Part 4 (THE BIG DAY)
You’ll have to pardon me if this entry is sporadic and whimsical. Much of my day was pretty surreal. To say it was a whirlwind would not really be giving it enough credit. I had heard all of the people say “It’ll happen so fast”, “You won’t remember anything”, “Just try to relax and enjoy it”, so I tried to keep all of that in mind.
I planned on having all of my groomsmen meet me at Stinky Barrel at 9 am on Saturday for breakfast. Some of them made it, others didn’t. Larry automatically gets a free pass because he was making a smorgasbord breakfast for my soon-to-be wife and her crew. Chris also gets a pass because he had to travel up from Glasgow, by himself, and also had to work that morning. Ryan also got a free pass, since he had a flat tire on his motorcycle, and he was also waiting for his lady to make it into town. Those that weren’t there missed some fun and games.
It just so happened that my Sis, Dad, Jackie (step-mom), and Grandma were already there when we got there, so we got to see them a little bit too. My Mom and the Wilson’s (childhood friends) showed up a little while after we did. Yep, I was pretty much surrounded by all the people that love me. It was a good day to be me!
I nibbled around on my French toast (when it finally got to me, since our entire order was screwed up) just enough to keep my tummy from grumblin’. Yes, I really didn’t have much of an appetite, but I wasn’t ridiculously nervous, yet.
After we finished up eating we headed out to Larry’s house for some fun and games (namely lunch and swimming in the pool). Justin was given a specific task of delivering my wedding present to Adrianne before he came out to the house. In return he was given my present from her.
Not too long after Justin reached the house Paul got a phone call from the Matron of Honor. Since my Love and I were not allowed to speak to each other, the messages had to be passed in between Best Men and the Matron of Honor. Adrianne really liked her present and supposedly made everyone else in the place with her cry.
I quickly opened my present, which I didn’t expect (since my present was supposed to be my plane ticket to Evansville), and found a beautiful Kenneth Cole watch, with three different colored, interchangeable bands. I haven’t worn a watch in years, but had been wanting one for a while. Of course, Adrianne picked out one that was perfect for me!
By noon everyone, except Ryan (still dealing with a flat motorcycle tire) has made it out the house. Larry fired up the grill, but let Travis (Adrianne’s older brother) handle the grilling while he worked in the kitchen. The rest of us played a little ping pong before hopping in the pool for some shenanigans. For a late May day (yeah, say that 10 times really fast) the water was surprisingly warm. Usually if we try getting in the pool this early in the year we’re usually trying to re-locate our testicles for the two weeks following.
Of course, Colman was the first in the pool, followed by Justin and Paul, then by myself, after putting on some sunscreen. The last thing I wanted to do was show up to the wedding sunburned. Adrianne would beat me senseless.
We stayed in the pool until about 1:30, then got out to enjoy “The Last Supper”. I didn’t expect it, but my plate was made for me and waiting on my eager mouth. There’s nothing like a delicious steak to calm the nerves and make a great day even better. I ended up having one last present for everyone. Adrianne and I had ordered handkerchiefs for all of the guys with their last name initial on them. Once I passed them out I gave a little speech. It went something like this: “I give you this little present, not necessarily for yourself, but for your partner on stage. On this day, I’m the only person allowed to cry, so if I see you crying, I reserve the right to call you a “little bitch”.
At 2 o’clock Brian decided to head back toward the hotel, so I asked if he would mind dropping Colman off at his house, so he could start getting ready too. “No problem!”
Ahh yes, the ship was sailing smoothly.
I head to the master bathroom to take a shower and start getting ready. Two of the three S’s were covered. I just didn’t feel the urge for the other one, which is usually pre-game ritual for me. Well, this wasn’t a basketball game, so it wasn’t the same I guess.
I have to say that I love my Best Men. They know just the right time to perk me up and make sure I’m still loose. I’m sitting back in Larry’s walk-in closet putting on my pants when Paul knocks on the door and opens it a little bit to poke his head in.
“You doing alright?”
“Yep, no problem! What’s up?”
He opens the door all the way and steps back out of the doorway.
“THE GOAT!!!!!!” Justin screams out, giving me a full frontal shot. (if you haven’t seen the movie “Waiting” then don’t worry about this part)
“FAG!!” Paul shouts out.
