Now that we've packed half of Sonoma County into our garage, got twelve uninterrupted hours of sleep (followed by a nap this afternoon for Liz), and bid the respective families farewell, we're about ready to start packing for our honeymoon, for which we leave late tomorrow night.
I am delighted by Liz's montage below. And, of course, I do have my own such montage playing constantly in my head. But I remain way too scattered and fragmented to say anything too coherent, other than the thing I just cannot say enough: THANK YOU. Thank you for coming and sharing and participating; thank you for helping; thank you for all of the many flavors of generosity you exhibited; thank you for being a part of our lives.
But before we go, we did want to handle a couple of logistical matters...
Monday, September 26, 2011
Wedded Bliss
Here are some of the memorable moments that have been floating across my consciousness during the past 48 hours, in no particular order:
Having all of my pre-ceremony jitters dissolve upon hearing your cheers and applause, and then having SO MUCH FUN up there; Todd Polenberg delivering the line "I am the Solemnizer" in a furry tuxedo and top hat; hearing "We Do!" ring loud and clear; Sanjukta Paul singing "30 Days in the Hole," encouraged by Jill Jorgensen; my dad's "wildest dreams" line, and then his beautiful speech; watching my parents dance together; James Elmendorf and Kristen Reeg's incredibly awesome poker chip pinata wedding gift; worrying about Morgan Fahey possibly being dead, because her phone was on the fritz and it is totally unlike her not to get back to you, and then having her show up to the center with the most amazing floral arrangements known to weddings; how amazing my sisters looked; "Go Hawkeyes!"; time and again noticing Albert Lowe and An Le quietly taking care of business all night long w/r/t organization and clean-up, because they kick ass; my sister Claire Hamilton's making fun of me in her speech by calling wedding cakes fascist in a British accent, and also all of her dance moves; Matt Messbarger's assertion that I had "cold eyes" in high school; Josh Kamensky's toast to partners in crime; Captain Automatic's encore performance, on ukulele, of my bachelorette party song; the O'Kelly Family ruling the dance floor; David Hammer doing the splits for us at the end of the night (he was on spirit squad in high school); the Hora; dancing to Sweet Caroline as the last song; hanging with Todd, Dan Braun, and Matt O'Malley until 5 in the morning; the fact that I left the tag on my wedding dress; cuddling with Holly Myers and Heather Joy at the after party; most of all, looking out over all of you gathered there, and realizing in a very profound way how blessed we are in family and friends. I so wish we could do it all again.
More thanks to come, from Jon and me. But in the meantime, what do you remember?
Having all of my pre-ceremony jitters dissolve upon hearing your cheers and applause, and then having SO MUCH FUN up there; Todd Polenberg delivering the line "I am the Solemnizer" in a furry tuxedo and top hat; hearing "We Do!" ring loud and clear; Sanjukta Paul singing "30 Days in the Hole," encouraged by Jill Jorgensen; my dad's "wildest dreams" line, and then his beautiful speech; watching my parents dance together; James Elmendorf and Kristen Reeg's incredibly awesome poker chip pinata wedding gift; worrying about Morgan Fahey possibly being dead, because her phone was on the fritz and it is totally unlike her not to get back to you, and then having her show up to the center with the most amazing floral arrangements known to weddings; how amazing my sisters looked; "Go Hawkeyes!"; time and again noticing Albert Lowe and An Le quietly taking care of business all night long w/r/t organization and clean-up, because they kick ass; my sister Claire Hamilton's making fun of me in her speech by calling wedding cakes fascist in a British accent, and also all of her dance moves; Matt Messbarger's assertion that I had "cold eyes" in high school; Josh Kamensky's toast to partners in crime; Captain Automatic's encore performance, on ukulele, of my bachelorette party song; the O'Kelly Family ruling the dance floor; David Hammer doing the splits for us at the end of the night (he was on spirit squad in high school); the Hora; dancing to Sweet Caroline as the last song; hanging with Todd, Dan Braun, and Matt O'Malley until 5 in the morning; the fact that I left the tag on my wedding dress; cuddling with Holly Myers and Heather Joy at the after party; most of all, looking out over all of you gathered there, and realizing in a very profound way how blessed we are in family and friends. I so wish we could do it all again.
More thanks to come, from Jon and me. But in the meantime, what do you remember?
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Shuttle between Burbank Airport and Glendale Hilton
Just a quick note: if you are taking the shuttle from Burbank, they do not continuously circle. You must call the hotel and ask to be picked up. 818-956-5466.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
National Punctuation Day!
It has come to my attention that Jon and I are to be married on National Punctuation Day. Could there be a more auspicious beginning? I think not.
Monday, September 19, 2011
After the Die Is Cast
I've had this ear worm all day-- not a snippet of song, but a snippet of Sorkin.
One of my favorite episodes of the West Wing is "Election Day," from early Season 4, during that brief moment before Robe Lowe left but after Joshua Malina had already come on board.
