I's Married Now
My fiancee WIFE and I got married this past Saturday and I would not-so-humbly describe this past weekend as epic.
The best part? The people. I'm pleased to say that my wife and I have, both individually and jointly, collected an amazing bunch of people that we are proud to call our family and friends. Getting to spend time with them in and of itself would have been enough, but to have them present to help us celebrate the happiest day of our lives made it all the more special.
What all went into the weekend? Like to hear it? Here it go.
(Warning: Once you get into the LJ cuts, ye Gods help you for image-heaviness)
We got married in Baltimore, but live in Greensboro, NC. We made the trek north on Thursday, got into town, checked into our hotel, and had our final meeting with our reception venue (which was the same hotel where we were staying). We did dinner with my in-laws and my bro-in-law's girlfriend, and then headed to pick up my tux (Megan had already made a run to pick up her dress, which she had to store at her parents' place because although it was in a bag, it had to be taken out). Tried it on. Vest was a size too small, so I had to have them order a new one, which I had to pick up on the morning of the wedding. We spent that evening putting together gift bags for our out-of-towners and putting the finishing touches on our centerpieces.
It was that evening that read my "last minute checklist" from The Plunge (think of it as the guy's counterpart to The Knot) and realize, oh shit, I'm supposed to give a toast at the rehearsal dinner! Which, at that point, was less than 24 hours away. So I did a bit of writing...
On Friday, we spent most of the day at the Baltimore Zoo (no, I'm not calling it the "Maryland Zoo in Baltimore") with our ring bearer (Megan's nephew), my mother in law, brother in law, and his girlfriend. After that, it was back to the hotel to catch up with a few folks who were already there, including one of my groomsmen who had checked in, and then get ready for the rehearsal/dinner. We headed over to the church; rehearsal went off pretty much without a hitch, although Baltimore Friday evening rush hour traffic delayed the arrival of a few.
On to the dinner, in the basement of the church, catered by a local company (my mom knew someone who knew someone...) both dads' toasts were great, mine was... forgettable, which I'm ok with. Got my groomsmen their gifts: Flasks (plus a canteen for the ring bearer), pocket squares (for later, because they didn't match in the manner I intended for them to) and sunglasses (which you'll see later).
Back at the hotel, I moved out of the suite and in with my brother/best man for the evening. After that, hitting the bar was a given. Most of the groomsmen, plus other friends of mine were down there for a bit, and Megan and some of her folks joined us as well. My crew relocated to the room before the stroke of midnight so as not to see Megan on the wedding day. Most of my groomsmen, plus one of the bridesmaids (a friend of mine; Megan and I swapped one position so her brother could be a groomsman) hung out in our room for a good while longer, while I'm told some other folks, including my wife, effectively shut down the hotel bar, and led to the rise of the Vodka Sunrise, which would go on special the next night at the bride's signature cocktail.
Wedding morning was surprisingly leisurely. A couple of us went down to the continental breakfast in the hotel, I went and got my new-sized vest, and we for the most part putzed around until the fellas and I gathered to start getting ready. we headed over to the church to finish getting situated and what-not. The longest part of the day for me was when I was sent down into the "holding room" while my groomsmen completed their duties as ushers. The ceremony itself went quickly, though not so quickly as to be a blur. After pictures, it was back to the hotel to party the night away.
And party we did--the reception was a great time and we definitely wore out the dance floor. Even my wife, who doesn't dance, spent a decent amount of time out there.
And finally, we wrapped up the night as we previously had--hotel bar, and onto a guest room. I'd like to thank whoever was in the rooms adjacent to us for not being annoyed at our rowdiness (or at least not enough so to come knocking).
All in all, a wonderful weekend. While we're still a couple weeks off from official pics, some have already began surfacing on Facebook.
My wife, with her rehearsal bouquet and tiara:
My decidedly forgettable toast:
To life!
From the ceremony:
Some of the posed shots (from non-professional cameras)
And the reception:
So there you have it, folks! A few final thoughts:
-If anyone is looking for a venue in Baltimore metro, I HIGHLY recommend the Towson Place Hotel and Suites (it will reportedly soon be a Best Western, but the same great folks will be there. 1100 Cromwell Bridge Rd. in Towson). They were amazing to work with and bent over backwards to make our day a success.
-Surround yourself with amazing people. My younger brother was my best man, and I felt like a crime boss in the way that he handled everything while I got to keep my "hands clean".
-And as I'm sure everyone else tells you, take the time to take it all in. It really can fly by--enjoy!
As for me, I'll probably stick around here a bit longer, as I know other marrieds have. Besides, I've noticed the lack of guys here, so I'll do my part by keeping the ratio at least where it is.
Lastly, thanks to everyone in this community for being around to offer advice, bounce ideas, and just provide insight into the entire process! Congrats to my date twins out there and the other newlyweds!
