On October 18th, I married my sweetheart Monica.  The following is my perspective of what happened; by no means can I even begin to express the great joy and excitement I felt on the day on marrying the love of my life, but this post is my attempt.

It started out like any other day really.  Get up, make chocolate milk for Alli, make tea for Monica and myself, watch Spongebob.  Monica was soon to be leaving to start doing what brides do, as her and Alli had hair appointments.  I set off to take care of some things at the venue, where I found a host of family members helping setup the final touches.  Everything was going swimmingly. It was at this point that it began to rain.

Now, I’m not one for panic.  Sure, it’s an outdoor wedding.  Sure, it’s fall.  It wasn’t supposed to rain at all according to the weather reports, but here I was standing at the venue in the rain.  People begin to scatter, the venue owner asked if I wanted things covered or moved under shelter.  Questions of renting tents became an issue.  Monica called me on the phone as it was raining where she was at.  What to do?  Nothing.

Yep that’s right, I did nothing.  Everything stayed where it was.  Chairs, plates, flowers, gifts boxes…nothing moved.  If it was going to rain, I decided there was no reason to panic.  I could see blue sky on the horizon, and the wedding was some 7 hours away.  In the end the rain stopped.  The day cleared up.  It became an absolutely beautiful day.

It was in this brief moment of uncertainty that my Dad came over and explained that rain on your wedding day was good luck.  I thought he was just kidding me, but as always, he was right.  I had never heard of this superstition before he mentioned it, but people throughout the wedding would later comment on it.  Thanks Dad for cluing me in.

It was at this point that I headed home to get ready.  Most people think that all a groom has to do is put on a tux and show up.  My job entailed making sure envelopes with payments and tips was prepped.  To take care of this all I actually brought my briefcase to the wedding.  As requested, I did leave my cell phone at home however (hence no twittering of the wedding).

When I did finally arrive at the venue, it was a sight to be seen.  The sun was shining through the trees, the tables and flowers looked fantastic, and I could feel that buzz in the air.  Monica had done a wonderful job with setting this wedding up; it was her vision for the flowers that made it come together.  I soon met up with my best man, Gareth Coen, and my groomsman James Smith and my brother Jim.  We pretty much chatted and talked with people as they arrived.  People made the usual jokes (“I’ve got a car/truck/plane/horse waiting, you can still get away!") and a good time was had by all.

It was at this point that I realized I had forgotten to bring the vows.  Not a problem, Reverend Dr. Grobner (a friend and former professor of Monica’s) had a copy.  I of course told the maid-of-honor Rebecca Snow that he did not and to panic that I would be back as soon as possible.  The look on her face was priceless.  A good laugh was had, and she went back to Monica vowing to punch me later (not really…well maybe). I could hear my sister Katie, Monica’s sister Lety, and Monica’s cousin Stephanie in the back as well.  I did sneak a peak of Alli playing with my Mom, but that was all.

Fast forward to me standing at the alter.  People had given me a lot of advice as to not faint, but I was the farthest thing from it.  I had non-stop energy, and just wanted to run around and jump for joy.  When Allison walked hesitantly to the aisle with my sister, her eyes furrowed looking at the crowd, it brought a smile to my face. When she saw me standing at the other end and screamed “Daddy!!!” and this huge smile came across her face, it’s a picture that will never leave me.  She threw her flower pedals and was just happy as could be.

It was at this point that I finally saw Monica making her way down the the hill to the ceremony.  The mere sight of her took my breathe away, my heart raced, and there was no doubt in my mind.  She is the one for me I thought.  I wanted to scream her name at the top of my lungs, I wanted to hug and kiss her, I couldn’t wait for her to stand there with me.  It was a glorious feeling that I never have felt before.

The vows were somewhat of a blur.  I couldn’t stop smiling, and from what I understand, I belted them out in the most theatrical voice most have ever heard.  I guess it was only natural for me.  Why would my wedding alter my presentation skills at the least?  Her voice, oh that voice, it was like an angel singing to me.  Her eyes glistened, her touch so soft and it just melted me.

