"i got this" - Kenny Wyland
This isn't where I thought I was going to be when I looked forward into my life, but here I am....
Yes We Can
Mood:
Happy and Excited
Wedding Countdown: Two Rings to Rule Them All
(actually posted after returning from the honeymoon)
The wedding went SO well. I was VERY happy.
Jason and others went about getting the room setup, while Jenn and I got ready back at the hotel. We went to a park by the Rose Bowl to take some wedding photos before the ceremony (because we'd be much prettier then and our guests wouldn't have to wait for us to take the photos after the ceremony. Jeff (Jenn's older brother) took the photos and Maya (Jeff's girlfriend) helped with posing and lighting and whatnot. They are awesome! :)
After that we went to the ceremony and reception location (same place) and started making sure all of the details were handled. They were, because Jason (Jenn's younger brother and our wedding producer) was totally on the ball and took care of everything for us.
Jeff took some more pictures of us with family this time, which was very cool because our families took to the chinese theme very well and dressed up.
The room filled up very quickly as we neared the start time. We started a little late because some friends got stuck in traffic, but we'd rather start late than them miss the ceremony. :) So, it was no problem. I lost count of the number of times that people told me I was glowing, or the number of hugs I received (although only one person actually lifted me off of the ground during her hug *smirk*).
Our dearest friend, Nancy performed our ceremony. She was deputized by the state of CA to perform our marriage. :) I'll go through a quick run down of how the ceremony went, because so many people have asked me:
Our friend, David "Slangman" Burke, composed and played our wedding processional. It was beautiful! As he began to play, Nancy and her fiance Scott walked down the aisle to the stage where Nancy stepped up and Scott went to his seat. Then my parents, Stu and Gigi, walked down the aisle to a pair of seats directly in front of the stage. Then Jenn's mom, Marty, and Marty's boyfriend, Robert, walked down the aisle and sat at the other pair of chairs. The music that David is playing swells and Nancy strikes the gong (loaned from Jenn and Nancy's martial arts school) as Jenn and I enter and walk down the aisle.
Once on stage, Nancy introduces herself and talks about how she knows us and talks a little bit to bring the audience closer into the ceremony, so they feel like they are part of it, not just watching. Then my sister (in-law) Tierzah reads a very lovely poem that she found. Nancy follows up with the "lecture" section of the ceremony, when the officiant usually talks to the couple and tells him what love is about and how it will be hard and they need to be strong, etc. We kinda did away with that part. Nancy talked about how we each bring different qualities to the marriage and that together we really do embody our Wedding moto "Two Rings to Rule Them All" because the strength of our will and personalities together can accomplish anything we put our minds and hearts toward.
Then my brothers, Stuart and Tom, came on stage and sang More than Words by Extreme. A song about how it's very easy to say "I love you" but it's more important to communicate your love through your actions. They were totally awesome!
Next, we brought up our ring bearers, Ken and Shelley. Then Nancy explained our choice of Ken and Shelley was based on their marriage. They have been happily married for over 10 years, and are good people in general to look up to, so we asked them to imbue our rings with their energy. :)
Then our vows were next. We decided not to go with the traditional sickness and health, honor and obey. We each took turns expressing our love for one another and asking each other if they would spend the rest of their life with us (wow, that was a strange sentence). I only made it about have way through mine before I started crying, which of course pushed Jenn over the edge who started crying... it was a very happy moment with an outpouring of emotion. :) We were told by many people how much they loved the ceremony because it felt so sincere. Several people who said they never cry at weddings said they were crying too (yes, guys too). :)
The wedding kiss is apparently also a large topic of conversation, ahem. We may have gotten a little carried away, but I don't think that is a bad thing. :)
The reception went VERY well I thought, we had the normal DJ and dancing, but we also featured karaoke! I started off the night by belting out Great Balls of Fire (the DJ didn't have Play that Funky Music as karaoke, but Jerry Lee will do just fine).
People were dancing almost non-stop, save for a few not so hot karaoke numbers (but hey, it's like marriage, you take the good with the bad) :)
We had conga lines, and a bunch of people on stage doing YMCA, we had Kung Fu Fighting, and all sorts of stuff. We gave out door prizes for funny things, like last to arrive or who was sitting at the Horse table and ate Chicken (or tables were named after the animals of the Chinese Zodiac). Many people karaoked, a lot more than I expected which pleased me a great deal! My boss, Adrian, and a former VP, James, of my company got up and belted out a song or two, very awesome. I can't name everyone who karaoked, but Thea did a great job as did Ariel. Sarah was one of my favorites, as she sang her own customized words to Que Sera Sera (or Que Sarah Sarah as she did it) :) She's awesome.
