The day dawned crisp and clear, and surprisingly cold! When I left our house on Benvenue with my Two Best Men, John & Dan (who was driving my truck), it was 7am and 38 degrees. Brrr. We had to go so early so that we could get all the wedding party & family pictures done before the ceremony. Dawn spent the night at a hotel nearer to the Lark Creek with Elisabeth and Tani, and was having her hair done in the little shopping complex adjacent to the Lark Creek, so they didn't have to get going quite as early. Since they were expected to need longer to get ready, we also were going to start the pictures first.
It was a fantastic day. Before the photographer showed up, Dan and John and I actually walked around a little. As we were walking back toward the inn, I noticed someone in one of the shops. "That's odd. She's getting her hair done. Oh wait. That's Dawn!" I didn't say anything to Dan or John, and I don't think I've ever even told Dawn, but I ducked around the side of the building and pretended I hadn't seen her.
I took pictures for a while with Dan, John & most of my family. Then it was Dawn's turn, so I was sequestered in the courtyard. It was still cold, and I was starting to feel it even in my wool suit. Some of the time I hung out with John, Dan, and Peter, but they abandoned me for a while to watch the picture taking. I was actually getting a little annoyed, but then it was time for Dawn & me to see each other for the first time. We did it in the little sitting area right in front of the restaurant. I think Dawn was already standing there, but they led me out with my eyes closed and then positioned us as the photographer wanted, with our backs to each other.
After the pictures were finished, there was more miscellaneous prep. I did kick everyone out of the prep room (the upstairs banquet room) for a few minutes so Dawn and I could be alone. That's when I told her I had cold feet. I couldn't resist, though obviously I was speaking strictly literally - it was cold outside and my thin wool socks were no longer doing me much good. Dawn was the one who was wearing a dress originally bought when we were planning on getting married in September - three spaghetti straps on each side. She was just freezing. You can't tell from the pictures, but between smiling for so many pictures and the cold, I think it was about three days before we stopped smiling. Or maybe it was just that we were very happy? Who knew?
The ceremony went well; Dave P filmed it for us. Dawn had her brother & her friend Tani standing with her, while I had John, Dan, and Elisabeth. We spent a bunch of time creating the ceremony, including our vows, all the wording for the minister, and selecting most of the readings. We picked a couple of Jewish traditions to include in the ceremony: the 7 blessings and the breaking of the glass; in a traditional Jewish wedding, the 7 blessings are 7 readings from the Torah, read by friends, family, and the rabbi. We didn't particularly want the readings from the Torah, but we liked the idea of having friends and family read things for us. For the glass breaking, we chose to break it together, and chose the interpretation that the marriage should last as long as it takes us to put the glass back together.
The man who married us is a local lawyer my mother knew of, who happens also to be a minister of the Universal Life Church. His name is Wendell, and he was great. He was very flexible and helpful; he showed us some of the stuff from other weddings he's done, which was a great resource. We also used a couple of books we found.
Almost everyone we invited was able to come. The seat arragements were interesting to do. A lot of the information out there suggests that this is one of the hardest parts of planning a wedding. I suppose I can see how it could be considering how touchy families can be, but for one thing our families are pretty easy going. When we were working on it, it seemed as if it was going to be hard, but after messing around for about an hour, suddenly we had some sort of epiphany - I think it all started to fall together when we put our entire baseball group (Alex, Holly, Jill, Carol, Johnathon, Tonya, Gene, and Marilu) at one table and put my Brandeis & SF State friends at another. I think from the moment of putting the baseball group at one table it took us about 20 minutes to finish the seating plan.
The Song List
| Ceremony Processional | J.S. Bach | What God Hath Done is Rightly Done |
| Handel | Tempo di Minuett | |
| Ceremony Recessional | Handel | Alla Hornpipe (Water Music) |
| Cocktails & Hors d'Ouerves | Tony Bennett | Steppin' Out With My Baby |
| Dean Martin | You're Nobody Til Someone Loves You | |
| Bobby Darin | More | |
| Louis Armstrong | A Kiss to Build a Dream On | |
| Frank Sinatra | Summer Wind | |
| Natalie Cole | Straighten Up & Fly Right | |
| Nat King Cole | L-O-V-E | |
| Jimmy Durante | The Glory of Love | |
| Sarah Vaughan | Baubles, Bangles & Beads | |
| Vic Damone | Little Girl | |
| Louis Prima | Jump, Jive, & Wail | |
| Sarah Vaughan | Moonglow | |
| Ella Fitzgerald | Don't Be That Way | |
| Bobby Darin | Charade | |
| Billie Holiday | What a Little Moonlight Can Do | |
| Harry Connick, Jr. | It's Alright with Me | |
| Natalie Cole | As Time Goes By | |
| Jimmy Durante | Young at Heart | |
| Vic Damone | I Could Write a Book | |
| Ella Fitzgerald | Goody Goody | |
| Nat King Cole | Walkin' My Baby Back Home | |
| Natalie Cole | All About Love | |
| Bobby Darin | Call Me Irresponsible | |
| Harry Connick, Jr. | A Wink & A Smile | |
| Eydie Gorme | Frenesi | |
| Tom Jones | It's Not Unusual | |
| First Dances | Bob Carlisle | Butterfly Kisses |
| Frank Sinata | It Had to be You | |
| Dances | Dave Matthews Band | Crush |
| Sister Hazel | All For You | |
| Eurythmics | Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves | |
| Vonda Shephard | Searchin' My Soul | |
| James Brown | I Got You (I Feel Good) | |
| The Commitments | Mustang Sally | |
| Eric Clapton | Lay Down Sally | |
| Queen | Crazy Little Thing Called Love | |
| Gloria Gaynor | I Will Survive | |
| Emotions | Best of My Love | |
| Cheryl Lynn | Got To Be Real | |
| The Fixx | One Thing Leads To Another | |
| Eurhythmics | Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) | |
| B-52s | Love Shack | |
| Etta James | At Last | |
| Louis Armstrong | What A Wonderful World |
