In lieu of what SHOULD have been our 4th anniversary Monday … here’s, Remembering Our Wedding
So it took me like 5 years to finally propose. We were in our 20’s. We were having fun. She definitely put on the pressure. She knew what she wanted. I was a little hesitant. It’s a big decision, right? And for someone who might be a bit indecisive at times and a little leery of commitment … maybe I procrastinated for a while.
I always wondered if you knew whether or not the question was coming that night. I don’t think so. I tried to make it a suprise. I think just planning to do it and then actually doing it was a big step. It was dinner at Carmine’s on rush. No one else was with us but the restaurant was pretty busy. I couldn’t even look at the menu. All that was on my mind was how I was going to do this. The menu was a complete blur. I’m not even sure if anything intelligent was coming out of my mouth. Finally I struck up the nerve to do it. I stepped to the side of the table, got on one knee, and asked the question. Everyone around us was looking.
So a while before we went looking for rings. Somehow out of all the rings we both picked out the same one. Oddly enough a few months later we came to find that a couple good friends of ours had selected the same ring. Isn’t that crazy???
So we did dinner but I had another small surprise. A big group of our friends and family were waiting for us at john barleycorns. It made for a great night.
Of course we couldn’t end the celebration there. We had to have a separate engagement party.
So we’re getting hitched … now what do we do. We go on vacation of course. And bring a bunch of friends & family with us. We set the date. Barely 9 months out. Dang, this is happening fast.
So we start planning. Invites out. Travel arrangements booked. Things are going smoothly until … Hurricane Wilma decided to sit over our destination wedding resort for 2 straight days in Oct of 2005. We followed the status updates of our intended resort on a daily basis. If you google ‘moon palace hurricane wilma’ you probably find a bunch of links about it. Basically the resort was a mess. The majority of the Yucatan peninsula was. She was freaking out…we were freaking out.
So what do we do. We hold our breath and hope for the best. Started looking into alternative locations. Somehow we’re going to have to relocate 40+ guests … yikes! Fortunately it turned out that the resort opened just two days before our arrival. Phew!
Despite the fact that half the resort was still closed and that the gazebo where the wedding was supposed to be held was floating somewhere in the caribbean sea, things went by without too much of a headache (cari might have had a different opinion about some of that tho)
Half the party stayed for 7 nights, the rest came a couple days later and stayed for 5 (they should have came the whole time). The resort was all inclusive. A full open bar for 7 days… That beats any wedding I’ve ever been to. 80+ degree weather. Sitting by the pool all day. It was pretty sweet.
And before I forget we were there for NYE so we had that to celebrate too …
Ok, and even though our gazebo was no longer there, the actual wedding was beautiful. We did it on the beach, bare foot and all. At 4pm when the sun was just setting.
The reception was held on one of the patios outside the resort along the sea. It was awesome. Two of our friends sang and played guitar (our wedding song – making memories of u by keith urban & a whole bunch more). Afterwards we took the party inside and closed the bar & discoteca. While it was the norm that we closed a bar and the discoteca on a nightly basis, this time it was MUCH MORE FUN!
NYE Party
She’s not really nervous
Awe … Dad’s a little emotional (we miss u too papa)
Definitely on my list of favorite pictures
And this last one show’s how crazy the all inclusive wedding can get … and this is only one round out of probably the 100+ we had
One of the advantages of the resort opening only days earlier was that we had the entire resort almost entirely to ourselves. We were waited on hand & foot. We were never without service. There were always open chairs at the pool and tables in the restaurants. It was pretty sweet.
The one hiccup or bump or issue we did have (besides a couple small complaints w/the wedding coordinator) had to do with one of our guests. Our recently diagnosed bi-polar friend decided to go off his meds a month or two before the trip. They never should have let him on the plane. He made part of our wedding day for Cari a huge pain. He was kicked out of the hotel, arrested, brought to the airport, arrested again, and then deported. It’s a long story and not something for this post but it’s something everyone remembers so it deserved mention.
All-in-all it was a fantastic week for us and for all of our guests. The memories are there forever. We talked about going back many times in the future. We loved vacations and it meant so much not only to share our special day with those close to us but to share something we enjoyed.
The wedding events didn’t stop there …
Cari insisted we have a reception at home too. I wasn’t all that excited about organizing (and paying) for that but I can be convinced to do just about anything, especially for her. It turned out to be fantastic.
We did it in Feb less than 2 months after the wedding. It was FREEZING that day. Seriously the coldest day of the year. But a mid winter reception does come with benefits; like lower cost and open dates. We did it in the burbs, at palos country club.
[I NEED TO FIND SOME PIX]
Our friends and fam were there. The food was great. The liquor was flowing. And best of all we had a live band for our entertainment. The spazmatics. One of our fav cover bands (who unfortunately broke up shortly thereafter). But they were awesome. And it made for an incredible night. I don’t know if all the older guests felt that way but it was our night, we didn’t care all that much, and had some of the most fun we ever had.
… so that’s about it. but I’m sure I’ll add more later (or at some point when I have some time)
Our Engagement – 3/17/2005
Our Wedding – 1/4/2006