One year ago this is what we were doing. We celebrated last night with dinner at our favorite Brazilian churrascaria. This morning (our actual anniversary) we exchanged gifts. We decided that we would celebrate with traditional wedding anniversary gifts. Dave gave me an origami books as well as a book of poetry and a compilation of stories from one of my favorite authors. I surprised him with my new social security card showing that I changed my last name (that's a whole nother blog post in itself). Tonight we plan on watching the Lakers/Celtics championship game on tv and then eating a piece of our wedding cake (vanilla toffee with caramel filling, mmmmmmm....)
Now, my personal diary account of the wedding weekend. Warts and all.
Thursday
Dave and I began the day at 7am. The night before we had made the 3½-hour drive from San Diego to Bakersfield. We had driven the night before for two reasons: to avoid LA traffic and to prevent having to wake up too early. We woke up, took quick showers and then got dressed. I was wearing a pair of cute short-short khakis with a white henley t-shirt, blue fitted denim jacket, and nude sandals. I feel very cute! Exactly like a bride-to-be should feel.
We made the 3-hour drive through the Central Valley stopping only to grab a quick breakfast at McD’s. We arrived in Oakhurst at 11:00 am and immediately stopped at the cake bakers to drop off our cake jewelry. We then continued the 11 miles north to Tenaya Lodge so that we could check in. We got to the lodge and were immediately treated like royalty as soon as we mentioned that it was our wedding weekend. This theme would continue through out our stay. Tenaya really did a great job of making sure that every one of our demands was met promptly and efficiently.
Unfortunately, we arrived at the lodge much earlier then expected so our room wasn’t ready yet. I had a lot to do that day so I went to the patio and began assembling our bridal party gifts. Dave went to the pool to have a few beers and relax. At 1 pm our room still wasn’t ready but I needed to drive back down to Oakhurst to do some grocery shopping and get my hair straightened.
It was at this point that a little bit of the stress started to get to me. I had a very tight schedule and it seemed like everyone (and their mother!) was calling me with the most mundane questions. “Does the hotel room have a fridge?” “Can I get directions to the lodge?” “What time does the rehearsal dinner begin?” “What should I wear?” I was about to lose it by the time I had completed my errands and arrived back to the hotel to discover that Dave still hadn’t checked into the hotel room because he was still drinking beers by the pool “relaxing and entertaining” our guests (!!!) AND my Dad was sitting in the hotel lobby an hour before the rehearsal dinner was to begin because he didn’t know where his hotel was (across the street!). Luckily Dave saw that I had a short fuse and quickly ushered me up to my room to get dressed before the rehearsal dinner was to begin.
At 3:45pm we all met in Dave’s parents hospitality suite to give out presents to the bridal party and do our little speeches. Dave, our bridal party, and I sat around for 45 minutes waiting for everyone to arrive before beginning. (Our bridal party was rather small (12ish including spouses) and there was supposed to be 25 people for the dinner). Finally, I asked Dave’s Mom where everyone was and she said that she had told them to meet us after the rehearsal but before dinner began (???). She said that she thought we wanted the rehearsal to be “intimate” so she had told everyone to wait until dinner began before arriving. I’m not sure where she got this idea since the RD invitations had been printed with the time (3:45p) and place (hosp suite) printed on them. So reluctantly I gave out the bridal party presents in front of the very small group in attendance. This is one thing I would have changed. Since we gave out presents in the beginning of the evening we weren’t liquored up and therefore the whole heartfelt experience felt a little forced. I needed to have some liquor to get the nerves out before telling everyone how much they meant to Dave and me.
At 4:45p we made our way to the back lawn to begin the rehearsal. I (as well as my bridesmaids) had never done this before so we were happy to be bossed around by the wedding coordinator. The only hitch came when at the very last minute (and I knew she would try to pull this) Dave’s mom requested to have Dave (her son) walk her down the aisle. I was against this because in my experience this is not tradition and because I didn’t want Dave to be seen until the last minute. So at the last minute Linda asks in front of everyone why David isn’t walking her down the aisle. I told her no and that the best man would be doing that honor (her nephew).
After rehearsal, the bridesmaids and I ran upstairs to do a quick change. The dinner was going to be an outside style Yosemite BBQ so we needed to change from our dresses and heels into jeans and boots. We all met in the lobby and were led by a guide on a short hike through the forest to a clearing where a fire, bar, tables, and food had been set up for us. To complete the experience there was also a storyteller who sang us campfire songs through out the evening. After eating and drinking we all sat around the fire and the little ones made smore's while the grown ups tended to gravitate towards the bar where we drank and flirted with the bartender (my bridesmaids) and told dirty jokes (my Dad and the groomsmen). By the end of the night we were all very happy and drunk!
