Well, I'm back..the Wedding was a Success!!!

[Marilyn]

We are sooooo tired, but we're home, and the wedding was absolutely beautiful. I'd post pics, but have to wait until we get them. We were so busy being a part of the festivities that we left the picture taking to professionals and others. Melissa was soooo beautiful. Everything was amazing.

She called today around noon and was very happy. Their cruise left port at 4:15 this afternoon. They will be at sea for two days then their first port is in Jamaca.

Garrett was able to complete his diving certification last Wednesday, so they will be able to dive in when they get to that point in their cruise. I forget, but they will be diving in Cancun or Cozomel. Can't remember which.

This was quite an experience from so many aspects.

I told people at church this evening that after all of this, they should have paid for us to take a cruise. ;) They took off, and left us with all the cleanup.

We lost the sash for her wedding dress the evening before the wedding. Melissa, Karen and I all saw it that day, but when it came time to iron it that evening, it was gone. Karen went to the church building at 2:30 in the morning before the wedding trying to see if it had somehow been unloaded there with some other things. We searched high and low, even checked dumpster where we had thrown trash. I was so upset that I cried myself asleep at 4:30 a.m . The sash was the first thing she had bought for the wedding back in December because she liked it soo much. Karen ran to David's Bridal as soon as they opened and bought another one the same color, not the same style, or with the special beading as the original, but it worked, and was beautiful. No one but us really knew the difference.

On the way from her hair appointment the morning of the wedding, we were caught in gridlock on the interstate. There was a mulitple vehicle collision between us and the church building. We passed a stopped police car so I stopped and ask him the best way to get where we needed to go and he said straight down the interstate. The wreck had shutdown both the interstate and the feeder. We were 30 minutes later getting to there than we had planned so it really crunched us for time and as a result, some things did not get done quite like we had intended, mostly last minute coordination for the reception. Some of the candles were never lit, but again, no one but us really knew the difference. The big things all went very well and people told us how very unique and special everything was. We had live palm trees and tropical plants in the church building. The preacher said this morning he had never been to such a tropical setting so far from the coast. The flowers were all tripical, and the florist did an amazing job. Would highly recommend this florist. The bride and grooms cakes were soooo good!! A friend made the brides cake, and people were asking what bakery had made it because it was so good. It was huge, large enough for 325, and within about 20 minutes of cutting it, all that was left was the top teir (saved for the bride and groom) and crumbs.

I know this is long, but wanted to share with you all, and I'm too tired to do much but ramble.

So many emotions. I can still cry so easily. What a very special experience.

[Tink]

Marilyn, I'm so glad it went so well. Now hopefully you can reflect on the highlights while you give your poor mind and body a rest. You've been pushing yourself SO hard.... no more major projects for a while lady! and THAT's an order! lol

[Janet]

Glad to read everything went so well. Now hopefully you can get a much deserved rest.

[HALEY]

So glad everything went well, now you can get some sleep... ;)

[Marilyn]

Well, I'm up this morning, ready to head back to work. Had a little trouble going to sleep, but did sleep pretty well. Should have taken today off. It was soooo hard to get up, but I took so much time already that I only have 3 vacation days left for the rest of the year. Wanted to save them, so I'm about to head off to work.

Still processing everything. Talk about emotional overload.

By the way, Tink, I'm coordinating a baby shower for next Sunday afternoon for my friend from Russia who is due to have her baby in August. She's 39 and getting really uncomfortable so we waited until the wedding was over to have her shower, but were afraid to wait any longer. She's having blood sugar problems, and looks like she's 9 months along already. Saturday I have to run back to Austin to arrange some things at Melissa and Garrett's apartment and we have to bring home our RV that Melissa was living in or pay another month's rent at the park, which would be crazy. Then the shower Sunday, then it will be time to relax for a while. No other projects, I promise both you and hubby. He's supportive of what we're doing, but has about had enough, too.

[teri88]

Oh Marilyn, I enjoyed reading every word! I'm so glad that it turned out so well! As far as pictures, check around, someone probably had their camera and can email you some pictures. (those professional ones take forever!)

My wedding was such a comedy of errors! I designed my girls dresses and they literally were not finished until almost midnight the night before the wedding. The woman who made them was at my house sewing up hems at midnight! My 3 nieces were in the wedding and they ended up having their dance recital the night before so I had to move my rehearsal dinner to two night before! My sister who was my maid of honor, broke her nose the week before so she had 2 big black eyes, then she broke her finger the day before. I forgot about place cards until the day before so I was running around to card shops trying to buy 200 of them at 5 o'clock at night! the limo's showed up an hour early and we didn't realize it so we all jumped in the cars and got to the church when the wedding before us was still going on. My soloist ended up being too sick to sing, so we skipped the solo during the ceremony. At the cocktail hour I picked up a swedish meatball and it fell off of the little stick and bounced down the front of my dress. (I spent the whole night with people saying "oh honey, you have something on your dress"). Walking in to the reception, Kenny stepped on the lining of my dress and it ripped half way out! (I ripped it out the rest of the way and balled it up in a corner!)....those were just some of the things that went wrong! We spent the entire night just laughing our heads off because it was like "the keystone cops get married". I refused to let it all ruin my day, and other than the swedish meatball, people had no idea what was going on so it was all still beautiful. We've always joked that we should have known then how crazy our lives would be! We were engaged for 2 years and I had that wedding planned down to the most minute detail. It just all fell apart at the end:D And I won't even start on the honeymoon fiasco! That turned out good in the end too!

