I Do

The big event, SB1’s wedding, took place on October 15th down in Monterey. There was the usual commotion and concern beforehand regarding weather, catering, venue and all that, but everything came off stupendously and the young couple basked in their love and that of their friends and family on a wonderful Saturday afternoon.

The rehearsal on Friday morning went smoothly. I had the jitters and I’m sure the kids did too, but we ran through the ceremony a few times and my daughter and the bride’s sister did a fine job in their roles as co-officiants. In the real event, they knocked it out of the park.

 

My wife and I were staying at a huge suite at the Monterey Marriott so we hosted a casual lunch there.  We ordered sandwiches from a local shop and my brother-in-law graciously picked up the tab after I showed him my empty wallet and a moth flew out. Everyone was well-fed and we had a few sandwiches left over, which came in handy when the groomsmen descended on the joint Saturday morning.

The rehearsal dinner that night was at Cibo, an Italian eatery just a block from our hotel.  The food and service were great and I had a chance to meet and gab with some of the bridesmaids, groomsmen and their significant others. My wife came out of her shell and socialized as well. After dinner we had a cocktail party in the Characters room at the Marriott. I got to hang with my lifetime friends Dr. Joe and The Wig along with my FC posse and all the millenials seemed to be enjoying themselves as well. The bride’s aunt did a stellar job as official photographer there. I stuck with club soda and got to bed at a reasonable hour in order to be ready for the big day.

Early Saturday my wife headed off to another suite for hair and makeup and the boys brought their suits to our room to get ready. There were a couple bottles of some arcane Bourbon among the chips and other junk food they were consuming in order to power themselves for the day, but they all got ready in plenty of time and looked dashing.  I tried to play the role of the cool dad by staying the hell out of the way.

We got to the venue, an historic state park named Memory Garden, a few hours before the 4pm ceremony for pictures. The “first look” did not exist in my youth, unless I’m completely clueless, which is a possibility, but it is quite the big deal these days. After those photos, the various group pictures were taken and I posed exactly the way my wife told me to.  I found the photographer exceedingly patient.

The crowd began to flow in after 3pm. The sun had broken through by then, allaying any weather fears. The wedding party took their places about 3:45. As we proceeded to the chuppah, we gripped the boy tightly and gave him a big hug as we delivered him. His beautiful bride followed, and they said their vows after friends and family recited the seven blessings. She seemed calm whereas SB1 was quite emotional, but at least his knees didn’t buckle as mine almost did in 1988. 

The party began after that.  We moved to another venue for cocktails and more pictures were taken with the various family and friend groups, which at times was akin to herding cats. We headed back to the Memory Garden for dinner, which was an excellent paella. Before dinner was served, the parents gave their speeches.  My wife was supposed to set me up with a line about a “destination wedding”, but she decided to delete that, unbeknownst to me, after we had carefully rehearsed at home. I was able to recover and gave the crowd a couple chuckles.  The best man, #1’s son, and the maid of honor also got into the act, and both were poised, funny and sentimental.

After dinner the dance floor opened and the father/daughter and mother/son dances caused some eyes to mist up. My creaky bones were able to withstand a few dances. My wife and I cranked it up when our official song, Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance with Somebody, came on.  The highlight of this portion of the evening was the hora.  We planned ahead by inviting the starting nine of the CSU Monterey baseball team to lift SB1 up in his chair.

The next day we had a goodbye brunch at the home of the bride’s parents. It was a relaxed get-together, given that the previous day had gone so swimmingly. The happy couple then headed to Calistoga for a mini-moon. The wife and I were off to Greece a few days later.  I’ll capture that trip in my soon-to-come next post.