Friday
I woke up on Friday feeling VERY calm and serene. I thought that I would need to wake up early on Friday and hit the gym to work off some nervous energy but I found that was not the case at all. I wasn’t nervous, or anxious, or anything like that. It was all very weird. I’m not sure if it was because it all felt like a dream and didn’t hit me that THIS WAS MY WEDDING DAY or if I just felt so calm because I had been planning for a year and a half and was ready for this day to finally come!
I went down to the hotel’s spa for my pedicure and manicure. I know that everyone tells you not to have any spa services done on the big day but I couldn’t avoid it since I had been so busy the week before and didn’t have a spare moment to get my nails done. I got to the spa and discovered that my appointment time had been screwed up and that the nail lady wasn’t even scheduled to arrive for another hour. I didn’t stress out or even get mad (much to the surprise of the staff). There was really nothing I could do but wait at the point. So I sat down with my book (love Nicholas Sparks!) and read until the nail lady hurried in 30 minutes later. She quickly did my nails and my toes during which time I realized I didn’t have enough time after my nail appointment to go back up to the room and grab a few essential items. I used the house phone to call my bms and asked Marci to run to my room and grab a bellboy so that several boxes and my wedding dress could be loaded. Both my bridesmaids really stepped up to the plate during my wedding weekend. All I had to do was bat my eyelashes at them and they immediately went above and beyond to get everything accomplished.
After getting my nails done (which I was only charged half due to the scheduling screw up) I went to the hospitality suite to meet my bridesmaids and Dave’s mom. We arrived and Dave’s mom was already in the process of getting her hair and make-up done by the hairstylist. While she was getting made up, the bms and I broke out the champagne and tried to connect the portable DVD player to the flat screen TV. I had netflix’d several wedding DVDs (Father of the Bride, Wedding Singer, My Best Friend’s Wedding) so that we could watch the appropriately themed flicks while getting ready. Unfortunately, the flat screen was embedded in the rock fireplace so reaching the DVD jacks was impossible. To pass time we assembled the wedding favors and joked around (which meant making fun of each other).
Through the rest of the afternoon the bms and I had our hair and makeup done. I actually asked the hairstylist 3 times to re-do my hair which is so not like my personality (I’m usually easy to please). The hairstylist was great but unfortunately (even though I brought pics) didn’t understand the difference between the romantic chignon that I wanted and the old lady bun she kept putting on my head. We finally ended up with a hybrid chignon/old lady bun that wasn’t exactly what I had envisioned but was much better then the 1st attempt.
At 3:30p it was time for me to put my wedding dress on. It really felt so incredibly surreal. I had dreamed of this day for so long and I couldn’t believe that it was actually here. While the bms were getting their dresses on, I was walking around the hotel room in my heels, undies, and strapless bra with a glass of champagne in my hand. My undies said “bride” in blue rhinestones and I kept jokingly telling everyone “I’m the bride! My undies say so!” I thought it was hilarious but I think everyone else was beginning to think the stress and champagne were getting to me.
The bms began the time consuming process of tying the corset top of my Maggie Sottero dress. Making the job even more laborious was the fact that I had been mysteriously dropping weight and inches the week before the wedding. The sides of the corset top actually touched each other and the boob area was kinda loose. While they were lacing me up, my Dad ran into the room sweating bullets with his vest and tie in hand. He had been playing golf all morning and then went back to his room to take a nap. He woke up at 3pm and thought he was late for the wedding cuz he had forgotten what time he needed to be ready. This is another thing I would change. My parents are divorced and my Dad was really nervous that weekend (giving me away and seeing my mom again). I should have assigned one person to watch over my Dad for the entire weekend so that my Dad could act more like a normal person and less like Seinfield’s Kramer.
After calming my Dad down and getting me dressed, the photographer and florist came in to get us set up. I remember walking by the mirror on my way out and thinking “wow. I’ve never felt so pretty”. I really did feel like the pretty princess I had always hoped I would be on my wedding day.
I’m not much for tradition so Dave and I saw each other before the wedding to take pictures. One of the best decisions ever! Not only did this free us up to spend more time with our guests during the reception but it also quieted any small nerves that we both may have had. Dave, our bridal party, and I took pictures in front of the forest canopy while drinking champagne and beers. I never expected to feel so relaxed.