I bend over to take my ass kicks. I’m pretty sure each of them gave me a couple, just for good measure. Man, I love those guys! I don’t think a person could have better friends than I do. My only regret is that I don’t get to see them as often as I’d like, but I do my best, via email and/or phone to talk to them as often as possible.
I’m sweating like crazy already. I don’t know if it’s just nervous energy or what, but I can’t put on my dress shirt, vest, and tie yet. So, I’m just hanging out in my tux pants, white t-shirt, and socks and shoes. Yeah, I look good regardless.
Everyone else is in various stages of preparation at this point. I wander around taking a few pictures here and there. I try to make sure I get one of everyone, but I don’t think I succeeded. A couple guys were upstairs getting ready, so that made it a little difficult.
By 3 pm everyone was pretty much fully dressed. I finally slipped into my shirt, vest, and tie. I wanted to wait until the last minute to put my coat on though, since I was still cooking under all of those clothes.
We have a little tradition of all of the guys getting ready before a wedding out at Larry’s house, and part of the tradition is everyone taking a shot of the groom’s favorite toxin of choice. Of course, mine is Crown Royal. In this case though, we splurged and got the big bottle of Crown Royal Special Reserve. Larry lined up what seemed like 30 shot glasses (actually I think it was right at 10) and filled all but one of them up with that sweet nectar. Paul got his all-time favorite drink, Coke, to fill his shot glass.
I gave a quick toast, and we all went “bottom’s up”. Man, that stuff is smooth. Not Jagrmeister smooth either. I almost hated just gulping it down, because it was pretty tasty, for straight liquor. We had placed a glass of coke right in the middle of all of us to see who would be the pansy that needed it first. Well, luckily for me I was already sipping on a Crown and Caff. Free Pepsi, so I was set. I can’t remember who grabbed the glass first. I think it was Justin.
After our shot, I pull Justin and Paul into Larry’s office for a few last words. This was one of those moments that only brothers can share, and these two guys are the closest thing I have to brothers. Yes, I was very emotional, and cried again.
After that, we got together for a few pictures (which are on my computer at home. I’ll try to edit this later and add a couple of them in here), then we quickly cleaned up the kitchen and started loading up the vehicles.
I told Adrianne that when we got back from Mexico we’d be rich and wouldn’t have to work, so I made sure to have Paul stop by Raceway so I could buy $20 in Powerball tickets. I ended up giving them to Larry for safekeeping, just in case we did actually win.
Pictures were supposed to begin right around 4:30 in the reception hall (at the least all of the guys and I anyway). The church had a mass that was going on until just after 5 pm, so we couldn’t get in there.
All of out boutonnières were waiting for us in a small room just beside the reception hall.
We quickly put them on.
I, not really thinking about it, put mine on myself.
I realized later that was supposed to be a “special moment”, but I had too much nervous energy to just sit there and look at everyone else putting theirs on.
I even helped several of the other guys get theirs on and looking right.
I must say, I did a really good job too.
We got all of my guys lined up in the entranceway to the reception hall and our photographer took several pictures. This one wasn’t taken by the photographer, but it’s of the same thing:
Then we snapped some pictures of me with family, each groomsman, and my Best Men. It didn’t seem like it took very long, but just like that the photographer was done with me. She headed off to take care of the bride.
Side note: Only one thing bad happened all day, and this is the point where it happened. I’m not really going to go into it, because I have an entire journal entry based on it, but I will say this… There is a time and a place for everything, even selfish things. On someone’s wedding day, that is not the right time to say negative things to a groom or bride. End side note.
That situation happened and I was just deflated. I went over and sat by Larry, who was taking a break from the action at a table in the reception hall. He just looked at me and said “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”
He had no clue what was said to me, but he knew that it really, really hurt me, and I needed some comforting. I started crying like crazy. He just put his arm around me and gave me a big hug. I’ll never forget him saying “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”
Thank you Larry! I don’t know if you’ll ever read this or not, but you really made my day and helped me through that tough time!
Okay, back on topic…
All of the guys retreat to the little room that was reserved for us, just beside the reception hall. Paul runs outside and grabs a deck of cards. There was a 1948 TV in there, but the damn thing didn’t work. Imagine that.
We didn’t get to sit there for 5 minutes before one of the bridemaids came in and said “We need all of you, except John, in the church for pictures.”
