The Reception

Pictures went well. Rach and I had someone from the caterer tending to us specifically (Callahan). Oddly enough she also worked at Rachael's restaurant. She was very sweet and started us off quickly. Good. Earlier in the day I asked Dan for a drink and remember that he told me to wait. Later I found out he took a cooler of beer up to Rachael and her bridesmaids... hmmmmm.

Anyway, after the pictures, we went to be introduced. Brian, our DJ and my co-worker, was going to introduce us. I didn't know that the DJ didn't usually do that. But he came back and double checked the name pronunciations - we had some toughies. Then off we went. Introduced into the courtyard.

Adam gave a good toast. In it he clearly recognized not that we were different - or trying to change one another, but our compatibility and how we simply fit together. It was delivered with humor, but I got exactly what he meant. It kinda echoed Ryan's toast of the evening before (which I forgot to mention). It too was good as he commented on our similarities. One thing I remember from a lot of the comments made by our guests was how happy we looked. The kind of happy that cannot be faked.

Reverend Bob gave a blessing and it was off to eat.

THE FOOD WAS DELICIOUS! Another common thread in comments by our guests. We filled up out plates and went to sit down. Everything looked fantastic from the room to the food. I looked out at everyone... We got up after a bit and visited the tables.

A few months ago, I thought this would be the hard part; trying to talk to everyone. My fear was that a ton of people would show, and I would have to move along quickly, or I wouldn't know what to say, or anything. This was nothing like that. It was easy to talk to everybody. I only hope that I did talk to everybody, as it did go by fast. If I missed you, I am sorry. This is all very blurry - either from the alcohol or from the sheer giddiness of the day... or both. For the sake of argument, we'll go with "giddiness of the day." It just seems safer.

Soon we were told it was time for the dances. Me and Rach, then her and her dad, and then me and my mom. Following that was the cutting of the cake. Not to sound stupid or anything, but I had no idea how to do this. There were 2 pieces of silverware, and I knew we were supposed to hold one of them together, but how big of a piece? Do I cut the piece we cut into smaller pieces to feed to her? I knew I wasn't going to smash it in her face - but when it got to that point, I could tell she was thinking about it... but she didn't either.

The next part was Nute and I playing. Ever since I thought about asking Rachael to marry me, the one thing I always wanted to do for her was play at the reception with Nute. This was a huge (if not the main) reason for us getting together. Rach would always come watch us play. I remember a couple times calling her late on a Wednesday and actually waking her up from a sleep asking if she was coming out. She always found a way to make it. Nute and I hadn;t really played out for a couple years. And we practiced and had about 10 songs we wanted to play - even a couple new ones. I had a blast. We got up there and it was like we hadn't missed any time at all. The only bad thing was I cut it short. We played until 9:45, and for the sake of time, I felt we had to. I regret not playing a few songs - but still - it was a great release for me for the week. The only hiccup was in "Southern Cross" I was playing the wrong chord progression, but Nute quickly straightened me out.

I close my eyes when I play, mainly because I don't want sweat in my eyes, but when I did open them, I saw her off to my right in the doorway. What made it even better was I got to play with the guitar Rach gave to me the night before.

After that, we went outside to talk some more. Adam gave me a cigar, and that pretty much solidified that I would be outside for the rest of the night. It was a great time to reflect on the day. Everyone was so complimentary of the day - how great the Cloisters was; how tremendous the food was; how happy we were.

Spending a few more minutes with family and friends as they started to say their goodbyes was the perfect end to the perfect day, and - in my opinion - the perfect wedding... I was happy.... and a little drunk. Oh, uh, hee hee, drunk with love... yeah.

Thanks again to everyone who pitched in all day. I feel like an Oscar winner because I would name people but I would be scared that I would leave someone out. I know my groomsmen were fabulous and Rachael's friends were fabulous and our families were fabulous... and now it's on to Jamaica!