Aug. 30: Wedding memories

This wedding meme is making the rounds so I simply must play along.

1. When was your wedding day?
   February 23, 1997
2. What day of the week was it?
   Sunday
3. Did you get married in a church?
   Tabernacle Seventh-day Adventist, in the Johns Landing area of Portland—this was when I thought things like church weddings were important. I was a member there at the time.
4. How many were in your wedding party?
   Eight bridesmaids, six groomsmen, three flower girls and two junior ushers. Crazy-lots of people. I figured, we’re only doing this once so it’s gonna be good and we’re not leaving anyone out. So far, so good.
5. How many guests were invited to your wedding?
   I think 350 invitations went out, and we had 250 or so guests
6. Did anything go wrong? Groomsmen passing out? Flower girls crying?
   For the most part, the things that went wrong weren’t noticeable to the guests. Kathy’s accompanist messed up but Kath held it together and then killed the accompanist later. The pastor did his part before a song (instead of after), which meant there were two songs in a row—a little awkward. The church’s wedding coordinator was evil and wouldn’t help with anything.
7. How long did you wait to tie the knot after your engagement?
   We got engaged in July 1996, approximately seven months before our wedding. I really wanted a Christmas wedding, but Vic thought there wasn’t enough time to plan it. I never should have listened to him—even his mom says that.
8. Who did you hire as your photographer and videographer?
   Professionals recommended by friends. The photographer was excellent—ridiculously pricey, but worth every penny. The videographer did a good job filming everything, and he got a lot of neat shots of us, but throughout the ceremony there are very loud fart-like sounds on the video. I don’t know if it was a bad mike or a gassy uncle. Anyway, it irritates me that the videographer didn’t even try to filter that out. It took months for him to get us the finished product but the whole thing seemed a little thrown together.
9. Did you have a DJ or a band?
   Neither. I was too concerned with offending church members by such a thing. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I would have loved to dance with my dad.
10. Did your father walk you down the aisle?
    Yes, and it will always be one of my best memories of him. He transformed into the perfect father of the bride for those few moments. (Later, though, he was back to being himself…)
11. What color were the bridesmaid dresses and groomsman vests?
    Dresses were black. Groomsmen did NOT have matching vests; I was never a big fan of that look. They wore ivory dinner jackets with black ties, no vests.
12. What kinds of flowers did you have?
    One nice thing about a late winter wedding? Tulips. The bridesmaids carried white tulip bouquets, along with some purpley accent blossoms. I liked them okay, but they were kinda sparse and a lot smaller than I had hoped. My bouquet, on the other hand, was HUGE. It had all white tulips and orchids and weighed a metric ton. My toss bouquet was similar to the bridesmaids’—good thing; I would’ve knocked someone out if I’d tossed mine. My favorite floral element wasn’t actually flowers, but an aisle runner the florist got for us—floral print and gorgeous; it matched the church and our decor beautifully. More people commented on that than they did our bouquets.
13. Who were your maid of honor and best man?
    Kathy was my “attendant of distinction” and Sherrice Neil Croft was my maid of honor. Ted was Victor’s best man.
14. Did you have a bridal shower?
    Yes
15. What type of vehicle did you leave the wedding/reception in?
    A limousine
16. Where did you go for your bachelorette/bachelor parties?
    Bachelorette: The girls took me to that Mexican restaurant in Johns Landing… Who Song & Larry’s? I can’t remember what it was called at the time, but that’s the one. It was a fun, noisy, festive party place. Bachelor: The guys went out to eat somewhere and then saw the very lame Starship Troopers.
17. What type of wedding gown/tux did you two wear?
    My dress was sleeveless, ivory with pearl trim, an organza overlay on the skirt, and an organza sash. I also wore long ivory gloves and ballet slippers. Victor’s tux was the same as the groomsmen’s—ivory jacket, black pants and tie, white shirt.
18. How was the weather?
    Surprisingly gorgeous; it had been icky in the few days before but our wedding day was sunny and warm-ish, for Portland in February.
19. Where did you go on your honeymoon?
    Maui
20. How long have you been married?
    Twelve and a half years. Two happy ones.   (I kid, I kid.)

Share your wedding story in a comment or on your own blog.