July 16, 2002

Part One - The Wedding (Page 4)

And that was it! Rev. Murphy announced us, we went back up the isle and across the lawn to the bridge, followed by Marie. The three of us hugged each other and expressed the relief that everything went so well, and then the mob of relatives approached and we did the congratulatory dance.

We'd had no music before, during or after the ceremony, preferring to hear the creek running in the background. I thought it created a very romantic effect.

We asked Calvin's grandparents to be the witnesses for our marriage, and we have some great shots of us all signing everything and making it all legal ("There's no getting out of it now, Calvin!").

The tables for the luncheon were set up on the lawn just beyond the footbridge, which saved our aching feet any kind of a walk. I mean, my sandals were fairly comfortable, but weren't really meant for the amount of hiking I did to get down to the resort. I'm sure Marie was in the same state. I paused at my setting to gulp down a glass of water, and then Calvin, Marie and I were off for another round of photographs. Three rolls of 37 were taken in the span of an hour, which seems like a lot to me. But, as you saw, they all turned out beautifully. Except for the ones where we were blinking, which I don't think I'll post.

We were (finally!) allowed to go sit at our table, where the rest of the guests were already assembled. I got myself settled in my chair, and then was (gratefully) surprised by Margaret, who had gotten a cold damp cloth from somewhere, came up behind me, carefully lifted my hair and applied the cloth to the back of my neck. God bless wedding coordinators! She did an outstanding job. Absolutely everything was thought of, and I didn't have to worry about a thing at all.

The extremely attentive waiter and waitress took our drink preferences. We had a cash bar, but any drinks the bride and groom wanted to have were on the house, which I thought was nice (though God knows we shelled out enough, we should get something free!).

We were served a spinach salad with red onions prior to the meal. Then we were served, according to our preference, either a roasted rosemary chicken or fresh trout. I had the trout, Calvin had the chicken, and both were excellent (because of course, I had a bite of his, and vice-versa). Then we were served a most incredible chocolate mousse cake with raspberry sauce that more than made up for the fact that we didn't get an official wedding cake.

Four occurrences happened during the course of the meal that made me marvel at the attentiveness of the wait staff. Before the luncheon, the caterer was informed that an extra person had arrived for the wedding (Calvin's step-sister, who we hadn't known was visiting from out of town). She was immediately accommodated, right down to a place setting and a name card with her name on it, as if she had been expected all along.

Then, AB's daughter (who is 10), who was seated next to me, spilled her glass of water. She was horribly upset and embarrassed about it. The waiter appeared immediately at her elbow, having seen the incident. He very kindly and repeatedly reassured her, and got another glass of water for her right away. Not only was it a smaller glass to accommodate her small hands, he also wiped it off with a cloth to take away the condensation so it wouldn't be as slippery. And he came back several more times to wipe the glass off throughout the lunch.

Later, the sun was moving across the sky and out from behind the trees that shaded our table. The grandparents were in the direct sunlight, and though they didn't complain at all, we wanted them to be comfortable. At first we considered swapping seats around, but that would still leave someone in the sun. So Calvin, Mark, and the waiter picked up the entire table - still containing everyone's food, drinks, silverware, the whole bit - and moved it to another spot where it would be fully in the shade.

Finally, I mentioned to the waitress that AB happens to be allergic to chocolate, and asked if we could bring her another dessert choice. They brought out what looked to be a lemon sorbet, and watching her eat it, I kind of wished I had some of my own. By that time, I was getting pretty warm.

Throughout the entire ceremony and luncheon, Mark and our brother-in-law were using their movie cameras to capture the entire event. So I'll have not one video, but two. I've only actually seen snippets of them both, so I'm eager to get copies and watch the whole thing all over again.

I can't really remember what we all talked about for the duration - we caught up on things with Calvin's step-sister, and I know Mark talked about fishing with Grandpa. I think I just sat and absorbed. It was a beautiful setting, and everything was wonderfully presented. After being so keyed up for so long, I was glad that I could just sit back and relax. I kept looking down at my hand and smiling at my ring - I've had it for so long and I've been dying to be able to wear it!! I could see Calvin toying with his occasionally, too. He said (with a grin) that it would take some getting used to, wearing a ring again.

After

The guests started leaving at about 1:30, and by 2:00 everyone except AB and Mark had gone. We traipsed back up to the Hillavator (yeah, we'd take it, if it would save our feet), after profusely thanking the wait staff and everyone who had been so kind to us. They gave us a champagne bucket to keep the flowers fresh in. Between that, the cameras, and the gifts, we had our arms full.

