...White Wedding

Just to make this easier, I've organized it into sections.

BEFORE
The day started at about 8AM. I needed to be up for a specialty shave/hair cut with my dad at 9:30AM. After a quick breakfast, we headed over to The Art of Shaving. I mentioned this before, but the old-fashioned shave - while expensive - is a nice extravagance every once in a while. Very relaxing, and they do a nice job too.

First step to a good shave.

After that, it was a quick shower and pack job to make sure I had everything for the day. Kate's gifts (the big one, and the little one), my suit, music, toiletries, etc. Everything. Even an overnight bag for the hotel. I hitched a quick ride over to the club at 12:30PM, and after quickly getting dressed, wandered around for a while to see the venue and take it all in. Other vendors were busy setting things up for themselves (note the floral arrangements below, and the half-arranged dining room), so it was kind of neat to see "behind the scenes."

Around 1PM other groomsmen started to arrive. Snacks were had, jokes exchanged. While Michigan Shores Club is kind enough to provide a bridal room, the men simply have the locker room, where we indeed saw at least one man in a speedo, someone else walking around naked, and finally a third man bring his little girl so she could use the bathroom. Not the most glamorous of locations, but all's well that ends well.

Photography started at 1:30PM, with an unexpected group of four from Misha Media (also amazing - check them out!), shuttering away my every move as I added tie, cuff links, vest, and jacket to my outfit. While Kate and I love everything they've done, I have to admit that I felt really awkward at times, especially redoing certain actions or even just pretending them... but that's the way these things work. Group photographs soon followed, and I'm sure that the masculine setting served my group well; I'm anxious to see how they turned out.

The so-called "First Look" was scheduled for 3PM... Things went a little late with Kate's morning appointments, though, so it was more like 3:20 - which is perfectly fine. She looked absolutely stunning. Seriously. Radiant. Gorgeous. (And not one of those an exaggeration.) After a few minutes with just the two of us and our general reaction shots, the entire bridal party was photographed over the course of the next hour. Park pictures, street pictures, beach pictures - lots of cool options, and I can't wait to see what they came up with. No matter how things look, though, I can certainly guarantee that they've never had a bride stop to pick up ice cream on the way to the venue, which Kate did... in a very expensive wedding dress. She's one of a kind, truly.

CEREMONY
The ceremony was a breeze. Somehow, despite our officiant omitting certain portions, the entire ceremony was shorter than the half-hour rehearsal. How? No idea, but it flew by. Thankfully, I think it still carried some weight to it, but don't ask me to recall too many details. I know that standing up there my heart was pounding. Kate teared up at the start and had some big eyes going on, but we both gradually calmed as the service went on.

Just married!

Some of the more unique things... While the bridal party did process to the standard "Canon in D," Kate's entrance was to the lesser known "River Flows in You," a contemporary song which is delicate, beautiful, and far more interesting than the typical "Wedding March." The pianist did a great job, though there was a bit of a delay as the bridal party wasn't quite sure when to start coming in. We had a total of three readings: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, a passage from the I Ching, and a short passage from Keats's Endymion. I managed to sneak in a quote from the Pynchon masterpiece Gravity's Rainbow for my vow, and Kate used a line from Romeo & Juliet in hers. The florist constructed an arch which was pretty amazing. We didn't know what to expect when she mentioned what it would look like, but the final product was fantastic. Added a lot to the ceremony.

AFTER
Formal portraits with various family members and group shots immediately followed, as well as the cocktail hour. I barely saw Kate during the cocktail hour, but that's fine - we both hit a lot of different people. Again, I was worried about everyone getting along (my family is the "country mouse" to her family's "city mouse"), but things went splendidly. One of my uncles in particular was a hit with the young crowd, as he came adorned with an authentic calf-vertebrae neckerchief and morning coat. We also showed the great Buster Keaton film Seven Chances to reinforce the "vintage" theme (it played on a wall, available for anyone to see), though few watched it because they were so busy talking. As the bride and groom, we thankfully had a sample plate specially reserved for us (indeed, over the course of the evening I found out that we each had a waiter specifically assigned to us), otherwise we would have completely missed the appetizers.

