Mission Accomplished!

Well, Kate and I have been married for roughly 48 hours now. I'm pleased to say that marriage doesn't seem to have killed us yet so I think we might be ready for the long haul. :-)

The wedding weekend went over PERFECTLY!! The rehearsal and rehearsal dinner was pretty smooth on Friday and the gathering of guests on Saturday was a lot of fun. But, of course, the best of all was the wedding itself. :-)

Things couldn't have turned out better. The weather was nice (though we were indoors almost the whole time) and several people turned up early in the afternoon to help set up. I almost made Bill and me late because of my obsessive-compulsive need to check in with EVERYONE involved. But the reception area was set up in just over an hour with all the help I had.

The main event was the best. Father Larry was very helpful and kept the tension down with his good humor. Our mothers did the candle lighting just as they should. No one tripped or stumbled down the aisle. Bill and I looked darn good in our tuxedos. ;-)

But, of course, Kate was a vision. I'd seen some of the unfinished dress already but I hadn't seen it on her until the moment she walked out on her father's arm. I was struck. I stood up a little taller and straighter. I think I tuned out everyone else in the church except Kate. I didn't even register Brendan until he handed Kate off to me. I'd just never seen my love look so beautiful.

It was the only moment during the ceremony where I almost lost my composure. I could feel the tears of joy welling up in my eyes. I fought them back with an effort, knowing that if I lost it, poor Kate wouldn't be far behind. So we both kept our cool during the ceremony but the waves of emotions playing over us were intense and I think we both could feel it in one another through our touch.

After the ceremony, the reception was just plain fun. We tried to make the rounds and talk with everyone (didn't do too well with my local crew but managed everybody else). Several of the board games we offered actually got played (I think Kate's college crew got a kick out of Imaginiff). The kiss questions were a nice icebreaker, forcing folks to come up and declare out loud some bit of trivia about me and Kate. Bill made a great speech on our behalf, including several jokes at my expense (thanks, bro!). The food was absolutely superb and, yes, we actually got to sit down and enjoy it.

Moment of the night: My niece Julie (2 1/2 years old) told me that someone had to come up and talk so that she could see Uncle Mike and Aunt Kate kiss. :-)

All in all, everything was perfect.

My advice to any potential grooms out there is to be involved in the details of the wedding from day one. Then pay attention to those details! That way, on the big day, you know what's going on and can just sit back and enjoy the fun!

I don't have pictures of the wedding up and ready yet (still waiting for cameras to be developed). But my mother (bless her) got pictures of just about every aspect of the wedding ceremony and reception and posted them online. Just follow this link to view some great images!

I can't possibly thank everyone who helped out in the wedding but here's my feeble attempt:

Thanks to Brendan and MaryAnn (Kate's parents and my new in-laws) for organizing the get-together, for helping pick up the drinks, for helping with the reception room setup, and for welcoming me so warmly into the family.

Thanks to my Mom and Dad for giving me emotional support when I was stressing, for the engraved goblets and cake set, for helping with the running around town shopping work, for taking such great pictures of the ceremony and reception, and for welcoming Kate so earnestly into the family.

Thanks to Dianna and Heath for conspiring with me to prospose to Kate, for helping me with my butonnierre (did I spell that right?), and for performing one of the readings during the ceremony.

Thanks to Aileen for performing the first reading during the ceremony and for capturing many moments on film. We can't wait to see how your shots turn out!

Thanks to Kat for performing another reading during the ceremony, for picking up the veggie snack trays, and for being so enthusiastic about everything.

Thanks to Glynnis and Dan for acting as greeters during the ceremony and for entertaining my niece (mostly Dan). Sorry about that whole programs thing!

Thanks to Bill for being my best man, for keeping me focused when I tried to do too much, for helping out during the setup, for taking charge of the cleanup, and for being the brother I never had.

Thanks to Dana for being Kate's maid of honor, for running errands in a strange town, for putting up with Bill as an escort, and for guarding the door to the bride's room from all intruders.

Thanks to Tammy for helping pick Kate's dress, for designing and constructing Kate's veil, for creating our scrapbook, for acting as a third greeter, for being the militant master of the guestbook, and for the hundred other little things you did to smooth our way.

Thanks to Betsy for sheltering Kate yet again before the wedding, for picking up the flowers on the wedding day, for helping assemble said flowers where needed, for acting as a witness on our church license, and just for being a saint in general.

Thanks to Karen for also acting as a witness for our church license and for your energy and good humor through it all.

Thanks to Emily for acting as our gopher for all the small details that kept cropping up.

Thanks to Ron for manning the video camera on such short notice.

Thanks to Lynda, Crystal, and Chris (especially Chris who did all the legwork) for putting the idea in our heads that maybe Kate and I should hook up. Witness the result of your meddling!

Thanks to our co-workers who will be covering for us while Kate and I enjoy our three week honeymoon.

Thanks to Sandy and the Lopiano's staff for creating a magnificant feast for us and for seeing to our every need. You guys were great!

Thanks to Barbara and Patricia for helping with the coordination of both the ceremony and the reception, for setting up the reception hall, and for your patience as we asked over and over again how the ceremony would play out.

Thanks to Father Larry for officiating our wedding, for your patience and sense of humor, and for putting up with the confusion between you and Deacon Jim. God bless you!

