Category: Wedding

We’ve rounded the final turn and are heading down the home stretch. A mere 2 and a half weeks until it’s go time.

All of the major pieces are done, and many have been for awhile. Now is the time for little detail stuff. That stuff which could be successfully postponed 3 months ago, can’t be procrastinated any longer. For example, Jess and I decorated 75 candle holders for tables (there will be more than one per table, fyi). Other things such as fitting for tuxes and Jess getting her makeup and hair choices squared away. No, I didn’t know women do that, and I’ve been here before… go figure.

Luckily, I put my foot down about one single thing for this wedding. We are not doing any sort of “wedding favors”. You know, that stupid shit that people give you when you attend their wedding, that you don’t want to carry around anyway… We’re not doing it. You know why? It’s because NOBODY ACTUALLY WANTS THAT CRAP. You know what happens is you spend 3 weeks and untold hundreds of dollars assembling these little plants, or some stupid little token, or whatever, and 80% of the people either throw it away immediately or just leave it at the reception. Another 15% put it somewhere in their house, only to lose it and end up throwing it away a year later. 5% may actually find a use for whatever lame ass thing you gave them, but even then, it’s a marginal use. As I told Jess, I guarantee you, if we have no favors not a single person will leave the wedding saying, “I can’t believe they didn’t give us anything!” Hell, you’re getting a night out, excellent grub (all you can eat), including a very good cake for dessert, free beer and wine (all you can drink), and chances are this thing will be filled with at least a few of your friends and/or family.  It will be the party of the year. What, that’s not enough for you!?

Let’s see… what else… We’ve gotten our rings squared away. Mom has made us some runners for tables. We’ve tasted cakes and food. Today we meet with the DJ. Still gotta get the license, however.

The thing is, as crazy as it has been for me, it’s gotta be 50x crazier for Jess. She is a whirlwind. My brain would have long since turned to tapioca had I been the lead on this whole production. Do me a favor, next time you see her, tell her she’s doing a terrific job and it will all be worth it, and more importantly, it will be over soon.

We are also approaching the stage in which I am going to be careful bordering on paranoid to avoid getting sick. We’re talking vigorous hand scrubbings, portable hand sanitizers, avoiding handshakes (in favor of fist bumps if necessary) and stocking up on the Vitamin C. If the previous last thing I wanted to do was to be sick in Las Vegas, the REAL last thing I want to do is to be sick for the wedding day and/or a week in Hawaii. I will do everything in my power to keep that from happening.

Let me tell you… Maui is going to be a legitimate vacation. Not a quick getaway. No sporting events to attend. No friends or family to visit. Nothing but beach lounging (under shade, of course) and tropical drinks.  I see now why people go on honeymoons. You need that time to relax and recharge.

Ok… I’ve got Maui on my brain and don’t feel like writing any more about what we still have left to do. Suffice it to say, we’re going to be a little haried until we step onto that plane bound for the garden isle August 18th.

Well, in the midst of my working 70 hour weeks recently, we’ve had what some might construe a setback in our wedding plans.

For a number of reasons, we will no longer be married in St. John’s cathedral here in Boise.

This has sort of been building ever since we thought that was what we might want to do. We had plans and hoped they would all work out. However, the Catholic Church has ways of making even the best intentions fall short.

We started off exploring the idea, and began all the paperwork to get my previous marriage “annulled” in the eyes of the church. They certainly don’t make things easy, as we had to wait for weeks and weeks to get cleared.

One of the main reasons we wanted to get married at that particular church was for the priest there. Fr. John Legerski. I’ve really liked him, and he has been sort of a family friend to Jess’ family. Well, Jess was speaking with him when he dropped a bit of a bombshell on us. The diocese is switching up all the priests in June, so he most likely won’t even be there to perform the service. Well, that sucks. Something one would think he might mention at the beginning of the whole process, no? Who knows who would be the priest there, or if we would even like him.

As far as times for the service on Saturday the 16th of August we had two options, neither of which were what we wanted. Either 2pm or 7pm. Well, 2 is way too early, and 7:00 is pushing the limits on when the reception was to start. Apparently, there was zero flexibility in those times. Not to mention, the near 200 people guest list would either be too big for the small chapel there, and look rather paltry in the main church.

Throughout this whole process they have succeeded in making this great celebratory event feel more like a burden to them. Damn near like we weren’t wanted. We have had to pull and prod to get any information or anything. Just disappointing.

I guess what really sealed our decision was the cumulation of the above factors combined with the fact that neither Jess nor I are practicing parishioners. We got to thinking that we might have been making this choice for incorrect reasons. Namely, it would make all of the parents happy. It was perhaps a bit hypocritical of us to try and go this way. Frankly, the church route just didn’t feel like “Us”. And after some discussion, we finally reached our decision. It appears that we aren’t the only ones… we fit squarely in the “younger” category of this story.

That being said, we’re back at square one. We’re probably 95% sure the service will be in the upper level of the Linen Building where we originally thought it would be. Personally, I think this is a great place, specifically because it is such a great space, plus there is no transportation back and forth… nobody has to be in charge of moving gifts or making sure everyone knows where to go.

So, now you’re up to date. Hope we didn’t get anyone’s hopes up for a big church wedding. Who knew that this was such a stressful deal when you are actually included in the decision making process?

Those who know me and my story will get that comment.

This past week, I went about the process of informing my groomsmen to be that they were, in fact, groomsmen. What follows is my email and good old George’s response.

For the record, I would just like to say that I love bein’ a guy. Reason 9,486: Life is so much simpler. I see Jess sparing with her chosen bridesmaids, spending hours upon hours looking at dresses for them and knowing that at least one, or perhaps all of them won’t like it. Me? I just fire off an email and within 2 hours, all 3 responded and we’re good to go. That’s it. They get a tux and I guarantee that not a one of them will complain about the cut, or the color, or anything. They get it, they put it on, they return it to the rental joint. Bing, bang, boom. No muss no fuss.

The emails…

Continue reading “Groomsmen”