A quick summary
So Katherine and I married last Friday, October 19. Everything went great, except for the weather, but we managed. Here’s a quick rundown of things that I’d like to note:
I started the day very stressed. I wasn’t so much worried about getting married, as I was about the actual process. We heard that the weather was going to get really bad, which it eventually did, but even before that, when I was waiting at the apartment for Katherine to return from the hairdressers (we saw each other before the ceremony), and the videographers were already there, along with the makeup artist, our power went out. For a minute or two, I thought Katherine had run away, and that everything was going to fall apart. When Katherine came back, she was smiling, and said everything was going to be fine, and 90% of my stress fell away. I was still too nervous about other things going wrong, which didn’t go away until the ceremony, but I felt much better once I saw her.
Ironically, Katherine had, very early on, put the kibosh on not seeing each other before the ceremony, because she thought that she’d be too stressed out without me there. Turns out, I needed to see her. Still, (advice to prospective brides and grooms) ditch the unnecessary separation before the ceremony.
Vendors:
Wild Rose Video. Excellent. We were hesitant to get a video of the wedding. We’ve never been too impressed with the final result, but at the same time, we didn’t want to miss all the stuff that the couple does miss at their own wedding. We went to see Wild Rose and they’re product is simply wonderful. They had Katherine tearing up at total stranger’s wedding videos. The folks there, including the videographers, have been wonderful to deal with. Pete, the videographer, who spent the entire reception with us, was friendly and helpful. We highly recommend them.
North Island Photography. So far, so good. Michael, the photographer, was great, and very relaxed. Of course, the proof is in the proofs, so to speak, which we will get to see when we return from our honeymoon. His gallery and samples are fantastic, so we’re really excited to see what he’s done. I look like a goof-ball in about 3/4 of all photographs, so if I look like one only 50% of the time, than Michael is the genius that we thought he was when we booked him.
Flowerfield. We had a great cocktail hour and reception. The food was amazing, and they set up the cocktail hour with pumpkins and other fall flourishes that simply complemented our wedding theme without us ever asking for it. Andy, our Maitre’d, and Joette, the bridal attendant, were out of this world. They were fixing things before we knew that they needed fixing. We’re sure the rest service was great, but, honestly, we only ever had to deal with Andy and Joette. They were constantly by our sides.
Audrey’s Bakery. Our cake was gorgeous and tasted great.
Long Island Sound. Great work by the MC, Andy, and the DJ crew. We got complements on the DJ throughout the evening. MC Andy kept the crowd going, without badgering them. Our last song was “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” by Simple Minds, from the movie, The Breakfast Club. As it played, Andy spoke the soliloquy that was read by Anthony Michael Hall at the end of the movie. Great stuff. Highly recommended.
Stacey, Katherine’s makeup artist was very nice, and very patient, since we lost power when she came over. Katherine is always beautiful to me, but Katherine, herself, was very impressed with Stacey’s work. A plus: There wasn’t a ton of makeup to make Katherine feel like clay was applied to her face.
There was a problem with the wedding dress, which was not taken care of by the store where we purchased it. That is a note for another time.
We have a bunch of photos from our guests at our wedding page.
There are thank-yous that I wanted to specifically point out. Mom and Steve and Katherine’s parents—thank you for all your help. Thanks to Deb and Karen for the amazing flowers and centerpieces. How many groomsmen get complimented on their boutonnieres? Thank you to Rich and Melissa for your design advice and help in getting the invites and various printed materials out. Thank you to my Uncle Frank for the hotel accommodations and setting up the wonderful brunch the next day. Thank you to Michele and Aunt Joyce for readings, and again, with Jennifer and Danielle, for setting up the shower. Thank you to all our generous and wonderful friends and family for making the wedding a tremendously enjoyable time for us.
I know there is more I want to point out, but we’re off to Aruba for a few days. We’re staying at the Bucuti resort on the west side of the island. We’ll try to get some photos up from there, too. But for now: Sorry, ladies, he’s married!
Posted by Jonathan at 04:39 PM, 24 October 2007 | Comments (0)
Jinx and the Gauntlet of Claw Fury
My older, fatter cat, Jinx, likes to play this game where she gets under the bed-sheets and turns over onto her back, with all four paws sticking up, making a deadly tent of cat fury. She waits for a hand to “attack” her in this position, and she grabs it with her front paws, rakes with her back claws, and bites and growls and twists. Katherine cuts Jinx’s nails regularly, so she usually does very little damage to me or the sheets until she gets a little worked up. When she does, it’s usually her biting that threatens to injure.
She’s not really trying to hurt me; although, I doubt my cat-hostile friends, like Jim, would agree with me. Jim’s a dog person and would take Jinx’s actions as the just the typical thing a vicious nasty ol’ cat would do. I, however, think of it the same way as playing “tug-o’-war” with a dog. While the dog is holding on to the end of whatever, the dog will begin to growl and threaten and make those bug-eyes, snapping its jaw to get a better grip, and it gets more aggressive the longer its playing. It’s the nature of the particular beast.
So really, I usually don’t overreact when Jinx gets a good bite or scratch on me during the game. She hardly plays anymore, anyway, since she’s a bit more mature, and she lets the younger cat do all the dominating.
But a few weeks ago, she jumped up on the bed, got under the sheets, and flipped over. Her nails had just been cut a couple days before. I reached down into the cauldron of death, and Jinx swiped at just the right moment and… Bing! a single claw sunk into my right pinky. I yelped and pulled my hand away. Jinx flipped back over immediately, knowing something was wrong, and got out, back on top of the sheets. Her ears were back, and she walked a bit away from me, as if trying to convince me that she wasn’t the cat that just did that thing that made me react like that.
The shock of it, at first, was all I felt. It hurt, but no more than other lucky shots she’s given me. I looked at the puncture, and it was a slight blue mark right below the fleshy part of the fingertip. Then wave after wave of throbbing pain overloaded my senses. Suddenly, this motherfucker hurt! It was a pain I felt once before, when I got my blood-gasses checked and the pulmonary doctor stuck a needle into an artery in my wrist. He warned me that it would hurt, but I still wanted to punch the guy to get him off of me. If I hadn’t been watching him, I would have sworn he was stepping on my wrist with spiked boots. It was an intense pain.
Now, with this good hit from Jinx, the blood began to flow, seemingly more than should come from a wound that I could barely see. The blood was dark and steady. I’m pretty sure she nicked my vein. For about 10 minutes, I paced from the bedroom to the bathroom and back while holding my hand above my head, pressing a tissue into my pinky. It may have looked like I was trying to staunch the blood flow, and that was indeed what happened, but really, my hand was over my head because I was in a decent amount of blinding pain, and it was the only place that I could hold my hand where I couldn’t look at it. It felt better not to look at it. I kept saying, “Wow,” and “Whoa,” under my breath. I became clammy, sweaty and pale.
Eventually, I washed my finger off, and marveled again at the tiniest of wounds. I put a bandage on it, and it didn’t bleed much again during the night. The pain went away a day later. I thanked Jinx for withdrawing as soon as she hit me, because if she had stayed hooked as I pulled my hand away, there would have been stiches involved that night. Instead, there’s just the tiniest trace of smoothed skin on my finger, three weeks later. Jinx has long forgotten the incident, but we haven’t played the game since. Next time, gloves, for both me and the cat.
Posted by Jonathan at 01:44 AM, 17 October 2007 | Comments (0)
