Apr. 23: Thursday Thirteen #1 or #15

It’s been ages since I last participated in Thursday Thirteen. The thing is, the site disappeared and after a couple months someone started up another one at Thursday-13, and it’s taken a while for the news to get around. Technically, I’m not sure if this is my first or 15th edition. Anyway, my thirteen things for this week are wedding-related because one of the authors of Thursday-13 is getting married. Congratulations, Megan!

13 things about our wedding

We got married February 23, 1997.

1. We chose a wedding date exactly halfway between our birthdays. Romantic, no? Problem is, it’s also a week after Valentine’s Day, so either our anniversary or Valentine’s Day get the shaft every year. Not the best planning after all.
2. We didn’t want to leave any of our closest friends out of our wedding party, so we had eight bridesmaids and six groomsmen, two junior ushers and three flower girls. People joked that there were more people on the platform than there were wedding guests, but we had 200+ guests so those people were exaggerating a teence.
3. The week before the wedding I went to my hairdresser for a trial run on my hairstyle. She did it up a few different ways and we liked them all, so although we didn’t settle on anything for sure, I was confident that whatever she did would look fine.
   
   On the morning of the wedding she did my hair up in a zillion bobby pins and I left with what she called “a Gibson girl look.” I thought it looked like a butt crack up the back of my head. My veil covered it, though, and except for the groomsmen who kept lifting my veil to show people, no one even noticed.
   
   The funny thing is, I didn’t mind; I mean, it was funny and memorable and really looked just fine. People still remind me of it. And I still have the same hairdresser because she’s FAB.U.LOUS. Really.
4. Our wedding video is really lovely, with music we chose and lots of slow-mo shots, etc. But the ceremony itself has some sound problems; we think it’s probably a microphone that wasn’t working correctly. Unfortunately, it sounds like someone farted through the whole wedding.
5. Speaking of farts, my dad was kind of a butthead leading up to the wedding. He kept saying he wasn’t going to wear a tux, didn’t want to give me away, etc. I never took his threats seriously, but his refusal to cooperate beforehand sometimes had me a little concerned. But for the rehearsal and wedding/reception, Dad really came through. He was perfect.
   
   This photo was taken just before we walked down the aisle and is one of my favorites from that day. It means even more now that Dad’s gone.
6. I tried on dresses at several bridal shops, but didn’t LOVE any of them. I found the perfect dress in the window of a formal dress shop—it was ivory silk with a shimmery organza overlay and a sash that criss-crossed in the front. I added some pearl trim around the neck and armholes, and got long gloves to wear during the ceremony. (Click the photo to see a larger version, pretty much the only place the dress detail can be seen. Also, see? My hair looks just fine!)
   
   I made the headband to which I attached my veil, using organza ribbon and pearl beads, which I also used on the ballet slippers I wore so I wouldn’t tower over my groom.
   
   To complete the match-iness of everything, we used organza bows on the wedding invitations and throughout the wedding and reception decor.
7. February is not usually a very nice time of year in Portland, but on the day of our wedding the sun shone brightly. It was a gorgeous day. We were able to take a big batch of outdoor portraits, which we never expected we’d be able to do.
8. I talked to my church’s wedding coordinator several times before the wedding. She gave me information about the church’s candelabras, lighting, sound, etc., but we never talked about any ceremony specifics  because I had my own coordinator. Somehow she did not understand this, and tried to take control of the proceedings during the rehearsal.
   
   First, she said we couldn’t use tape to mark our spots on the platform because people would see it. Then she yelled at my nephews. But when she said I couldn’t have my sister walk down the aisle before everyone else, I decided not to put up with her anymore. I was tempted to say to this woman, “Guess what? I can have my sister cartwheel down the aisle if I want her to.” Instead I explained to her very clearly that I wanted things a certain way, and unless those things were violations of church policies, they were going to be done my way. And then I stabbed her with the screwdriver I carry for just such an occasion. OK, not really. She got pissed and refused to help the rest of the rehearsal—fine with me.
   
   On our wedding day, she unlocked the church, turned on the lights, and then left until after the reception was over.
   
   As most of my friends said, WHAT IS HER PROBLEM? AND WHO ARGUES WITH THE BRIDE? Best news: not a single guest was aware of any of her attempts to make our wedding NOT go off as planned. HA!
9. Our toasting goblets were crystal with Mickey and Minnie Mouse on the stems because we are dorks. We use them every year to toast each other on New Year’s Eve because we are still dorks.
10. My sister did not want to be called a “matron of honor,” so I declared her to be an “attendant of distinction.” She sang at the wedding, so in the program I noted that she was a “vocal artist of distinction.” This made my maid of honor, Sherrice, who also sang, a “plain ol’ vocal artist.” Sherrice has a good sense of humor and my sister was pleased with her titles. Win-win.
11. Victor broke a finger on his right hand a few days before the wedding. If you look closely, you can see his splint in a lot of the portraits. You can also tell he wore lens-less glasses for the portraits—no glare! We found a generous optician who let him borrow the frames for a couple weeks.
12. Our reception food was delicious. The original caterer we planned to use backed out a few weeks before the wedding so I was panicked and didn’t know if the new one would work out. But the new one worked out and then some—people still talk about how good that food was.
13. I didn’t want Victor to see me before the wedding, but I knew it made more sense for us to have the portraits taken before the guests arrived. What we ended up doing: Victor stood in the chapel and waited for me; when I was all ready I came in and twirled for him (actually, for the videographer). We talked for a few minutes, practiced our kiss, and went out for portraits. The private moment made for a very nice memory. 
    

What is Thursday-13? Read all about it here.