Modern Love. Gets me to the church on time.
So here is a wedding Me Me that I snorked from Dy.
I imagine that if either of you are reading this blog, you already know these stories. But I've been an airbrushin', Ebay listing, order hustlin' fool for the last few days & I wanna blog. Or excercise. Or brush my teeth. Really, really thoroughly. Anything to avoid work for another hour.
1. Where/How did you meet?
AK and I met in the Walnut Creek Civic Arts Young Reperatory Theater Company. She was 16, acted, dressed, sounded and looked exactly as she does today. I was 14, gangly and dorky but a hard-working clown who tap danced for every pretty girl with a giggle to give. I asked her to go to Bagel King with me, and I educated her on the finer points of Cinnamon Raisin Bagel with Blueberry Cream Cheese consumption. She gave many giggles and I walked on air when she let me hang around with her.
2. How long have you known each other?
That was the Summer of 1984, so it's almost 23 years.
3. How long after you met did you start dating?
Well, in 1984, I think I asked her "to go with me" almost immediately. We had dates, I gave her her first kiss, she dumped me mercilessly due to peer pressure (Walnut Creek was the tracks, and we lived on different sides of the tracks). But we really GOT TOGETHER in the Spring of 1994, 10 years later. During those 10 years our friendship vasillated (pendulized?) between distant but close, rabid letter writing/phone calling, and very very best of friends. I worshipped the ground she walked on during those 10 years, she wishes she could rewind/delete them, so we often bicker over whether she was a rockstar or a trainwreck. I win because I'm right, and even if it was rough it's why she is who she is today. And she is HIZZ TO THA IZZOT did you know?
4. How long did you date before you were engaged?
I don't know, less than a year. Before she even came out to CA (from OH) for a visit, Mandy (friend's girlfriend's sister) asked if I was going to marry this girl. I hadn't thought about it per se. But us extroverts have to SAY things for them to be real, and thats how I knew it was real when I responded sans hesitation: "It would be a shame not to".
5. How long was your engagement?
I dunno, less than a year I suppose. It took us awhile to plan the wedding, we had a limited budget.
6. How long have you been married?
Almost 12 years.
7. What is your anniversary?
*pulling off my wedding band to read it. . . .* July 22nd, 1995
8. How many people came to your wedding reception?
Around 80
9. What kind of cake did you serve?
Well, I fell in love with this local bakers "Princess Cake" which was made of different types of Marzipan. AK did not like the coconutty nut-paste flavor. And I had to admit that the dome-shaped cakes in the color of natural marzipan looked a lot like tanned female mammaries. So we had Marzipan Princess Cake at our rehearsal dinner (along with Zachary's, the worlds very best pizza, from Berkeley, CA). And the wedding had a traditional basket-weave wedding cake. Instead of people on top, we had tiny model BMW motorcycles in the colors of our BMW bikes.
10. Where was your wedding?
The Depot, a restaurant (with courtyard and wading pool) in Sonoma, CA.
11. What did you serve for your meal?
I have no stinkin' idea. I contest that the food at our wedding was a boo boo. It was all froo froo pretty stylish veggie chic. My only stipulation was that we have devilled eggs. We did. I only had two, they were awful.
12. How many people were in your wedding party? 8
13. Are you still friends with them all?
Yep. About half were family, but even still in touch with the friends despite distances.
14. Did your spouse cry during the ceremony?
I don't think so. I'm the weeper, I cried during my own reading. And when I saw her come down the aisle. Well, come down the side of the wading pool.
15. Most special moment of your wedding day?
See #14, I really did melt and become ecstatically hers forever when I first saw her. That was the beginning of my life's first paradigm shift, and it had all the impact of a religious revelation. The speeches by my Mom, Father in Law and Best Man were pretty awesome too. My Mom's was especially brilliant and she glowed.
16. Any funny moments?
-People really dug our favors, faught over them at the end of the day and some still have them. They were toy motorcycles, then we spraypainted POGS (remember pogs?) black and glued them to the sides of favor-boxes. Pipe cleaners held them to the motorcycles, so they were little silver shiny motorcycle trailers full of candy.
-AK dropped her bouquet, sending her maids atwitter, when we kissed.
-In the weeks leading up to the wedding, AK was nervous and I was calm. The day of the wedding she was relieved and ready to rock (uncharacteristically cussing like a sailor in the "backstage" section of our wedding video). I was paralyzed with an un-named fear, and made my Best Man play Crystal Waters' "100% Pure Love" 23 times on the drive to Sonoma.
