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April 02, 2016 - 11:30 a.m.
"linda and dan's wedding"

Hey Journal!

Wow! I can't believe it's all over! The big day, the moment we've all been waiting for.... Linda and Dan's Wedding Day! It was such a fun day and such a whirlwind and I can't tell you just how great it all was!

I got up yesterday morning around 9:00. I had set my alarm for 9:15 but I just couldn't sleep any more. I think it was a combination of anticipation and the whole - I usually get up at 8am thing.

Anyway, I got up and started to get ready for the wedding. I had purposely not shaved the night before, so I did that, and then I got my bag packed up with all the things I thought I might need for the day. I figured I would need the whole morning to get ready but I managed to be running ahead of schedule so I went outside and cleaned the windows on the porch.

It was pretty nice outside. Earlier in the week, when I looked at the forecast for the wedding day, it said there was going to be rain all day long! Luckily, that was not the case. It rained early and then cleared up nicely!

At 11:00, my mom arrived to take me out to Linda's house. I brought out my tux and stuff and loaded it into the car. I was planning to be at Linda's house around 12:45 because she had ordered food for everyone and needed someone to be there when it was delivered.

On the way we stopped at Target because I needed hair gel. Well, I thought I needed it. We didn't have any more at home and I wanted to put a little in my hair before the church. I wound up forgetting it and I guess I didn't really need it after all!

Next, I had to stop at the Men's Warehouse to pick up the vest for my tuxedo! When I went on Wednesday, it was wayyyy too big. They ordered a replacement and it came in yesterday. Nothing like last minute! At least it was right on the way. The man asked me if I wanted to try it on but I said no because I didn't want to be late to Linda's. And if it didn't fit -- what were they going to do about it? It was too late anyway!

My mom dropped me off at Linda's house and then she went to Panera to keep herself busy until the church ceremony. She wanted to attend.

I got there at 12:30 and let myself into Linda's house. I put my suit and belongings in Connor's bedroom. I figured the girls would be getting ready everywhere else and I claimed Connor's room as a boy-only zone.

I was all by myself for the next few hours. I watched some Super Password and various other game shows on Buzzr while I waited. I got a phone call around 1:00 and it was from the delivery guy with the food. He said he was outside and wanted to know where to bring the food. I went to the front door and told him I didn't see any sign on him. I asked him what car he had, and he said a black BMW. It definitely wasn't there. He was in the wrong place.

We figured out where he was and I got him back on track. A few minutes later he arrived and he came inside to set up the food.

After he finished, I checked and saw that the girls were all still at the hair and nail place. Dan and I had forgotten to get a wedding card so I ran over to CVS. Conveniently it takes less than 30 seconds to walk from Linda's house to CVS. Also, I was hungry and I didn't like any of the food (heroes/salad) that had been delivered so I went to get some sustenance. I found a wedding card and also picked up a TV dinner and a package of cookies.

Then, at about 1:30, I went downstairs and fired up the Wii U. I tried to play Mark Kart 8 but when I put the disc in, the logo came on the screen but the game never started. Later, I asked Connor about it and he said it doesn't work. Since I couldn't' play that game, I noticed he had Super Mario 64 loaded onto the Wii U. It's been forever since I played that game and it brought back memories of 8th grade! I felt really old because I couldn't figure out how to access the games he had saved on the Wii. There aren't that many buttons on the controller -- and I couldn't figure it out! Eventually, I did. Just as I started playing, the doorbell rang and it was the photographer.

He got there a little before 2:00 and took some photos outside before heading inside. He took pictures of the bridesmaids' dresses and Linda's dress and stuff. He asked me where her dress was and then he took it out of the bag and hung it up for pictures. When Linda got back she was surprised he had ripped everything open because the lady at the dress shop had told her to be super-careful when opening everything!

The girls didn't return from the hair place until about 3:00 which was an hour later than they had planned! I was all by myself before that -- and I had contemplated asking the photographer to take some good portraits of me by myself while I waited!

When they got back, all the craziness began. It was a mad rush to get everything done. Linda also informed me that she hadn't printed the programs yet! I wish she had told me earlier because I could have worked on it the whole time I was sitting in the house doing nothing! However, we still made it happen! I printed 125 double-sided programs and Cameron and I folded them all up! It was a big job but we made it happen!

I got dressed and then, when it was time to take pictures of Linda and her Dad and the bridal party all ready to go, the photographer had disappeared! We didn't realize he had left yet and he was already on his way to the church. I fired up my camera and I took all the pictures of her and her dad, he and her mom, and her and her grandma! Then, we got a shot of us all on the couch together!

Once we were done with all the photos, we were waited for the lino to arrive! It had picked up Dan's group first and brought them to the church, then came over to Linda's to get our side. It was late -- and the driver said it was because Dan's side was late in getting ready -- but it all worked out. The limo picked us up at about 4:30 -- the time that the church ceremony was actually supposed to start!