Stepping off the Hillavator, we were greeted by a perfect stranger who said, "Hey, I know you!" As Calvin stammered at him, he laughed and said, "I just developed your pictures. They're done, you know. You can pick them up whenever you want, right across the hotel parking lot." Well! How's that for service? Two hours after the ceremony, and we can look at the photos and re-live the barely-born memory!

Marie and her friend were rushing around to get changed and get their belongings together, as they were leaving with Calvin's sister to stay the night with her. We changed out of our finery as fast as we could (whew!), and then said our goodbyes to the girls. Then the five of us picked up the pictures, and went to the nearby Orchards Grill to get some drinks and look a the pictures. If I said "Oh, I love this one!" once, I said it a million times. The photographer, in my opinion, did a brilliant job. Of course, she had such an easy setting to work with. I like how she made sure to get several shots of the same, or similar, pose - just to make sure she got it.

We sat for a good hour, conversing about the fifty million topics we tend to jump around on when we all get together. But AB's daughter was wilting, and they had a long drive ahead of them, so we all finally said our goodbyes at about 4:00.

Calvin and I went back to our room. We sat down on the bed, alone together for the first time as a married couple. I think we both had identical "Holy shit, we did it!" expressions on our faces.

And then we did what every other young couple in love does right after they get married.

We took a nap.

An aside: One thing I will say about hotel rooms (and I've been in four different hotels over the past two weeks), is that they're very conducive to naps. You can make the room absolutely dark in the middle of the day. The downside is, of course, trying to make yourself get up in the morning.

Anyway, we were wiped out. Happy, but wiped. So we set the alarm for a good long nap, and settled in with a kiss. Calvin was snoring in, oh, approximately 30 seconds. I thought I would nod off quickly, too, but I just seemed to get more and more awake as I lay there. We'd left the small bathroom light on, and I kept holding my left hand up above my head to make my ring catch the glow.

I started getting restless, and by now Calvin was sleeping very soundly. I got up as carefully as I could (though I doubt a brass band playing on his head would have woken him up). I'd recalled that he'd been looking for the Tylenol before lying down, and couldn't find it. I poked around the room, looking for it, but I couldn't find it, either. So I gently shook Calvin and told him I was going out to find a store and buy some more Tylenol (he later said he didn't even remember me waking him up).

It was still warm - I'd say low 90's - but a good breeze kept it from being unbearable. I walked up to the main street, and randomly chose "right" as a good direction to start walking. I never came upon a convenience store, but I did buy a lemonade from a restaurant to fortify my as I walked.

So. I turned back around, and went into an information center that I'd passed. They pointed toward a store across the street, which, as it happened, was directly in line of sight of my hotel. Figures.

I dodged the traffic and walked up to the store, only to find a sign taped to the locked door that read "Back in 5 minutes". I entertained myself by analyzing the creepy sense of déjà vu (hate that) this gave me, and the cashier walked around the corner (from the bathroom, I presume - I didn't ask) a few moments later. I secured the Tylenol, plus a can of Pringles and a bag of Parmesan Goldfish (I love fishes cuz they're so delicious!) and a bottle of iced tea.

Honeymoon food.

Back at the hotel, with Calvin still snoring away, I sat down on the floor near the light, and went through the pictures again. Then I decided to move out onto the patio. The late afternoon light was really bringing the red out in the mountains, and I wanted to attempt to capture it on film. Then, bored, I just leaned back and took a snap of the branches above me.

Finally, I decided that Calvin had slept enough. I levered him out of bed and made him take a shower to wake him up. Tylenol was duly administered, and we went out in search of something to do.

Our wanderings took us down the street to a café that boasted outdoor seating with great views of the mountains. So we planted ourselves there for a good long time, eating a light dinner and sipping beers. We talked about the almost strange feeling it gave us, to be married, even though nothing was different. We called Michael and talked to him (several times, in fact), and he seemed happier than he had been the day before, if still concerned about what his future holds. We called Marie and confirmed she got back to the Valley okay. We talked about the kids, and their futures. We talked about the plans we'd like to make for our lives, and we talked about our vacation plans.

It was fully dark by the time we headed back to the hotel. As we entered the room, we noticed that our bed was turned down for us. And on the chair, where we'd placed our wedding gifts, the two bride-and-groom Beanie bears we'd received had been rearranged so that they were hugging. Aw.

And what came next is none of your beeswax.

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Go back to the first page...

...or the second page...

...or the third page. Whew!

Part Two - The Vacation is coming up!

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©Laura Charon 2000 - 2002.