We extended the cocktail hour by about fifteen minutes because things were going so well, and then it was time for the formal meal. After our grand entrance to the cheers of 100+ (and the jazz staple "Moonlight Serenade"), we finally got to sit down for a little bit. Drinks nearby, salads were quickly downed and speeches began. Kate's father welcomed everyone with a toast, comparing his relationship with Kate to Mr Toad's Wild Ride in a particularly brilliant way. This was followed shortly after by Mark, the Best Man, and Jessie, Maid of Honor, both of whom had sweated for a while about their speeches, and delivered some great work. Funny, insightful, touching - everything a toast should be.

My hopes for the main course were dashed when Kate said post-speech was the perfect time to make our rounds, so off we went. The usual sorts of exchanges took place, but there was no faking it. Everyone was genuinely excited for us, and we were genuinely  excited to have them. The air in the room was electric. Sure enough, however, by the time we got to the last table, our food had been taken away because the staff assumed we were done... but then they brought it back! Our super-awesome special waiters brought hot new dishes so we could actually sit and eat, which we promptly did... Well, I did anyway - Kate still wanted to double-check and make sure we hit everyone. I downed that Cornish game hen as quickly as I could.

Force-fed!

And then, just like that, the party was upon us. Which meant Kate and I had to kick it off with a dance. But first, cake. Our cake was from a local vendor (Three Tarts - also delicious), and this was the only part we hadn't given any thought to other than the flavor... so when they asked us to cut the cake, we really had no idea what to do. I didn't know if we were supposed to feed it to each other, or do that "pie in the face" routine, or what - so we ended up cutting probably the smallest piece imaginable and then giving each other a bite. Delicious, but tiny.

Now dancing.

To be perfectly honest, I'd been dreading this. I'm not a big dancer in the first place, and the prospect of dancing in front of a huge number of people just makes it that much less appealing. What's worse, Kate and her dad actually had a couple dancing lessons! So while she helped by actually showing me some real dance moves, I really had no time to perfect them. The result was a fast, somewhat clumsy version of a foxtrot set to Michael Buble's "That's All." Normally, I shy away from Buble, but the song is very sweet, and we both agree with the sentiment. It was over in no time.

This dance was followed by Kate and her dad to "Moon River" and then finally me and my mom to "My Wish." The band shortened the parent songs at our request - everyone felt a little awkward about the tradition - which means the party proper started with a bang. The band picked up the tempo, and from there the party really didn't slow down, much less stop. EVERYONE was dancing (even my family, which is saying something pretty remarkable), even my dad, who was perhaps the star of the night with his "wild man" routine. I've never seen him dance or move so quickly in my life. It was hilarious and even a little terrifying... I will never forget it; no one will ever forget it.

Blurry, I know, but he was just that fast!

After a bit of mingling, dancing, and drinking, the evening started to wind down. The photographers took us around the building for some more intimate photos, and gradually more and more people said goodbye. It was so nice to see the positivity just radiate from them, as I'm sure it did from us. Things ended far too quickly.

AFTER AFTER
...Or did they?

When we were searching for an appropriate venue, what really sealed the deal for us with Michigan Shores was one simple thing: they had a bowling alley. Every place has a reception area, a dance floor, and an optional area for cocktails/ceremony. What set Michigan Shores apart (aside from having more character than your typical banquet hall) was the fact that it had a bowling alley, with black lights and all. For eighteen months, we've referred to the bowling alley as the "cherry on top."

Girls changed out of their dresses - no more heels. Guests had beer, pizza, loud music - you could really just kick back and relax. A certain left-leaning groomsman tried to unionize the wait staff. It was the perfect way to end the evening, and the perfect way to start a marriage. The most fun I've ever had; I can't wait to see what's in store for us.

I love my wife, I love my life.