By 5:15pm we were all done with our photos and so we all went to the special bridal party suite they had set up for us to relax before the ceremony began at 6pm. I didn’t expect to be finished with photos so early but because we were on time and had such a small bridal party, we didn’t take long to get all the necessary shots. I had drunk a lot of champagne by this time but for some odd reason was not feeling drunk or even slightly tipsy!
At 6pm they lined us all up and I began to get a little nervous. The time was finally here!!! Eek! Part of me was a bit sad that my day was here and would be over before I knew it but another part of me just wanted to get the show on the road! While everyone was being lined up in a different area, I was upstairs with my Dad waiting what seemed like forever. Finally just as I thought things were going to begin, my Grandma comes running up the stairs. She suddenly decided that she needed to use the restroom and couldn’t wait until after the ceremony. Errrrr!!!
So things finally get rolling and I step out on the balcony to watch the ceremony processional below. What do I see???? Dave walking his mom down the aisle!! The one thing I had specifically asked her not to do. Errrrr!!!! Dave’s mom is VERY bossy and I new that she would push him to get her way (she always pushes people to get her way). I know it was a small thing at the time but in the grand scheme of things it really sucks to have a bossy MIL and a husband who wont stand up to her and say no! I was so mad because this was OUR wedding and she was getting her way in the middle of our ceremony. Errrr!
So I walk done the stairs for my grand entrance. Just as I’m about to walk down the main aisle (grass and rose petals) my heels sink BIG time since the grass was so wet. I thought I was going to trip and fall. I ended up taking super tiny baby steps so that my dress couldn’t get caught under my shoes.
The ceremony began and my Dad pretty much left me at the alter and high tailed it to his seat! HAHA!!! He was so nervous and forgot that he was supposed to kiss me and shake Dave’s hand to give me to the groom! Dave and I just looked at each other and kinda laughed. My poor Dad. The entire ceremony felt a little forced and technical. The sun was in Dave’s eyes the entire time and he could barely keep them open. Plus I was still mad at Dave’s mom and felt it was really hard to concentrate on the words with being mad and worrying about Dave’s eyes. This was the other thing I would change. I wish I had stopped, closed my eyes, and really listened to the vows and their importance. Dave and I went the entire ceremony without crying! I thought for sure I would have been a total mess. I’ve wanted to marry Dave for so long and my dream was finally coming true! The only surprise was at the end of the ceremony when they announced us as man and wife and Dave gave me a big French kiss!!! In front of everyone!
After the ceremony, the guests went to the tent for the cocktail hour while we all got together to take a big family shot. Dave’s mom started to boss everyone around so that she could get a few more family shots taken and that is when I lost it. She is so bossy!!! I dragged Dave out of there and we both went up to the bridal party suite. It’s just so frustrating cuz she always gets her way and forces everyone to do what she wants. Even more frustrating is that no one stands up to her and acts like her little pawns in the game of life. Errrr!!!!
After being upset in the bridal party suite and throwing a mini hissy fit, it was time for the guests to be seated and for the bridal party to be announced. Immediately after seating they played our photo montage. (sigh) Whenever I am sad or mad at Dave, all I need to do is look at the photo montage and instantly I feel so much better. The rest of the reception went off without a hitch. The food was great, beer was flowing, dj kept everyone dancing, cake was gorgeous, and the floral centerpieces were amazing. Besides the processional hiccup, the evening truly was perfect. The one thing that did surprise me about the evening was the fact that I was NOT hungry. You couldn’t pay me to touch food and usually I’m a person who loves to eat. As soon as our food was set down, I immediately asked the server to box it up and take it away. Not even dancing got me hungry for cake!
In a blink of an eye it was midnight and the last song was played, Adam Sandler’s “Grow Old With You”.
Saturday
Dave and I fought the night before about his mom's behavior and didn’t end up going to sleep until 3am. The next morning we woke up late and immediately collected our floral centerpieces and other wedding paraphernalia from the bridal party suite. Around noon we both went down to the pool and spent the rest of the afternoon laying poolside. It was a really nice way to relax after being so busy the week before. It also got me excited for the honeymoon! I love reading and relaxing by the pool! For dinner that night we went to the lodge’s 5 star restaurant and had a romantic meal. I even convinced the chef to make me Beef Wellington even though it wasn’t on the menu!! (I told you that they treated us like royalty). Dave and I ended the evening after playing a few rounds of Dance, Dance Revolution in the basement arcade and then meeting Dave’s parents for desert and wine.
Sunday
(sigh) Dave was eager to get on the road but I was reluctant to leave. I had a really amazing weekend and Tenaya Lodge was so awesome to us. I didn’t want to leave them or the weekend behind. Around 10:30am, Dave and I loaded the car and began the 6-hour drive south to San Diego.