We had a fun ride over in the party bus and when we arrived, Dan directed the bus to it's designated parking spot in front of the church. He waved it on while it backed up and he moved the cones! A head usher's job is never done!

We got off the bus and lined us inside just like we had practiced the night before! It was all about to HAPPEN!

The organ player up in the balcony might have had a little too much to drink with her lunch, or maybe she was playing an April Fool's Day trick on us all -- but when Diane, the first of the bridesmaids went to walk down the aisle, she started playing Here Comes the Bride! Linda was about to have a breakdown because of it but the show must go on! In retrospect, if that's the worst mistake of the day -- it's no big deal. And hey, it was April Fool's Day, after all!

Tracy, Barbara, Robyn, and Kim all took their turns down the aisle and then -- it was time for me and Christine. The Maid of Honor and the Man of Honor! We made our way -slowly- down the aisle and lined up in front of the altar just as we had practiced.

The church ceremony went great and the whole time I was trying to figure out where i should be looking. We were instructed yesterday to always keep our eyes on Linda and Dan but there were other things happening and I had to fight the urge to look around! At one point, Linda needed a tissue and Christine gave her one. Then, Linda gave it back to Christine and then it fell on the floor a little while later. I put my shoe over it and dragged it back. I stood on it for the rest of the ceremony. I really saved the moment, there! lol

The funniest part of the ceremony was when the pastor started reading the ENTIRE lyrics of their wedding song! At first we thought he was just going to read a line or two but he kept going and going and going! Linda and Dan started laughing but, lucky for the, their backs were to the pews. Connor and I saw them laughing and had to try to hold it back!

I did my job and handed the ring to Linda at the proper moment and, I think it's kinda funny because I knew I had it in my pocket the entire time but when it came time to give it to her I had this scary moment where I was afraid I had lost it!

We walked back down the aisle and out into the narthex where we created "the funnel." All of the guests walked by and said hello and then waited outside for Linda and Dan to emerge! The photographers wanted to take pictures inside the sanctuary and that took an additional 10 minutes. iN that time, most of the spectators had moved on and there weren't many people outside. It was kinda cold and windy! In my opinion, they should have let Linda and Dan come out while everyone was there and then we could have gone BACK inside to do the photos!

I went up to the balcony to take some pictures as they were posing for the photographer and got some good ones.

We lined up on the steps of the church to get some shots before boarding the party bus and heading off to the reception!

The bus made an unscheduled stop at 7-11 at the result of Linda's brother and she was not happy with it. Luckily, we weren't stopped too long and we got back on the road. We arrived at the Watermill and it was PARTY TIME!

We went into the bridal suite, the same one that Dan and I had! Kaitlin, who was Linda's attendant, spotted me as we got off the bus! She was our attendant, and she recognized us right away. Later, when we were inside, I told her that I wasn't sure if I had mentioned it on the day since it was a bit of a whirlwind, I told her that everything was wonderful and she did a great job and everything was perfect! She really is nice and she does a great job. I'm glad Linda requested to have her and I'd recommend that anyone else requests her, too!

We hung out in the suite for a little while and then we made our way to a room in the back for some photos! I hadn't seen this room before on any of our visits -- it was very small but it had a good spot for taking pictures! The photographers did they brought us some appetizers to the room. We were all pretty hungry so that was a very welcome treat!

While the photos were being taken we snuck away to the cocktail hour room to check out the food there. There was a bacon bar, and other cool stuff. It was the same room as our cocktail hour but it was COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. I knew they were remodeling the main room, but I didn't know they were also doing this one, too.

So, we had both of the same rooms and they were both unrecognizably different which I think is kinda cool. I wasn't sure I was going to like the remodel when I saw the pictures but I really think it looks fresh and modern and it was done perfectly.

After the photos were done we all made our way to the cocktail hour and mingled a little. I got some pasta and we sat with Kim and Brent.

When it was time to the party to move into the main room, we had to head back to the bridal suite. We had a couple of minutes to wait and then we were lined up for the introductions!

Christine and I didn't know what we were going to do when we walked in -- I think she said she had never been in a wedding that did introductions before! Anyway, we decided to do a little dance as we walked through the doors!

We got in and lined up and made a little archway for Linda and Dan to come through!

After that, everything just went so fast! Before I knew it, it was time for the toast!

THE TOAST! This deserves it's own paragraph(s)! I was totally freaking out about having to give a toast and I really was dreading it. I always have had a fear of getting up and speaking in front of people and this was really stressing me out! I had been putting off writing the speech for the longest time and just a couple of days ago, Dan and I worked on it and got it finalized. I was happy with it and it wasn't too short and wasn't too long! Now, the only hurdle was to actually present it!