-Introducing my groomsmen for the video, I nervously, unwittingly and systematically insulted every one of them.
17. Any big disasters?
-Our officiant was a disaster. He was charming & confident before the wedding, flamboyantly gay and embarassing during the ceremony. Hopefully for many he was one of the Funny Moments. For me, he was one of the reasons we had a Recommitment Ceremony 2 years ago.
-Our photographer was a disaster. It was a budget arrangement, they were unorganized, and I could tell during the shoot that the pictures would suck. They do. We spent most of the event getting terrible pictures taken, not nearly enough time with our wonderful guests. The video was done by great friends, thankfully, that's awesome.
-The Devilled Eggs. A man deserves a sharp, curry-tinged devilled egg on his wedding day!
18. Where did you go on your honeymoon?
We rode our motorcycles to a National BMW Motorcycle Rally in Durango, CO, visiting friends there and on the way. We stayed at a B&B in Sonoma for 2 nights before, and that was heaven.
19. How long were you gone?
2 weeks I think?
20. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change?
Food, photographer & officiant. I think our readings could have had more preparation, also. Here I was a theater guy, my theater brother and even my high school drama teacher were there and the piece was excellent -- I should've killed! Also, I still wish we'd had the cash for an evening reception with more booze. For a smallish, afternoon wine country affair it was absolutely perfect, don't get me wrong. I just always had this tiny picture if my mind of a mediumish evening affair with slightly more revelry, especially given that pretty much all our favorite people in the whole world were in one place at one time, one time only!
21. What side of the bed do you sleep on?
Right side is Daddyville, though there are often more boys & dogs there when I wake up than when I went to bed.
22. What size is your bed?
California King. We all sprawl.
23. Greatest strength as a couple?
We're cemented, we're a rock, we're a given. While we question our own place in life sometimes, we never do question our place next to each other. That's very empowering, and I'm pretty confident we can do anything we set our wildly divergent, independent and stubborn minds to!
24. Greatest challenge as a couple?
Introvert, Extrovert. "Love languages" doesn't begin to cover the communication issues. If she's a Russian scholar, I'm an Ojibway African tribesman. And we've got no translator. We'll let you know how that goes. . .
25. Who literally pays the bills?
90% of the time she earns it & she writes the checks. When things are good, Lux Graphics pays down debts and buys us the treats we all deserve. When things are tight, like now, Lux Graphics pays the utilities.
26. What is your song?
Hmmmm. That's a toughie for a guy like me. Our recessional was "Can You Picture That" by Dr. Teeth & The Electric Mayhem, does that count? When I visited her in Boston once, she sang "Rainbow Connection" to me from the backseat of my motorcycle. Is that it? I can name songs from our initial pubescent courtship (Billy Joel, Rod Stewards "You're in my Soul". . . ), from our whirlwind engagement (Lots of Dr. John, for some reason) and every moment from then to now.
What would AK say? I Just asked:
Me: Honey do we have a song?
AK: Nnnnnnnnot that I can think of.
See #24. We're from way farther apart than Mars & Venus.
27. What did you dance your first dance to?
No dancing, not in the budget. We took some line dancing lessons once. I'd love to do ballroom & swing. But my goddess is not hindered by the restrictive impediments of rhythm & coordination. :)
8. Describe your wedding dress:
We wore those British tux's with scarves and tails. We looked like cockroaches, every one of us. I'm not a dress expert, she should tell the story, but I know the dress cost WAY too little to make her look so beautiful. I think it started as a bridesmaid dress? The alterations lady had her whole house burn down, but the firemen saved her dress, so there you go so we must be written in the stars.
29. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding?
Flowerry ones. Too heavy to hold while kissing.
30. Are your wedding bands engraved?
See #7. The date and from an E.E. Cummings poem: "Love is the every only God"
31. How old were you when you got married?
I was 25, AK had just turned 27.
Your turn!
I imagine that if either of you are reading this blog, you already know these stories. But I've been an airbrushin', Ebay listing, order hustlin' fool for the last few days & I wanna blog. Or excercise. Or brush my teeth. Really, really thoroughly. Anything to avoid work for another hour.
