I guess since I've already posted on where you can get your fix of our wedding photos, I'll detail a little about the big day itself. I'd like to have that part written down first anyway.
June 20, 2009
I couldn't have asked for better weather for our wedding. If living in San Francisco has taught me anything, it is that summers are bitterly cold and foggy with a high percent chance of gale force winds. Therefore, before we pinned down a final wedding date, I had to come to terms with the cold hard fact that the weather could very well have been miserable.
I jolted out of bed, relieved to see sunny rays pouring into my room. With all the hustle and bustle of the week leading up to THE day, I found it a miracle that I even woke up on time. But then again, who wakes up late on their wedding day? I took my time showering and already day-dreaming about what the next hours were to hold. I dressed, making sure I had the appropriate buttoned down shirt, so as not to mess up my soon-to-be updo. I walked out of the vacation rental, down the street to the bus stop. I shortly realized my quick ride up to the hair salon (where I was meeting my mom and my sister) was going to be my ONLY alone time for the day. These moments were precious. It was a quiet and crisp morning. My heart was happy, nervous, but happy. If you know me, you probably know I love the bus. It sounds strange and an unlikely place of comfort, but it holds a special place in my heart. The bus is neutral ground. It's a converging of lives and it is a remarkable place to people watch. The fact that my few moments of calm before the storm took place on the bus makes them that much more meaningful.
With a salon name like Hair of the Gods, how can you go wrong? And in fact nothing did go wrong. I was quite sure with the amount of bobby pins and hairspray that my hair might never come unglued. It was also nice to spend that getting ready time with just my mom and Kristen. I'm not one of those people that needs lots of conversation to think time spent was quality. I'm probably more on the opposite end of the spectrum. I appreciate the stillness, the moments of simply being. They seem to be memorable.
Once back at the rental house, the girls and I were in full-fledged getting ready time. We brushed, lashed, coated, sprayed, and pinned to our hearts content (well, maybe more so). I really can't say enough about how much it meant to me to have Kristen, Heather, Alison, SarahMargaret, Veronique, and Mary Kay there with me. Honestly, I would have had many more meltdowns in the moments leading up to the wedding had it not been for their presence. Each of them is a unique gift to me (yah, it's cheesy, but true). They have been with me throughout the different stages of life. They loved me despite all my faults and mistakes, including that time I decided to try-out for cheerleading. The 6 of them mean SO much to me. Many people don't have many friends, or they have a lot that aren't very close, but they have graciously allowed me to stick around. [disclaimer: this doesn't apply to Kristen and Alison, because they're family and there's no getting rid of me!]
Moving along...after getting ready time, it was picture, picture, picture, picture time. Our entire wedding party can now tell you how big of picture whores we are. We made them (and our photographer) run around the city taking each and every possible photo-op there was. And if you haven't seen the photos, I may be bias, but they are fabulous.
And then there was the ceremony. The chapel was built in 1864 on the army base in the Presidio in San Francisco. As the Presidio's website describes it, it was built in the Victorian Gothic style. But, what I love about the chapel, and one of the biggest reasons we picked it, is it is unpretentious. It is welcoming and quaint. It is completely opposite from "the big city" and although I wanted a real san francisco affair, I also wanted it to be simple. Throughout the day, I felt as though I got the best of both worlds. I wanted to appreciate the beauty of nature. And, there was something particularly romantic about saying our vows where other people had promised their's for roughly 145 years. I couldn't re-articulate much of what was said in the ceremony, but I think it went something like,
"yadda, yadda, yadda, I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride, yadda, yadda, yadda, the end."
It was one of those moments, like the proposal, where everything got fuzzy and seemed to be on low volume. I know I was happy as a clam. I was utterly in love with the man standing in front of me and I knew he was utterly in love with me.
After the ceremony, we plowed through the receiving line against all recommendations, took some family pics, wedding party pics, and of course then some more couple pics (can you have too many?--don't answer that.)
Who's getting tired of the recap, because I know I am. Let's do some bullet points:
*We arrived at the reception my shoulders looking like they had been spray-painted red, but we charged ahead.
*I ate fried chicken, mac n cheese, okra, green beans, salad, and cornbread. I had a few sips of white wine.
*I walked around all the different tables (which were labeled for many of the San Francisco neighborhoods) with my new husband.
*Micah and I kissed a lot, because there was a lot of glass clinging.
*We danced the tango to the song The Mating Game by Bitter:sweet!
*We cut our funfetti cake and were reasonably nice to each other. I should also mention that the groom's cake was red velvet with chocolate cream cheese frosting with the obama logo and "yes we can" on it. I, however, did not get to try it.
*We danced and danced. My parents danced! Micah's parent's danced!! I danced with my dad (not a father/daughter dance) to Don't Stop Believin' by Journey. I think my parents had a really good time.
*I threw a handmade bouquet of buttons and felt, which I had been tempted to simply hand to Kristen instead of tossing.
*Micah captured the Bama garter which was also handmade and threw it.
*I danced a lot; my first and foremost goal.
*As the evening came to an end, the song Over the Rainbow was played. Somehow it happened that Micah and I were dancing in the middle, while everyone else danced in a circle around us. Though there is a strangeness in my description, it was quite a special moment.
*We exited the reception by means of a "high-five" line and drove off in a city car share mini-cooper.
At the end of the day, we were married!
[more to come on the honeymoon and denver]
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