremony (or so said the invitation). We knew that 3:30 was likely to be the starting time, so it wasn’t too bad.
Once up the hill I changed into my superfly outfit and greeted some of the guests and whatnot. There were a few snags that needed to be ironed out, such as a missing microphone for the ceremony, that were taken care of by p’rick, dafe, and phil quickly, efficiently, and painlessly. They were, and still remain, the bomb. This pattern repeated itself throughout the day, these guys being the bomb I mean, and was greatly appreciated.
Microphone set, the ceremony started. Ambika, a ray of sunshine that performed the ceremony, and Milca’s uncle Reuben, who would be translating the vows into Spanish, went ahead of me and my parents. My walk down the aisle was a slow one. I had a hard time keeping my step, which wasn’t helped by the fact that my mom was also having a hard time keeping the cadence. Once we got to the step up to the altar I noticed that my brother had taped a note on the last step for Milca which read: “Milca, Don’t Fart.” Being one of the first people up there, I got to see the reactions of all the people reading the note. Most people shook their heads in disbelief. Once the wedding party was up there, the song ended and it was Milca’s turn to walk down the aisle.
I hadn’t seen her dress yet. We made a point of this, and it was challenging, as my suit and her dress were both made by a woman that Milca works with, Heidi. She did a fabulous job on my suit, so I could only imagine how Milca’s dress might look.
She took my breath away. That’s not an exaggeration or use of a cliché. She actually made me stop brething for a second or two. I cried. Luckily my mom was there to give me a tissue. Thanks, mom. Her march down the aisle was an extremely long one, and by the time she got there I wanted to hug and kiss her right there, but thought that might be a little premature. When she got to the sign on the steps she laughed out loud. Apparently people in the audience thought she was falling, but I saw the look on her face, which was one of surprise. Once she reached me we held hands, and didn’t let go for the remainder of the ceremony.
Vows exchanged, we were pronounced man and wife, and went out to greet our guests as a newly married couple. The party pretty much took off from there. There were appetizers and drinks served, people were chatting, and the two of us were whisked here and there, to and fro, talking, hugging, kissing, hugging, thanking people for coming, hugging… seriously, that day I reached my highest hug count ever.
After hugging whoever I was talking to, I said, “Where is my wife?” This happened for the rest of the night. All night. Food was served, drinks were served, and a good time was had by all. The highlights of the evening were the tango demonstration and instruction, the dance between Milca and her dad (to the song Blue Skies by Willie Nelson), our first dance as man and wife (At Last by Etta James), and my solo dance to Tunak Tunak Tun by Daler Mehndi. I’ve never had a better time. The music was supervised by p’rick (again, he is the bomb), any snags in microphones or electric equipment, or even rides down the hill in the shuttle vans were handled by dafe (again, he is the bomb), and various other friends and family members helped out here and there making the whole night go smoothly.
After much more hugging, we were able to escape to the Ritz (again, Phil is the bomb), where hot tea, a bed covered in rose petals, and chocolate covered strawberries were waiting for us. We ate some of the treats, had some tea, showered, and went straight to sleep. The next morning, however…
After eating the most exensive waffles I’ve ever eaten, we checked out, went home, and opened our presents. Not to put down anyone’s gifts or anything, I’d like to mention one gift in particular that rocked our socks. One of the bride’s maids is seeing someone who is a photographer by the name of Ken Regan, who apparently does photos for celebrities, and has for years. He was able to get one of his old prints signed, “To Milca, Congratulations on this special day. -Joan Baez” She nearly died. We opened and read every card, gave plentyof “ahhhhhh”‘s over the messages written, read the guest book from the wedding day itself, then took the dogs to the park (yes, we’re damn hippies that love our dogs).
When we got home we had dinner prepared by the Nona, which was gnocchis with a red chicken sauce. Sooooo yummy.
So, here I am. Rested, married, and waiting for the honeymoon, which will be starting on the 13th of February. Oh, and Milca’s dad is taking us to Vegas for 3 days starting tomorrow. I’ve never been. It would just figure that my first time would be once I am married, and I’d go with my wife and father in law.
Wife… I’m still getting used to saying it. It isn’t too tough, though. It feels so right.
Thanks to everyone who came, and especially anyone who put even a seconds worth of help into making it happen. Everyone had a great time, and it couldn’t have happened without the love and support of all our friends and families.
Now we can finally finish the Christmas presents we had promised to everyone. 😉
