So I kinda got married, and it was awesome. No, seriously: I think that might have been one of the most fun nights I've ever had. First of all, despite more than a week of weather predictions that showed rain and thunderstorms on our wedding day, it was cool, it wasn't humid, and the sun was out and stayed out until we had already gone into the tent for dinner. Even though it rained for a little while, it only made the gardens more beautiful as the sun went down. Our justice of the peace got lost and showed up at about 5:05, which was the main source of stress directly before the event; there I am, looking out the window of the bridal suite at 4:55 at Sean, who is supposed to be trying to figure out if she's here yet, but who is instead chatting up Dr. Davidson, and meanwhile my wonderful bridesmaids are trying to convince me that it's OK, except it's really not OK if your officiant does not make it to the ceremony. But she did, and even better, she immediately ordered the guys to all button their tuxedo jackets even though Sean had decreed that he wanted them open, so I loved her for that.
The ceremony was wonderfully brief! Everyone laughed at the Odgen Nash poem, and again when Sean emphasized the "for richer or for poorer"during his vows. The JP gave us the wrong rings at first, because of course the plain one should be the guy's and the one with diamonds should be the woman's, right? Wrong. Anyway, no one tripped, my sister's dress stayed up (the other source of pre-ceremony angst, my sister's infuriating presence), and it all went off swimmingly. Unfortunately, Rae's parents missed the ceremony, but we did manage to get the NWC group plus parents photograph that I wanted. Everyone looked amazing: the girls' dresses, another cause of angst pre-wedding, looked great on them, and the chocolate tuxedos worked out perfectly. And the flowers!! I loved those damned bouquets. Best shade of orange EVER. And I don't even like orange, in fact I generally hate the color, but in this situation it was just perfect. Sean looked so handsome, and I have to admit that I looked pretty damn hot myself. It's amazing what you can do with professional hair and makeup and a pair of Spanx. Amazing.
I really can't get over how gorgeous everything turned out. The florist who did our centerpieces was an absolute wonder; Linda and I talked to her less than a week before the wedding and she was so enthusiastic about making them all different and all looking like they came out of a garden, and they really did, they were beautiful. Everything was beautiful, even the freaking tent, which turned out to be something so grand that Phyllis commented that you could throw down some Oriental rugs and live their all year. Our DJ was great; his over-the-top personality, while slightly grating in normal conversation, was perfect for the occasion. I have never had that much fun dancing in my life, I can say that much--for some of the evening, Sean's friends were all gathered around the bar, but toward the end of the night, everyone was on the dance floor, and it was just, frankly, the best day ever. And that was just what Sean and I wanted it to be--we wanted to have fun, we wanted our friends to have fun, and they did.
Oh, but the fun did not end after the reception...all our friends went back to the hotel and the neighboring bar, where apparently Mr. Schread, Sean's high school teacher who flew in from Wisconsin, was doing shots with the guys. The next morning everyone came back to the inn to get their cars and a bunch of us went for breakfast at the Vanilla Bean cafe (this is after Sean and I had eaten the inn's incredible breakfast: fruit salad, fresh squeezed OJ, warm banana bread, french toast, and the best bacon ever). Then goodbyes were said and Sean and I headed off to the lake to see Linda and to drop some things off with her, and then finally we made our way to Mystic, where we checked into the lovely Steamboat Inn, which is right on the water by the drawbridge. Later we had dinner with Anna and TJ, who had come to Mystic for the day. Yesterday we went to Mystic Aquarium, where sea lions might just be my new favorite animal after watching them perform, and then to Mystic Seaport, which was like a salty version of Sturbridge Village.
Anyway, we're home now, and tomorrow I pack for Italy. Wow. What a whirlwind! Saturday night Sean and I looked at each other and were like, what the hell do we do now? Lol. I can't believe all this wedding business is over...done with...gone! But in the end, it was all worth it. It surpassed every expectation that I had had. Plus, any party that can get Pinto to declare that it set the bar for all future weddings is obviously the shindig to end all shindigs. But that could also have been because he showed up alone and went home with Ward's date....
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