The best part? The people. I'm pleased to say that my wife and I have, both individually and jointly, collected an amazing bunch of people that we are proud to call our family and friends. Getting to spend time with them in and of itself would have been enough, but to have them present to help us celebrate the happiest day of our lives made it all the more special.
What all went into the weekend? Like to hear it? Here it go.
(Warning: Once you get into the LJ cuts, ye Gods help you for image-heaviness)
We got married in Baltimore, but live in Greensboro, NC. We made the trek north on Thursday, got into town, checked into our hotel, and had our final meeting with our reception venue (which was the same hotel where we were staying). We did dinner with my in-laws and my bro-in-law's girlfriend, and then headed to pick up my tux (Megan had already made a run to pick up her dress, which she had to store at her parents' place because although it was in a bag, it had to be taken out). Tried it on. Vest was a size too small, so I had to have them order a new one, which I had to pick up on the morning of the wedding. We spent that evening putting together gift bags for our out-of-towners and putting the finishing touches on our centerpieces.
It was that evening that read my "last minute checklist" from The Plunge (think of it as the guy's counterpart to The Knot) and realize, oh shit, I'm supposed to give a toast at the rehearsal dinner! Which, at that point, was less than 24 hours away. So I did a bit of writing...
On Friday, we spent most of the day at the Baltimore Zoo (no, I'm not calling it the "Maryland Zoo in Baltimore") with our ring bearer (Megan's nephew), my mother in law, brother in law, and his girlfriend. After that, it was back to the hotel to catch up with a few folks who were already there, including one of my groomsmen who had checked in, and then get ready for the rehearsal/dinner. We headed over to the church; rehearsal went off pretty much without a hitch, although Baltimore Friday evening rush hour traffic delayed the arrival of a few.
On to the dinner, in the basement of the church, catered by a local company (my mom knew someone who knew someone...) both dads' toasts were great, mine was... forgettable, which I'm ok with. Got my groomsmen their gifts: Flasks (plus a canteen for the ring bearer), pocket squares (for later, because they didn't match in the manner I intended for them to) and sunglasses (which you'll see later).
Back at the hotel, I moved out of the suite and in with my brother/best man for the evening. After that, hitting the bar was a given. Most of the groomsmen, plus other friends of mine were down there for a bit, and Megan and some of her folks joined us as well. My crew relocated to the room before the stroke of midnight so as not to see Megan on the wedding day. Most of my groomsmen, plus one of the bridesmaids (a friend of mine; Megan and I swapped one position so her brother could be a groomsman) hung out in our room for a good while longer, while I'm told some other folks, including my wife, effectively shut down the hotel bar, and led to the rise of the Vodka Sunrise, which would go on special the next night at the bride's signature cocktail.
Wedding morning was surprisingly leisurely. A couple of us went down to the continental breakfast in the hotel, I went and got my new-sized vest, and we for the most part putzed around until the fellas and I gathered to start getting ready. we headed over to the church to finish getting situated and what-not. The longest part of the day for me was when I was sent down into the "holding room" while my groomsmen completed their duties as ushers. The ceremony itself went quickly, though not so quickly as to be a blur. After pictures, it was back to the hotel to party the night away.
And party we did--the reception was a great time and we definitely wore out the dance floor. Even my wife, who doesn't dance, spent a decent amount of time out there.
And finally, we wrapped up the night as we previously had--hotel bar, and onto a guest room. I'd like to thank whoever was in the rooms adjacent to us for not being annoyed at our rowdiness (or at least not enough so to come knocking).
All in all, a wonderful weekend. While we're still a couple weeks off from official pics, some have already began surfacing on Facebook.
My wife, with her rehearsal bouquet and tiara:
My decidedly forgettable toast:
To life!
From the ceremony:
Some of the posed shots (from non-professional cameras)
And the reception:
So there you have it, folks! A few final thoughts:
-If anyone is looking for a venue in Baltimore metro, I HIGHLY recommend the Towson Place Hotel and Suites (it will reportedly soon be a Best Western, but the same great folks will be there. 1100 Cromwell Bridge Rd. in Towson). They were amazing to work with and bent over backwards to make our day a success.
-Surround yourself with amazing people. My younger brother was my best man, and I felt like a crime boss in the way that he handled everything while I got to keep my "hands clean".
-And as I'm sure everyone else tells you, take the time to take it all in. It really can fly by--enjoy!
As for me, I'll probably stick around here a bit longer, as I know other marrieds have. Besides, I've noticed the lack of guys here, so I'll do my part by keeping the ratio at least where it is.
Lastly, thanks to everyone in this community for being around to offer advice, bounce ideas, and just provide insight into the entire process! Congrats to my date twins out there and the other newlyweds!