Awe Geez: Getting Ready

I will now begin a painfully drawn out series of wedding reports accompanied by photos... of myself.
Actually, I'm going to try to mush it into three posts.
All this wedding talk will die down so soon and it'll be like it never happened and we'll forget the tiny details that made that day feel so warm and full. That was an awfully happy day. I didn't expect it to feel so good and be so fun. After all this time and all these weddings, I had to assume the hubbub was just hype perpetuated by girls with few other things to be excited about. That's not cynicism, it's intolerance. I've been "over" weddings for a while now and figured we'd walk away from our wedding and say, "Well that was nice." they way you do when you've been to a pleasant event.

We feel lucky that we get to claim that party. We feel lucky that we're the ones in the photos. I'd like to go back and do it again, like one more ride at a theme park. "Come on, just one more time!"

The days leading up to the wedding were full and busy. Brett was working overtime to finish a project at work and I was spending a lot of time working out how to best spend my time so that I wouldn't be too busy in the days leading up to the wedding. There were lots of question filled phone calls, schedules to make, and decoration logistics to work out. Only once during that week did I wish I had hired a planner to take over. Brett and I both felt happy and peaceful about things and mostly just felt like we were going to a party that weekend. Friday night before the wedding, the Unions and Eisenhauer's went out for a big Greek supper together where the nine of us ate and laughed and rotated seating arrangements so we could talk to each other. After supper Brett and I met our friends on a humid rooftop and I was having an internal Mom sensation the whole time, like it was a rooftop full of my most cherished babies and I wanted to love on and hug and chat with all of them but it was an especially difficult job. It was tough to get past pleasantries when being pulled in and out of conversations so quickly. I didn't want any lone friends to climb to the top of the stairs and stand awkwardly so I'd dart away from one friend to greet another and then try to figure out who they'd most enjoy talking to. It was exhausting.

A few days prior to the wedding my Honbons arrived and having them home with us felt just right. They're so encouraging and silly. Laurie sat in the grass with me and worked on my hula hoop chandeliers and offered wisdom nuggets while Don busied himself in Dad's workshop, peeking his head out on occasion looking like he was up to something. The morning of the wedding, they came over to see my house and they brought with them gifts, enthusiasm, warmth, and belly laughs. I was feeling like I had too much on my plate and Laurie’s reactions to things made my morning. She loved the house. Loved the trees. Loved the way Pippa’s tail wags up and down. She was so excited and optimistic.

Now over to the job site. While fixing up our hair and faces, Mom, Ellen, and I (and the Hons and my aunts and uncles) would run in and out of the house setting up tables and candles and assorted decorations. I might have been the sweatiest bride I've ever seen. Up in Mom's room we said a big wedding day prayer, gobbled up some lunch, and then had to act like ladies once Taylor arrived to take pictures. Unlike most Mothers of the Bride, Mom did not want to be in any photos and objected to being photographed in her big, bright yellow t-shirt. Luckily Ellen and Laurie were there to take Mom's place and offer a more customary reaction to things.

Meanwhile, downstairs was filling up. A sweet notion of the day was how all of our friends and family thought they were exceptions to the rules. "I know everyone else is coming at 5:00 but we want to come a little early." The house started to fill with people around 3:30 and I reckon it means we had just our dearest folks there and that we've managed to make them feel like exceptions. Even though having a lot of people around creating hubbub wound up making me a little anxious, I thought it was sweet that so many people feel like family.

Before things got too wild and busy, Brett and I wanted to spend a little chunk of time together. When talking about weddings, everyone tells you how fast it goes by and how many things you won't notice or remember. That sounds like a giant waste of all that went into throwing the dern party so we wanted to make sure we had some time to really be present with each other. We snuck off into the backyard to wheeze and tell each other important things and I'm glad we did this. Hanging with EisenEars beforehand kept me calm and allowed it to feel like we were walking into the day together instead of being kept apart and feeling like something was looming. I don't like things that loom.