Thanks to Charles of Rimrock Photography for your special short-term deal you made for us, for your creative ideas for photographs, for your openness to the pictures we wanted, and for your patience as our family came dodging around you for their own pictures.

Thanks to the SEAS staff (both hall and office) for your help with all our paperwork, for your ideas for the reception setup, for the great sound system, and for your assistance in all the prep work.

Thanks to Sister Dominica of the Abbey of St. Walburga for the absolutely beautiful unity candle set and for your prayers and kindness.

Thanks to everyone who showed up to share our special day of happiness.

Thanks to everyone who couldn't be with us in person but still sent your well wishes and thoughts.

And most of all, thanks to God for giving us the gift of one another.

The Night Before

So here it is...the night before my wedding.

As evidenced by this post, I'm feeling a little wired and that's keeping me from sleep just yet. I AM tired since it's been a long week and a busy couple of days but I just can't get myself to relax right now. My eyelids are barely able to stay open but my brain won't stop. Hopefully this blog update will help burn off the excess energy.

In a little more than 12 hours I'll be standing before the altar with Kate to be married.

.....

Sorry, I got sort of lost there for a moment as that thought REALLY weighed in on me. :-)

I'm not nervous, at least I don't really feel like I am. I'm not stressed; I'd be in a far less charitable mood if I were. I honestly think that I'm just really, really excited that I can hardly stand it!

Here's how I'm trying to channel that excitement right now:

1. I'm complying a list of everything I need to bring to the church in the afternoon tomorrow.

2. I'm writing up a list of any tasks that I can assign to folks when they show up asking for something to do. (And I've had a LOT of folks ask if there's something they can do to help!)

3. I'm jotting down some things that will need to be done after the reception is over to clean up the hall.

4. I'm tweaking the seating plan to account for the placing of the tables.

5. I'm putting together the "kiss questions" that'll be at each table. (These are questions about me and Kate that guests need to answer if they want to see us kiss - no clinking glasses!)

6. I'm printing out our custom written Prayer of the Faithful for the ceremony.

7. I'm boxing up the things I'll need to take with me in the afternoon so it's all in one spot.

8. I'm remaking my bed and clearing the excess stuff out of my bedroom.

9. I'm apologizing to Rune for locking her in the walk-in closet all day. (Ooops!)

10. I'm typing this post for this blog. :-)

Everything's been working out really well. Kate and I are meeting for the early church service in the morning. Afterwards, we're going out for breakfast just the two of us. We'll hash out a few more details for the wedding but mostly we just want to relax with each other beforehand.

Kate and Dana then head off for Kate's hair appointment and I'll gather stuff to head out to the church. I get to be the man of the hour up until the ceremony, directing traffic and making sure everything is set up properly. At some point, I'll leave things up to our Greeters (Tammy, Glynnis, and Dan) and duck away to get changed into my tux.

Then the fun starts! ;-)

Well, I'm still feeling sleepy. I'd better finish up and make a concentrated effort at getting some rest before tomorrow.

I'm realizing how much I've been looking forward to this day. I love Kate so much.

Everything will be wonderful. Heck, as long as we're married by the end of it, the rest is just icing on the cake.

Thanks to everyone for their help, support, presence, or just well wishes.

I look at the clock and watch the seconds tick by, drawing me ever closer to marital bliss. I really can't wait.

This is rapidly turning into a stream of consciousness thread so I'll be going now. Thanks for reading.

G'night!

The Home Stretch

So here I am in the home stretch, only a week to go in my single life.

A lot of people seem to find it very hard to believe that we've actually got most of the wedding details under control. But we do! Most of the major things are taken care of. The photographer is confirmed. The catering is ready (just need to contact Lopiano's with a head count). We have a marriage license. We've met with the church coordinators who will be on hand to help us out next Sunday. We've reserved a section at Beujo's for the rehearsal dinner. We've ordered the reception cakes. All in all, we're doing pretty well.

I think the thing that makes me most nervous is the total paradigm shift that I'll be taking on. It sounds kind of silly to say out loud, but I've never been married before. There are expectations of how my job, my home, my finances, my future plans, and so forth are supposed to work. That's going to be completely different once Kate is my wife and living with me.

Don't get me wrong! I love Kate and want desparately to marry her. Nothing is ever going to change that. It'll just be so different with her as a constant part of my life. I have no doubt that it will be wonderful, but it will also be very different.

It's hard to put into words precisely. Kate and I have talked about our anxiety about marriage. (Note: I said anxiety for MARRIAGE, not the WEDDING. That'll be a snap!) We continue to realize how aspects of our lives will change once we're married. For example, I can no longer spend money like I used to. It's not my money anymore...it's OUR money. We'll have to learn to talk with each other any time we think we need to make a serious purchase. (No more frivilous spending on XBox games for me!) Heck, even the idea of privacy will be radically changed! There will no longer be aspects of my life that are known only to me. From here on out, there will be a sharing between Kate and myself that I don't think I've experienced since I was a child.

There's an excitement too though, one that overwhelms the fear. I want Kate with me all the rest of my days and I can't imagine how I ever could have gotten along without her. She is my new purpose in life. She is my drive and my will to live and succeed. I want to make myself an even better man than I am because I believe she deserves the best. I look forward to spending the rest of my life learning how to make her happy.

For me now, there is no greater purpose in life. It all revolves around her and the fact that she is mine.