So, there I was, all alone. It really wasn’t a comfortable feeling. I still had that other thing ringing in my head, and I was getting nervous. I wasn’t nervous about getting married or being with Adrianne. I’m not sure what I was nervous about. I wasn't trembling nervous either. I was just “thinking” nervous. I was thinking about anything I might have forgotten. I was thinking about seeing Adrianne for the first time. I was thinking about standing on the stage. I was thinking about just breathing.
Luckily my Sis came strolling in to give me a little company. I love her! She always has the right things to say to me to get me to smile and straighten me back up. She had already handled a delicate situation for Adrianne and I, that we hadn’t even thought about. Thank goodness she was around, otherwise that situation could’ve been bad. It’s not like I completely forgot, but I didn’t think about it being part of our ceremony.
Slowly the guys start to trickle back in, and before long it’s time to head over to our even smaller room in the church. Father Jason (a college buddy of mine) is there waiting for us. By now I’m pacing around like a caged panther. Justin suggests I sit down and try to relax. I try to, but I start getting cotton mouth. I just want a drink of water. Luckily there is a water facet in the room, but no towels. I get a sip and find something to dry myself off with.
Next thing I know I’m being shoed out the door to walk my Mom up to the unity candle. I take care of that, then return to the room. All of the guys are chatting and seem relaxed. Inside, I’m a wreck. I can’t calm down, but I’m not going bonkers either. Father Jason looks over to me and says “We’re almost there, just take it easy”.
The guys all walk out of the room, heading to the back of the church to escort their counterparts in. Father Jason and I head up to the altar. He gives me a pat on the back for assurance. Yes, it does help. I take a deep breath and try to loosen my shoulders and neck up.
I keep hearing Larry say “Don’t lock your knees up!” in my head, so I find myself bouncing on the balls of my feet, just like I’m warming up for a jump ball. Consciously I’m trying not to do that, but also not to lock my knees. It’s difficult. Then I hear some music.
Chantay is being escorted down the aisle by Justin and Paul. Next comes Emili and Chris. Then Camille and Ben, followed by Rhea and Larry. Next up is Michelle with Ryan. Then Troy and Jessica, and, finally, by Angela and Travis.
My stomach knots up. I haven’t seen her yet, but in my mind I can perfectly see how beautiful she is. I start shaking, trying to hold back the tears. Paul whispers to me “Smile man.”
I try. I work a little crooked smile out of the corner of my mouth, then I hear her entrance song. I made sure not to peak at the side windows where I’d see her before she hit the entrance way. There she was… As radiant as she could be. It was like seeing an angel. My Angel! Her beautiful white dress. Her gorgeous smile. My heaven was right in front of me.
I couldn’t move. When her and her Father got to the third pew I was supposed to leave the altar and meet up with them. I think Paul actually pushed me to go. I was just standing there in awe. This was the culmination of our lives. It was the greatest thing to ever happen to me.
I made my way down the two steps to meet them. I shake her Dad’s hand and thank him for her. I quickly grab her hand and we gaze into each other’s eyes, if just for a moment, to let each other know that “Yes, we’re in LOVE!” and “Yes, this is happening!”
Pretty much everything about the ceremony is a blur. I know we sat up there and talked to each other a lot. I only know this because he had so many people ask us afterwards, “What were you two talking about the entire time up there?” I have no clue what we talked about, other than me forgetting Father Jason’s present.
The only other thing I remember was putting her ring on the correct hand, yet giving her my wrong hand. She told me while we were doing it that it was the wrong hand, so I suavely switched hands before we turned around.
The next thing I know Father Jason say’s “You may kiss the Bride!” (we wanted him to actually say it, just because the flower girls all wanted to hear it). We had a very passionate, and possibly too long, kiss. I didn’t want that moment to end.
We walked out the same door that Adrianne came in and quickly scurried over to the reception hall. We weren’t doing one of those greeting lines, because we still had a ton of pictures to take. However, my good friend Jack (our bartender) had a cocktail already made up for me when we got in there. I got a quick slurp of it before we headed right back over to the church.
