My Wedding

Wow.

I think I can say without a doubt in my mind that it was the best day of my life. Everything was so much fun, even the moments that I thought would be nervewracking ended up being relaxed and enjoyable, it was wonderful having so many great friends and family members there to share it with, and Lauren was even more beautiful than I thought she'd be (and I had some seriously high expectations!). There were a few hiccups leading up to the big day...a bit of a last second mixup on rehearsal time, some stress planning the Sunday brunch, and my tux didn't arrive until about 2 hours before I had to get dressed. But it all came together and everything worked out just fine.

The rehearsal on Friday night went well. I screwed up and said "yes" instead of "I do", and when the minister prompted me for the right answer, I came up with "yes sir" instead. I wasn't nervous at all until the rehearsal, but standing up there it started to hit me. Dinner was at Acquaviva Delle Fonti in Westfield, NJ. Great food, starting with an avalanche of antipasto. Clams, crabcakes, roasted peppers, cheeses, calamari, shrimp, mushrooms, salamis...I was stuffed by the time we even hit the actual meal! First course was Caesar salad or lobster bisque (I had the bisque), and then a choice of several entrees. I had a breaded veal cutlet over a tomato and red onion salad which was excellent. Lauren had pork tenderloin with a pancetta hash, hers was also really good and more distinctive than mine, I kind of wish I'd gotten that! There were also a salmon and a pasta option that I did not try. We gave her parents a thank-you gift for the wedding (we'd given my parents a little something the night before), gave out our attendant gifts (necklaces & earrings for the girls, pocketwatches for the boys), and made a little speech thanking everyone. Well, to be more accurate, Lauren gave a little speech and I cracked one tiny joke at the end.

After the dinner ended I drove Lauren and myself to the hotel where we'd blocked rooms for our guests, and we hung out for about an hour with our friends at the bar. We figured we wouldn't be able to fall asleep right away regardless, so might as well go out and have some fun. It was a good move, I think it relaxed us both and we had a great time. I drove her back to her parents' house and then drove myself home.

A lot of people say their wedding day was a blur but I really remember it all. I won't give a blow-by-blow account here, but a few moments stand out:

• the first sight of Lauren coming up the aisle.
• while singing the hymn, I was holding the program for us both to read with my right hand. I switched it to my left and my hand started shaking like I had Parkinson's. After about 5 seconds I switched back to my steady ol' Right, but we both started to laugh. Not sure if anyone noticed that.
• not being the least bit self-conscious during our first dance.

That was the big surprise for me, you very quickly forget about everyone around you and just enjoy yourself. I wasn't embarrased at all to dance in front of everyone, or say my vows, or kiss her. Honestly, the most nervous that I got was during the rehearsal!

My only regret, if you can call it that, was just how fast it all went by. I would have loved another hour or two to talk to try a few more of the cocktail hour appetizers, to talk to a few more people for just a bit longer, or to dance for a few more songs. But I bet I'd feel that way no matter how long it lasted, and I know we really made the most out of the time. Suffice it to say that I had the time of my life. I'll update the webpage with some pictures as they arrive, and if you have any digital pics, send them along!