We eventually made our way down the isle, Allison in the middle swinging between us.  I wouldn’t have written our exit any other way.

It was at this point that the party started.  We didn’t have a huge wedding, but we had enough people to have a good time.  The bartenders started serving drinks (hosted open bar was the only way to go from our perspective) while we took pictures.  Shortly thereafter, everyone had dinner and we mingled.

The funny thing about weddings is that you never really get to talk to everyone.  We had at the most 130 guests, and I feel like I never even saw or talked to half.  I’m told this is just how it goes, that with pictures and toasts and dances, you never really get to see everyone.  It still strikes me as odd.

After dinner, the toasts begin.  They were starkly contrasted in a very good way.  I did not expect the toast that was given by my best man Gareth.  His girlfriend Kim did not warn me and when the cards came out (oh yes, props), it was nothing short of classic.  The fact that he originally thought I was a gay porn producer upon our first meeting so many years ago makes me laugh every time I think about it (and had the crowd rolling in the aisles), and the Irish blessing was very nice touch at the end. Rebecca’s speech just about made me cry; she is an endlessly gifted writer and her speech really touched me and Monica.  My sister also toasted at the pushing of many people and when she’s really serious as she was as she spoke there, she always amazes me.

The toasts were more then we could have ever wished for, and the love and kindness that people showed us both on the mic and in private throughout the night was touching.

Our first dance soon followed; we danced to Modern Nature by Sondre Lerche (which is in the film Dan in Real Life).  We took foxtrot lessons from Gay Grant at the California Ballroom Company (we’ve taken swing, salsa and merengue from her as well).  Gay really knows her stuff and while our dance wasn’t perfect (we did have an issue with the dress being a bit long and the fact that I’m not very good) we had a great time.

Other choice moments: taking Monica’s garter belt off with my teeth and having Emily and Jim’s little boy Jackson (age 4) win the toss up for it (hint: not much of a rumble for it).  Monica dabbing cake in my nose during the cake cutting.  Smoking fine cigars that my good friend and groomsman James had brought. Dancing with my Mom.  Watching everyone have just a great time.

The wedding exceeded any expectation I had.  Marrying the girl I love, being surrounded with family and friends, and everyone just having a great time in a beautiful setting, I just couldn’t ask for anything more.

On that note, we’d like to thank everyone who helped make this happen.  We had a lot of family and friends help with flowers, champagne, liquor, food, setup and everything in between.  Without you, this wedding would not have happened.  We’d like to thank our guests and those who could not attend that sent their well wishes; we appreciate it so much.

Let’s talk pictures.  Everyone wants to see some pictures, and we haven’t gotten the negs back from our photographer yet.  However, you are not out of luck. A few of the pictures that you see in this article are from our friend Jaimie Griffin Lewis (see her full wedding gallery).  You can also see all the photographs guests took with the disposable cameras in my new wedding gallery.  Monica has pictures she’s been collecting from friends in one of her MySpace galleries.  Jennifer soon-to-be Lancaster has some shots up in one of her MySpace galleries. Marco Tovar has pictures up in one of his Myspace galleries. Our bartenders, Mobile Bar Trio, have a gallery up on their MySpace page (they were outstanding…can’t recommend them enough).  If you have photos, we’d love to see them!  Send me a link and I’ll make sure it gets posted.

I want to mention our vendors.  They all were simply class. Our bartenders, Mobile Bar Trio, did an absolute amazing job, and we can’t recommend them highly enough. Food was handled by the Tasty Taco, whose staff went beyond the call of duty by busing tables and serving cake.  Their food was absolutely fantastic.  Sound Express handled the music and Todd kept the whole event on schedule; he was a visionary.  Our photographer Tammy Hughes let us do some really fun stuff which we’ll be posting when we get the negs back.  The venue, Del Rio Vista Garden, is a hidden treasure.

Finally, thank you Monica for making me the down right happiest I’ve ever been in my life. I love you.