[Dobie]

I'm so happy to hear that your daughter had a beautiful day - as far as the little things going wrong, it's that stuff that you can laugh about in the years to come.

[DianaB]

Marilyn, it's so good to hear that the wedding turned out so beautifully. As for the little mishaps, everyone has them and I'm glad to hear that they were worked out. That's too bad that the sash was lost, especially since it was picked out so early and was so beautiful. I thought of you so many times on Saturday and always said a little prayer. I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures too. I bet that Melissa was an absolutely beautiful bride!!!

[AngieDoogles]

I'm sure the ceremony was gorgeous! I can't wait to see pics.

Melissa is lucky to have such a sweet and caring mother. I can tell that you did everything possible to make her day special and memorable.

Now, I think you need a vacation! :p

[Shada]

It sounds like it was a wonderful wedding!

Congrats on a job well done!!!
Now.... get some much deserved rest!

[Gina]

Marilyn I to enjoyed reading your post. I was thinking of you and am so happy that the wedding went beautifully. I can't wait to see the photos , Melissa made a beautiful bride. I bet mama looked beautiful tooo.. Hurry find some photos...


Now take a breath and relax!!! You have been on overload for a few mts. Hey when is Karen getting married.. < kidding> Now you will be prepared for her big day... :)

[Forgivenmom5]

I am so glad everything turned out well. Looking forward to pictures of your beautiful daughter.

[pope1982]

Awesome update, thank you for sharing. Can't wait til the pics come in :)
Congratulations to you and your family.

[Marilyn]

Thank you for your kind replies and especially for your prayers. They are together and very happy. It was better getting back to work than I thought it would be. Kinda felt like things were getting back to normal. Hubby picked the furkids up from the vet's office where they were boarded. It's so nice to have Zoe back. I'm working on the baby shower for my friend this weekend, so life goes on.

As soon as we have pics, I'll post, but it will probably be a few days, so please be patient.

[judy]

I'm so glad the wedding went well. I can't wait to see all the things you described in the pictures. Melissa is very lucky to come from such a loving family, and I'm sure she will take those values with her into her own family.

Congratulations! All of your hard work was a success! I hope the shower is also beautiful, and then, relax.

[Marilyn]

Okay, I'm going to try to post a pic that I snatched from Melissa's Facebook profile. It was taken by one of her friends. The couple on the left are Garrett's parents, then Garrett & Melissa then me and Hubby. Hope this works. The date on the picture should actually be 6/21/08.

http://photos-g.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v257/150/24/784953431/n784953431_591958_5738.jpg (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=591952&id=784953431&op=1&view=all&subj=29627855)

[Marilyn]

Here they are cutting the cake.

http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v257/150/24/784953431/n784953431_591961_5573.jpg (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=591958&id=784953431&op=1&view=all&subj=29627855)

[Marilyn]

Here is new son-in-law kissing the bride.

http://photos-h.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v257/150/24/784953431/n784953431_591951_8711.jpg (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=591958&id=784953431&op=1&view=all&subj=29627855)

I'll try to post more pictures later, but at least this is a sampling.

[Marilyn]

I look a bit ragged, but with only a couple of hours sleep, and all the rushing around we did. I didn't even have time to comb my hair when I got dressed. I pulled my dress on, put on my jewelry and had to help Melissa get ready while doing so. The traffic jam on the way to the church building really cut into our time.

[gja1000]

I LOVE the grooms attire (and the groom's attendants). It is unusual - but I really like it.

[Janet]

Nice pictures Marilyn. It was nice that you were able to get them posted from Facebook. Looks like a very happy couple.

[AngieDoogles]

What a beautiful bride. Looks like a gorgeous ceremony!

[Gina]

Melissa looks beautiful. Marilyn so do you.. Tell me what does the beads represent I have never seen them worn at a wedding?

[judy]

Everybody looks beautiful! Melissa is a lovely bride, and the dress is so pretty.
You look great, as does your dh, and the in-laws. The groom is quite handsome too.

I love the flowers and the tropical theme, and the church is magnificent.

[Marilyn]

Thank you for you very nice comments. These pictures do not do justice to how things and people actaully looked. I'm hoping that some of the other pictures will capture it much better.

Gina, I don't know if there is any special significants of the beads other than that they are Hawaiian, and were ordered from Hawaii, as were many of the flowers used in the wedding. The shirts and beads were the groom's or his family's idea. Melissa told them they could pick what they wore. She was not expecting Hawaiian wedding shirts and beads. It took her quite a while to adjust to the idea. For a while she said she would not walk down the isle if they were not wearing some kind of jacket, but she eventually gave in. She said at least they were comfortable. Since they did this, she elected to go barefoot. Her dress covered her feet, and there isn't a great height difference between them, so it helped her to be shorter than the groom.

The beads are actually polished kukui nuts. The kukui nut tree is the state tree of Hawaii. The nuts are polished, drilled and threaded on a ribbon. Actually, it all came together very well. I can't imagine them wearing anything else. The shirts and beads went very well with the overall tropical theme of the wedding.

[DianaB]

The wedding pictures looked really beautiful, Marilyn!! I really liked her colors and they were different than you usually see. I can't wait to see the other pictures!!