Sunday January 9, 2011
After Seven Months of planning, organizing, ordering, trying on, comparing, packing, and of course compromising the day we had waited for was finally here.
After bidding adios to my beautiful bride to be and sending her off to stay the night with Tricia I headed down to the casino floor to hang with my family and friends. After giving $20 to a video poker machine and $30 to a slot machine, two beers and some fun chatter I finally headed up to bed around 1:30 AM…I think I eventually fell asleep some time after 3 though.
I woke up around 6:00 AM got up, got dressed and headed out…to be totally honest the next 4 hours are a blur in my memory…I do recall sharing a muffin with my dad, having coffee with my mom and a mimosa with Jackie and Brody. From 10 until 1 I was able to gain some mental relief albeit ultimately disappointing by watching the Chiefs play-off game. I also had a brief but comforting conversation with my future father-in-law.
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| Nathan and Chuck |
A little before 1:00 PM I headed up to my room to get dressed. After a shower and shave the first bit of panic set in…not really over anything having to do with the wedding mind you, the room was a mess! So at 35 years old I am NOT ashamed to admit I called my mommy and dad for help! 20 minutes later, some help with my cuff links, a couple of pictures and I was dressed and the room spotless.
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| Thanks for helping Mommy! |
I headed to THE Wedding Chapel with Jeff and Kelly but with out the Marriage License (thanks for going back KLo!). A couple signatures and few more pics in the dressing room and it was Showtime!
The guest were all seated, the Rabbi was in place, I walked my parents to their seats, followed by Jeff and Tricia, then Jason and Julie, then the doors at the back of THE Chapel closed! The 2nd wave of emotions hit me. I knew right then I was EXACTLY were I was supposed to be and I wasn’t going to make it through the next 30 seconds much less the whole ceremony with dry eyes!
The music changed, I could see everyone twist in their seat with anticipation…3 deep breaths and the door opened again…The first person I saw on the other side of the door was Nathan, but then it happened I saw Randi! I don’t want to say that I was amazed, because that wouldn’t be true. She looks beautiful every day. Instead I would say that she looked perfect! Perfect in the sense that she looked like…Randi! She is and was beautiful, sexy, elegant, sophisticated, smart, and funny…She is PERFECT!
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| Isn't she PERFECT? |
Our eyes met but only for a moment, I tried to smile but it was difficult through the tears of joy that were pouring down my face. As she and her parents reached the end of the walkway I could feel myself shaking with anticipation and most likely sweating profusely, it was at that moment that the mood lightened and we both relaxed thanks to the Rabbi’s light hearted comment to Nathan, I took her hand in mine and I knew we were going to get through the day and finally be husband and wife.
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| It's a good thing the Rabbi had a sense of humor! |
The next 30 minutes (it was supposed to 15) went by with three thoughts going through my head. First, don’t lock your knees. Second, don’t spill the wine on Randi. Third, stop messing with the ring right now you can do that later.
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| Careful that will stain! |
The next 4+ hours went by with me walking on clouds, the pictures, the glances, the kisses, the food, the family it was all exactly as we had wanted and hoped it would be.
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| Randi's Aunts and Uncles |
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| Our Cake ROCKED! |
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| There really are 4 Betts' girls now! |
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| Good Times! |
After the dinner many of the party-goers at least made an appearance in our room to have a drink and continue the merriment that had begun with the open bar at dinner.
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| I'm not sure why we had the suitcase out? |
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| Practicing her new signature |
The day had so many emotions and so many chances to take a wrong turn, but it didn’t. The day turned out exactly how we planned and was the perfect start to the rest of our lives together.
A Huge Thank you to all who attended with us! But an EXTRA BIG Thanks to Nathan and Joan, what you did will always be remembered, I will honor your wish to pay it forward (I don’t know how yet but I will figure it out, that I promise!)
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| The beginning of our Lives Together! |
Next Stop Fiji!
Thankfully you didn't go into details about the conversations that were brought up in the room that night with the Betts family and the random items Jeff P brought into the room. Too bad we didn't take pics of that! :) That was also a great night with great memories. Wonder if anyone else really remembers that night well....since I was the only sobber that night! :) Hee hee...Great pics, Chuck! I love hearing about your big day in your own words. :)
ReplyDeleteYay! What a cute blog post. The day really was amazing and it all turned out so well. Sooooooo happy for you two. :)
ReplyDeleteGot emotional reading this. You did great saying it in your own words. I am so proud of the man you have become. I knew you had it in you all this time. It is awesome to see you so happy, Randi is just "perfect." I love you both and wish all the happiness and health to you for a very long married life together. Love you always, Mom
ReplyDeleteI'm BAWLING right now! What a sweet post. You two are perfect for each other!!! You had an amazing wedding - so happy I could be there to celebrate with you! Love you both so much
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