1. Where/How did you meet?
AK and I met in the Walnut Creek Civic Arts Young Reperatory Theater Company. She was 16, acted, dressed, sounded and looked exactly as she does today. I was 14, gangly and dorky but a hard-working clown who tap danced for every pretty girl with a giggle to give. I asked her to go to Bagel King with me, and I educated her on the finer points of Cinnamon Raisin Bagel with Blueberry Cream Cheese consumption. She gave many giggles and I walked on air when she let me hang around with her.
2. How long have you known each other?
That was the Summer of 1984, so it's almost 23 years.
3. How long after you met did you start dating?
Well, in 1984, I think I asked her "to go with me" almost immediately. We had dates, I gave her her first kiss, she dumped me mercilessly due to peer pressure (Walnut Creek was the tracks, and we lived on different sides of the tracks). But we really GOT TOGETHER in the Spring of 1994, 10 years later. During those 10 years our friendship vasillated (pendulized?) between distant but close, rabid letter writing/phone calling, and very very best of friends. I worshipped the ground she walked on during those 10 years, she wishes she could rewind/delete them, so we often bicker over whether she was a rockstar or a trainwreck. I win because I'm right, and even if it was rough it's why she is who she is today. And she is HIZZ TO THA IZZOT did you know?
4. How long did you date before you were engaged?
I don't know, less than a year. Before she even came out to CA (from OH) for a visit, Mandy (friend's girlfriend's sister) asked if I was going to marry this girl. I hadn't thought about it per se. But us extroverts have to SAY things for them to be real, and thats how I knew it was real when I responded sans hesitation: "It would be a shame not to".
5. How long was your engagement?
I dunno, less than a year I suppose. It took us awhile to plan the wedding, we had a limited budget.
6. How long have you been married?
Almost 12 years.
7. What is your anniversary?
*pulling off my wedding band to read it. . . .* July 22nd, 1995
8. How many people came to your wedding reception?
Around 80
9. What kind of cake did you serve?
Well, I fell in love with this local bakers "Princess Cake" which was made of different types of Marzipan. AK did not like the coconutty nut-paste flavor. And I had to admit that the dome-shaped cakes in the color of natural marzipan looked a lot like tanned female mammaries. So we had Marzipan Princess Cake at our rehearsal dinner (along with Zachary's, the worlds very best pizza, from Berkeley, CA). And the wedding had a traditional basket-weave wedding cake. Instead of people on top, we had tiny model BMW motorcycles in the colors of our BMW bikes.
10. Where was your wedding?
The Depot, a restaurant (with courtyard and wading pool) in Sonoma, CA.
11. What did you serve for your meal?
I have no stinkin' idea. I contest that the food at our wedding was a boo boo. It was all froo froo pretty stylish veggie chic. My only stipulation was that we have devilled eggs. We did. I only had two, they were awful.
12. How many people were in your wedding party? 8
13. Are you still friends with them all?
Yep. About half were family, but even still in touch with the friends despite distances.
14. Did your spouse cry during the ceremony?
I don't think so. I'm the weeper, I cried during my own reading. And when I saw her come down the aisle. Well, come down the side of the wading pool.
15. Most special moment of your wedding day?
See #14, I really did melt and become ecstatically hers forever when I first saw her. That was the beginning of my life's first paradigm shift, and it had all the impact of a religious revelation. The speeches by my Mom, Father in Law and Best Man were pretty awesome too. My Mom's was especially brilliant and she glowed.
16. Any funny moments?
-People really dug our favors, faught over them at the end of the day and some still have them. They were toy motorcycles, then we spraypainted POGS (remember pogs?) black and glued them to the sides of favor-boxes. Pipe cleaners held them to the motorcycles, so they were little silver shiny motorcycle trailers full of candy.
-AK dropped her bouquet, sending her maids atwitter, when we kissed.
-In the weeks leading up to the wedding, AK was nervous and I was calm. The day of the wedding she was relieved and ready to rock (uncharacteristically cussing like a sailor in the "backstage" section of our wedding video). I was paralyzed with an un-named fear, and made my Best Man play Crystal Waters' "100% Pure Love" 23 times on the drive to Sonoma.
-Introducing my groomsmen for the video, I nervously, unwittingly and systematically insulted every one of them.
17. Any big disasters?
-Our officiant was a disaster. He was charming & confident before the wedding, flamboyantly gay and embarassing during the ceremony. Hopefully for many he was one of the Funny Moments. For me, he was one of the reasons we had a Recommitment Ceremony 2 years ago.