I don’t know how long the pictures lasted, but it only seemed like minutes. By Adrianne’s reaction, though, it must’ve been forever. We had planned it so that our guests could go ahead and eat while we were taking pictures. Here are a few:
One very special moment we had while taking our pictures was when my Grandma gave Adrianne her ring. It was her sign of welcoming Adrianne into our family, and she had some beautiful and kind words to pass on to us. I’m glad we got that chance, because Grandma originally wasn’t thinking she was going to make it to the wedding.
We clipped through all of the pictures and made our way over to the reception. Our good friend Eric played some live music leading up to us getting there and did our introductions. Our DJ wasn’t sure he’d be there in time, so Eric offered to handle this for us. We got a grand applause upon entering the reception, and I gave out a fist pump and huge “YES!!”
We quickly segued into our first dance. Eric played our song “Better Together” by Jack Johnson and we just gazed into each others eyes the entire time. Life is good.
Next up came Adrianne’s dance with her father, then mine with my Mom. I know Adrianne wasn’t really wanting to do this part, but she sucked it up like a champ. My dance with my Mom was very special to the two of us. I’m her baby afterall. She’d waited 30 years for this moment, and I think she was very, very proud.
The rest of the night I danced like a madman. I was soaked in sweat within minutes, and it never got any better. The only taste of our wedding cake we got was when we cut the cake. No, I didn’t shove it in her face either. She would’ve killed me on the spot for it. I had been warned!
I had an awesome Groom’s cake, which I never got a single taste of. However we did get some pictures of it, and I showed it off to several of my fellow Toppers in the place. Too bad Beed’s work kept him away, because he would’ve went nuts.
The most fun part of the entire evening is when we had the DJ play Rob Base and DJ Easy Rock’s “It Takes Two”. I had my boy Chris handle the microphone while Colman and I had a classic dance off. I broke out the backspin, worm, and some crazy robotics. It was great. Dr. Truett said he got it all on video and would be sending us a copy of it soon. I can’t wait to see it.
About 11 o’clock it was time to start wrapping things up so we could leave the reception. I was still dripping with sweat, so I wanted to take a quick shower. The men’s bathroom was equipped with 4 nice shower stalls. I told a few guys that I was heading in there to hit the showers and one of them brought me some towels. I say “some towels” because it was a stack of hand towels. Yes, it’s difficult to dry a 6’2”, 200 pound body with dish towels. It took one towel just to dry off my arm and part of my chest. This was going to take a little while.
Then, out of no where, Justin busts in the door to save the day. “Dude, here’s my towel from the pool today. It may still be wet, but it should work.”
Work it did! I was dried and dressed within moments. I succinctly remember telling someone to grab my boutonnière and the hanky out of my pocket. I didn’t think I had anything else in there. Next thing I know Chantay pops her head in to tell me Limo was there and it was time to jet.
I get back out to the reception to say goodbye to a few people and find my wife. We get pulled aside by her Dad and a few others before we get to the exit. Since neither one of us brought our cars to the church, everyone had to decorate the limo. They put a ton of balloons on the inside along with four or five plates full of food and some drinks.
We had to push people out of the limo because it was time to go! Actually they were trying to help us get the balloons out so we could be on our way. It’s about this time that I realized that I forgot my backpack. My backpack was a necessity for our honeymoon, so we had to make a pitstop. Luckily Larry’s house is kind of on the way to Louisville from Owensboro.
We get there, run in and grab it, then are on our way. We scarf down as much food as possible, since it’s really the first chance we’ve had to sit down and eat since lunch time. Then exhaustion sets in. We both pretty much collapse from being so tired, and the next thing I know we’re crossing the I-64 bridge into Louisville.
Okay, so now it’s Sunday. This is a whole different day, and I want to keep it like that. Hopefully you’ve made it this far, if not, well I’m sorry for putting you to sleep!
In the next episode: John breaks some shit, we get a hotel room, and travel first class! Stay tuned!
PS - Here are a couple extra pictures. In one of them you will actually see me sitting down at the reception. I was able to do this for about 30 seconds before I had the flower girls asking me to go do something. I happened to get a bite or two of warm chicken finger in there.
This other picture is Adrianne and I with The Truett's. Dr. Truett took all of the pictures that I've posted these last few days. The girls were both our flower girls, and were so beautiful. Colman was the man! As you've seen in a few other pictures. We had so much fun having him with us during the events leading up to the wedding, through the wedding, and at the reception. I hope as he gets older he doesn't forget those days, because I know I won't.