I had a couple of ideas that I wanted to throw into it and I couldn't find the right place. Of course, as I was listening to Geoff give his speech before me, I thought of the perfect place to slip in a reference -- so I grabbed the marker on the table behind me and I was literally writing it in just seconds before it was go time!

So -- back it up a little, Connor went first and he had a three-line speech! He had prepared it on his iPad. After that, Dan's friend Geoff went. Then it was my turn. I had requested Ginger Ale for the toast and my good friend Kaitlyn had gotten it for me. Of course, she didn't realize Connor was also giving a toast and he took my ginger ale! Yikes! I grabbed a glass of champagne and had the bartender replace it with ginger ale! BAM!

I got up and had the microphone in hand and there was no turning back now! I was REALLY nervous and my hand was shaking as I was holding the paper and talking. I made it through and everyone was seeming to have a good reaction so that helped my confidence. I felt much better as I got halfway through! As much as I was dreading it, I'm glad I did it. It's like I said once -- I think I was done a disservice by not being forced to confront this fear earlier, so maybe this was just my chance to finally face it!

Anyway, when it was over, people told me they really liked it. Those who knew I was nervous said I did a great job and didn't seem nervous at all. A couple of people who didn't know I was nervous said it was a really nice speech and I thanked them and told them I was nervous. They said they couldn't tell at all! Wow! I really pulled it off! :P

After me, Cameron wanted to give a speech. She wasn't on the lineup but she said something to the effect of Linda and Dan being the best mommy and daddy! She basically stole the show and then it was Christine's turn!

After the speeches I think there may have been some dancing and then it was time for dinner. Connor sat next to me and Cameron sat next to Dan. I got the Chateaubriand and they both got chicken fingers! Connor wasn't at the table when his food came and I MAY have eaten some of his fries and half of a chicken finger! The rest of the night was a little bit of a blue. I next things I remember was the cake cutting!

Dan and Linda did their thing and they nicely fed each other the cake. Then, Connor got a fork-full, followed by Cameron. On Cameron's turn, Linda smudged a little bit on her nose and that was great! Cameron's reaction was perfect...and it was better that Linda did it to Cameron than Dan doing it to Linda!

The wedding went until 1:00am and I couldn't believe it was wrapping up! It went by so fast. I helped Linda's mom put the birdcage into a plastic bag so that she could easily carry it home. Then we all headed out into the hallway. We made one more stop back at the bridal suite to get our things and Dan and Connor sat on this big chair in the corner and pretended to be asleep! lol

The shuttle bus for the hotel came and we had the hardest time getting people to get on it. It had about five empty seats and nobody would get on! There were about 6 or 7 people waiting and it was just a strange situation. I think that we could have fit everyone between the bus we had and some other people with cars, but people weren't getting it!

Finally, our shuttle departed and we were off to the hotel. We arrived before Linda and Dan and we staked out a table with Kim and Brent! The hotel bar was closed but we took over our own area of the lobby! We hung out while we waited for Dan and Linda to arrive and then when their shuttle arrived the party continued! We took some pictures and just sat around for a while.

Everyone started to wind down just a few minutes before 3:00am so I called my mom and told her that we were ready to be picked up! She came to the hotel, which is literally 4 minutes away, and took us back to our house. Before leaving the hotel we told Kim to text us if anything was going on for breakfast in the morning and we made tentative plans to go to the diner! My mom arrived at 3:05 and by the time we got home, showered up, and ready for bed... it was just about 4am! Late night!!

Oh, and on a random note.... Linda's brother Wally kept telling me how much he loved my bow tie and how amazing I was! At the end of the night, Dan's friend Geoff came over to me and called me by my full name. I said "That's me!" and he said..."Did I say it right?" and I said yes... he said, "I know your name because I facebook stalk you!" Very interesting!

I had a fair amount to drink... I had three cranberry vodkas, a margarita, and two drinks of baileys. I felt slightly intoxicated all night but it never really hit me. My mom said my breath smelled strongly of alcohol when I got in the car!

So that's it! What a fun time we had! I have to say I think this was the most fun wedding I have ever been to. I really felt like I knew so many people there and that the atmosphere was just so fun, and it was a wedding where there was a lot of buildup for me. I've never been in a wedding where I was a part of the bridal party and got invited to the shower, the bachelorette, and all that...so it really hyped it up for me. I also helped with a lot of things like the water bottles, the rehearsal invitations, the "logo!" Plus, I didn't know anyone else in the bridal party beforehand so every time I would see them it was for something wedding related... and this was the culmination of all those activities!

I'm so happy for Linda and Dan and I'm am so happy that they had a beautiful wedding day and everything went off as close to perfectly as you could ask for! The day was totally about their wedding -- from beginning to end -- and I'm really happy that today is only Saturday! I feel like I need some time to recover!

We're going to head out to breakfast now with Linda and Dan -- more to come....

Adios for now! :)