wedding

It's ooover; it's ooover
Strongbad says it's ooover
It's oooover; it's ooover
Everybody died 'cept me!

Except nobody died and our wedding was the best weekend EVER. Thank you SO MUCH, everyone who was able to attend and make the evening so delightful.

Here's how things went from my end:

1) I have the coolest, nicest friends/family/in-laws/co-workers in the entire world. This concept was introduced on Tuesday when my work friends threw us a cocktail party at Marc 49 in Oakland. Confirmed the next day at our respective bachelor and bachelorette parties. Reinforced throughout the week.

2) I super hate being late to stuff, but we were continually late Tues-Fri to all things. Not by much, just by enough to be annoying. On Thursday, after an amusing evening in which Danielle, Lora, Whitney, and I tried to be reallyreallyreally quiet (thinking the others were sleeping), we got up early and went to breakfast. One thing. We did one thing, and yet...we were late to nail appointments. And then late back to the apartment, which caused SUPER RUSHING AROUND to get to Sonoma. Daytime Thursday was easily the most stressful for me.

3) See #1. After arriving in Sonoma, we took over the hotel. It was delightful to know that almost everyone going into or coming out of a room at the hotel was with us. Felt a little like camp, in the best way possible. Wedding rehearsal went well. I was pretty sure our poor coordinator was going to kill us after awhile. She'd say one thing, 5 jokes would ensue, and 2 people wouldn't have been listening. Prize for the afternoon goes to this exchange:
- Robin [friend & officiant]: and then we'll end with a reading.
- Kelly [coordinator]: Will you make some kind of pronouncement or "ladies and gentlemen, Timo and Jessica" at the end?
- Robin: no, I've already done that. The reading is the last thing.
- Kelly: that's not really traditional.
- Robin: ...I know.

4) Rehearsal dinner was fantastic. Do yourself a favor. Go to Bluegrass Bar and Grill and order the brisket. Do not pass go. Do not consider other proteins. It is too good to be missed. My dad loved it (and I always measure brisket by what he taught me about barbeque) and said HIS dad would've liked it. We had truly excellent toasts from Timo's dad, my brother, and my friend Whitney. It's a crime that they're not on film, but I guess the best bits will live on in our memories.

Highlights from my brother's toast: "I met Timo in Boston, and I'm pretty sure the first thing I thought was 'wow, he's very tall'. Timo, you're still tall." and "My sister is at the top of my priority list. And Timo, now that you're joining the family, I want you to know...my sister is at the top of my priority list. [big laugh from the crowd] But that's because I put my family first. Now that you're officially becoming part of the family, you'll always be at the top too." Paraphrased a bit.

Highlights from Whitney's toast: Timo moved in and the three of us lived together for awhile. "And that was hard. But I now think I am the luckiest of all the people here. Because I got to see them, every day, at the beginning, fall in love"

That one is making me teary even typing it out.

I understand there was hanging out afterwards, but Timo and I went back to our hotel room. It seems we hadn't seen each other in days, so we drank some wine, caught up, and practiced reading our vows to each other.

5) See #1. All night long, people approached me and said "I love your friends" or "your aunt is the best" or "we had such a nice chat with your parents." Awesome.

6) Wedding day approached with little sleep under my belt. Like every night that week. I think I last slept well on Monday night. Hoping to remember how to sleep BEFORE we get to Ireland.

Breakfast? Check.
Hair salon? Check.
Champagne? Check, check, and check throughout the day,
Lunch in my mom's hotel room. Lora still raving about the veggie sandwiches.
Sudden discovery that it was 1:30pm and we had better get ready because we were getting picked up at 2:15. Crap. Time for more rushing around.

Side note: all day long I made vendors and perfect strangers laugh. A lot. They'd ask "how are you sleeping?" I'd say, "very poorly." "Are you nervous?" "Yes." [cue laughter] Is it funny to be honest about those questions?

Put dress on.
Photos.
Photos with Timo. Nervousness abated for awhile.
More photos.
Sitting around waiting for ceremony. We brought magazines. No one read them. Too nervous, I guess. We did manage to kill a bottle of champagne between the 6 of us.

7) Ceremony. It was 100% perfect and I loved every bit of it. I wish I hadn't accidentally indicated to people that they should sit down while Robin was talking [sorry, Robin!] but I think I will forgive myself for that. The group reading was perfect, the individual readings were perfect, and I loved Timo's vows. Win, win, win. Funny thing: the processional and recessional music was the only thing I knew specifically months and months ago. Yet I didn't hear it at all on either walk. I know it was playing, but it really didn't register. Too much to think about, I guess.

8) Reception: see #1. Everyone in my life rules. I am the luckiest.

The cocktail hour was fun, the food at dinner was amazing, and the toasts cannot be topped. At least these ARE on film. [Thanks, Will!] My dad rules. Best Man Dan gave a speech about zombie infections that had Timo and I cackling obnoxiously and tables full of people thinking "what the heck is he talking about?" Perfect. Maid of Honor Danielle drew the short straw by having to follow Dan, but still rocked it. One highlight: "unlike most, or at least many, people here, I have never known a Jess without a Timo. That's the way it should be."

Cake was amazing. Timo's cake toppers were fab. They ended up next to, rather than on, the cake so as to not get greasy, but they were still a big, big, big hit.

Then we danced danced danced and we danced danced danced.

I still didn't sleep. Perhaps tonight? One can hope. Again, I heard there was MUCH after partying, and for that, I am glad. I am also glad I wasn't there. Still, it fills me with joy to see people becoming friends, planning camping trips with folks who were near strangers a couple days previously, and trading cell numbers. Similar joy was experienced by me when I saw sections of tables with friend/family groups mixing and smiling...
- the raucous laughter, pre-salads, from Kelly/Andrew/John/Lauren/Jessica/et al.
- Bean saying "I sat next to a motorcycle guy!"
- Robin & Dennis shaking hands across tables
- hearing "I think Will might leave me for Joe"
- and a thousand other tiny, individual moments

People kept saying "don't worry what other people will think during your wedding. It's about you!" But I tell you what: I will have a good time at my wedding when I know people are enjoying themselves. By and large, they did and I had the best night ever.

Tomorrow we're off to Ireland. Ireland! Wish us luck. We'll do what we can to post about the trip and share some photos.