-Our photographer was a disaster. It was a budget arrangement, they were unorganized, and I could tell during the shoot that the pictures would suck. They do. We spent most of the event getting terrible pictures taken, not nearly enough time with our wonderful guests. The video was done by great friends, thankfully, that's awesome.
-The Devilled Eggs. A man deserves a sharp, curry-tinged devilled egg on his wedding day!
18. Where did you go on your honeymoon?
We rode our motorcycles to a National BMW Motorcycle Rally in Durango, CO, visiting friends there and on the way. We stayed at a B&B in Sonoma for 2 nights before, and that was heaven.
19. How long were you gone?
2 weeks I think?
20. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change?
Food, photographer & officiant. I think our readings could have had more preparation, also. Here I was a theater guy, my theater brother and even my high school drama teacher were there and the piece was excellent -- I should've killed! Also, I still wish we'd had the cash for an evening reception with more booze. For a smallish, afternoon wine country affair it was absolutely perfect, don't get me wrong. I just always had this tiny picture if my mind of a mediumish evening affair with slightly more revelry, especially given that pretty much all our favorite people in the whole world were in one place at one time, one time only!
21. What side of the bed do you sleep on?
Right side is Daddyville, though there are often more boys & dogs there when I wake up than when I went to bed.
22. What size is your bed?
California King. We all sprawl.
23. Greatest strength as a couple?
We're cemented, we're a rock, we're a given. While we question our own place in life sometimes, we never do question our place next to each other. That's very empowering, and I'm pretty confident we can do anything we set our wildly divergent, independent and stubborn minds to!
24. Greatest challenge as a couple?
Introvert, Extrovert. "Love languages" doesn't begin to cover the communication issues. If she's a Russian scholar, I'm an Ojibway African tribesman. And we've got no translator. We'll let you know how that goes. . .
25. Who literally pays the bills?
90% of the time she earns it & she writes the checks. When things are good, Lux Graphics pays down debts and buys us the treats we all deserve. When things are tight, like now, Lux Graphics pays the utilities.
26. What is your song?
Hmmmm. That's a toughie for a guy like me. Our recessional was "Can You Picture That" by Dr. Teeth & The Electric Mayhem, does that count? When I visited her in Boston once, she sang "Rainbow Connection" to me from the backseat of my motorcycle. Is that it? I can name songs from our initial pubescent courtship (Billy Joel, Rod Stewards "You're in my Soul". . . ), from our whirlwind engagement (Lots of Dr. John, for some reason) and every moment from then to now.
What would AK say? I Just asked:
Me: Honey do we have a song?
AK: Nnnnnnnnot that I can think of.
See #24. We're from way farther apart than Mars & Venus.
27. What did you dance your first dance to?
No dancing, not in the budget. We took some line dancing lessons once. I'd love to do ballroom & swing. But my goddess is not hindered by the restrictive impediments of rhythm & coordination. :)
8. Describe your wedding dress:
We wore those British tux's with scarves and tails. We looked like cockroaches, every one of us. I'm not a dress expert, she should tell the story, but I know the dress cost WAY too little to make her look so beautiful. I think it started as a bridesmaid dress? The alterations lady had her whole house burn down, but the firemen saved her dress, so there you go so we must be written in the stars.
29. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding?
Flowerry ones. Too heavy to hold while kissing.
30. Are your wedding bands engraved?
See #7. The date and from an E.E. Cummings poem: "Love is the every only God"
31. How old were you when you got married?
I was 25, AK had just turned 27.
Your turn!
posted by Chris at
10:44 AM
5 Comments:
::::happy sigh::::
it was a beautiful wedding - i don't remember the food, so it couldn't have been awful. i remember the rocking chair and i got to sit with alaska's aunts. and yes, the officiant is one of the funny rememberances - no feeling that he was awful awful. and alaska was incredibly beautiful and you were quite handsome. it was really a lovely wedding. it was the 3rd that season for me - and ours was to follow in october. 1995 was definitely a Good Year!
fun. somehow I didn't make the guest list though. :-) my answers are on my blog.
What a great story! Thanks! I love AK's happy sigh.
Dy
It was fun doing the video. It was good practice for my job at the time; shooting and editing weddings. It's always fun to do them for friends because you can ask more interesting questions during the interviews since you know lots of incriminating details (evil laugh).
I've seen that same officiant do several other weddings and it's always pretty much the same. That's his act. I guess either you like it or you don't.
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