It was so great that our family and so many of our friends came out to celebrate with us. Due to monetary constraints, we could only invite about half the people we wanted to, but I hope everyone we weren't able to invite understands the dilemma and still loves us!
The wedding went SO well. I was VERY happy.
Jason and others went about getting the room setup, while Jenn and I got ready back at the hotel. We went to a park by the Rose Bowl to take some wedding photos before the ceremony (because we'd be much prettier then and our guests wouldn't have to wait for us to take the photos after the ceremony. Jeff (Jenn's older brother) took the photos and Maya (Jeff's girlfriend) helped with posing and lighting and whatnot. They are awesome! :)
After that we went to the ceremony and reception location (same place) and started making sure all of the details were handled. They were, because Jason (Jenn's younger brother and our wedding producer) was totally on the ball and took care of everything for us.
Jeff took some more pictures of us with family this time, which was very cool because our families took to the chinese theme very well and dressed up.
The room filled up very quickly as we neared the start time. We started a little late because some friends got stuck in traffic, but we'd rather start late than them miss the ceremony. :) So, it was no problem. I lost count of the number of times that people told me I was glowing, or the number of hugs I received (although only one person actually lifted me off of the ground during her hug *smirk*).
Our dearest friend, Nancy performed our ceremony. She was deputized by the state of CA to perform our marriage. :) I'll go through a quick run down of how the ceremony went, because so many people have asked me:
Our friend, David "Slangman" Burke, composed and played our wedding processional. It was beautiful! As he began to play, Nancy and her fiance Scott walked down the aisle to the stage where Nancy stepped up and Scott went to his seat. Then my parents, Stu and Gigi, walked down the aisle to a pair of seats directly in front of the stage. Then Jenn's mom, Marty, and Marty's boyfriend, Robert, walked down the aisle and sat at the other pair of chairs. The music that David is playing swells and Nancy strikes the gong (loaned from Jenn and Nancy's martial arts school) as Jenn and I enter and walk down the aisle.
Once on stage, Nancy introduces herself and talks about how she knows us and talks a little bit to bring the audience closer into the ceremony, so they feel like they are part of it, not just watching. Then my sister (in-law) Tierzah reads a very lovely poem that she found. Nancy follows up with the "lecture" section of the ceremony, when the officiant usually talks to the couple and tells him what love is about and how it will be hard and they need to be strong, etc. We kinda did away with that part. Nancy talked about how we each bring different qualities to the marriage and that together we really do embody our Wedding moto "Two Rings to Rule Them All" because the strength of our will and personalities together can accomplish anything we put our minds and hearts toward.
Then my brothers, Stuart and Tom, came on stage and sang More than Words by Extreme. A song about how it's very easy to say "I love you" but it's more important to communicate your love through your actions. They were totally awesome!
Next, we brought up our ring bearers, Ken and Shelley. Then Nancy explained our choice of Ken and Shelley was based on their marriage. They have been happily married for over 10 years, and are good people in general to look up to, so we asked them to imbue our rings with their energy. :)
Then our vows were next. We decided not to go with the traditional sickness and health, honor and obey. We each took turns expressing our love for one another and asking each other if they would spend the rest of their life with us (wow, that was a strange sentence). I only made it about have way through mine before I started crying, which of course pushed Jenn over the edge who started crying... it was a very happy moment with an outpouring of emotion. :) We were told by many people how much they loved the ceremony because it felt so sincere. Several people who said they never cry at weddings said they were crying too (yes, guys too). :)
The wedding kiss is apparently also a large topic of conversation, ahem. We may have gotten a little carried away, but I don't think that is a bad thing. :)
The reception went VERY well I thought, we had the normal DJ and dancing, but we also featured karaoke! I started off the night by belting out Great Balls of Fire (the DJ didn't have Play that Funky Music as karaoke, but Jerry Lee will do just fine).
People were dancing almost non-stop, save for a few not so hot karaoke numbers (but hey, it's like marriage, you take the good with the bad) :)
We had conga lines, and a bunch of people on stage doing YMCA, we had Kung Fu Fighting, and all sorts of stuff. We gave out door prizes for funny things, like last to arrive or who was sitting at the Horse table and ate Chicken (or tables were named after the animals of the Chinese Zodiac). Many people karaoked, a lot more than I expected which pleased me a great deal! My boss, Adrian, and a former VP, James, of my company got up and belted out a song or two, very awesome. I can't name everyone who karaoked, but Thea did a great job as did Ariel. Sarah was one of my favorites, as she sang her own customized words to Que Sera Sera (or Que Sarah Sarah as she did it) :) She's awesome.
It was so great that our family and so many of our friends came out to celebrate with us. Due to monetary constraints, we could only invite about half the people we wanted to, but I hope everyone we weren't able to invite understands the dilemma and still loves us!
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