Malina is Will Bailey, a tragic/comic figure: a liberal Democratic consultant running a campaign in conservative Orange County. Long odds, even before his candidate died several days prior to the election. But he keeps on, believing he can win. He has a complex analysis, based on factors like higher than expected labor turnout, as well as depressed overall turnout because of the expected blowout and even because of the weather. But really he's just quixotic.
His sister urges him to calm down and concede, just a few hours before polls close: "The die is cast."
His response, and my ear worm: "There's a moment after you cast the die but before it hits the table. Breathe wrong and you'll change the way it lands."
I [heart] Joshua Malina.
BTW, forgive any audio sync snafus; I'm not a very good video editor. Still: enjoy the classic Sorkin.
P.S.: Thursday is when I stop worrying about the breathing.
One of my favorite episodes of the West Wing is "Election Day," from early Season 4, during that brief moment before Robe Lowe left but after Joshua Malina had already come on board.
Malina is Will Bailey, a tragic/comic figure: a liberal Democratic consultant running a campaign in conservative Orange County. Long odds, even before his candidate died several days prior to the election. But he keeps on, believing he can win. He has a complex analysis, based on factors like higher than expected labor turnout, as well as depressed overall turnout because of the expected blowout and even because of the weather. But really he's just quixotic.
His sister urges him to calm down and concede, just a few hours before polls close: "The die is cast."
His response, and my ear worm: "There's a moment after you cast the die but before it hits the table. Breathe wrong and you'll change the way it lands."
I [heart] Joshua Malina.
BTW, forgive any audio sync snafus; I'm not a very good video editor. Still: enjoy the classic Sorkin.
P.S.: Thursday is when I stop worrying about the breathing.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
A WEEK AWAY!
I can't believe we are only seven days away. Jon and I are hunkering down this weekend to iron out final details. He's a little more stressed than I am, but that's sort of usual. Its been nice, in this process, to have had big, intimidating tasks be not so hard in the end, once we sat down and talked about them. Sometimes thinking about doing something can make the task itself seem scary and complicated. The only way out of that is just to start doing it and see what happens.
Speaking of scary and complicated, check out these pictures of Jon's bachelor party that appeared in the LA Weekly!
Speaking of scary and complicated, check out these pictures of Jon's bachelor party that appeared in the LA Weekly!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Home Cooking
Jon and I are really excited to be using Homegirl Cafe, a non-profit restaurant and catering business, as our caterer. The cafe is a subsidiary of Homeboy Industries, begun by Father Gregory Boyle, SJ, in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles as a jobs program offering alternatives to gang involvement. One really cool thing about Homeboy is that they also run their own garden, so that a significant percentage of vegetables and herbs used by the cafe are, in fact, home-grown.
When we started planning the wedding, we met with a lot of catering vendors. A LOT. Some were big operations with mediocre food; some were small operations with amazing food but not enough staff for a 100+ person wedding; some were big operations with amazing food but were too expensive; a few were scam artists; and one was associated with some sort of vegetarian cult, which we awkwardly discovered during the tasting.
From the outset, Jon and I both saw food as pretty central to the wedding itself. A party just doesn't feel like a party without plentiful, good food. In most cultures, feasting is an inherent part of celebration, and as something that sustains and nourishes, food has a symbolic resonance especially suited to this occasion. But deeper into the wedding-industrial complex, it also felt important that we work with an outfit that shares our values. We wanted the spirit with which the meal is conceived, prepared, and served to be aligned with the spirit of our day.
There were a couple of real contenders, but after tasting Homegirl's veggie carnitas, there could be only one (that reference is for you if you are reading this, Leigh Bardugo). They will be preparing a Mexican feast for us---tacos, rice, beans, roasted vegetables, a quinoa salad, and fresh-made salsas. There will be margaritas at the bar. What more could you need? Oh right, meat. Oh well.
When we started planning the wedding, we met with a lot of catering vendors. A LOT. Some were big operations with mediocre food; some were small operations with amazing food but not enough staff for a 100+ person wedding; some were big operations with amazing food but were too expensive; a few were scam artists; and one was associated with some sort of vegetarian cult, which we awkwardly discovered during the tasting.
From the outset, Jon and I both saw food as pretty central to the wedding itself. A party just doesn't feel like a party without plentiful, good food. In most cultures, feasting is an inherent part of celebration, and as something that sustains and nourishes, food has a symbolic resonance especially suited to this occasion. But deeper into the wedding-industrial complex, it also felt important that we work with an outfit that shares our values. We wanted the spirit with which the meal is conceived, prepared, and served to be aligned with the spirit of our day.
There were a couple of real contenders, but after tasting Homegirl's veggie carnitas, there could be only one (that reference is for you if you are reading this, Leigh Bardugo). They will be preparing a Mexican feast for us---tacos, rice, beans, roasted vegetables, a quinoa salad, and fresh-made salsas. There will be margaritas at the bar. What more could you need? Oh right, meat. Oh well.
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