(My apologies for switching tenses and whatever other confusing writer errors I commit...No time to edit!)
Day 4: T-Minus One Day
After Day 3, Day 4 was so leisurely, and the weather was gorgeous. We had our late breakfast, then went back to the mall: I was determined to find THE red shoes (red pumps, closed toe) I needed for my chosen dress for the wedding day (out of the SIX dresses I purchased...six, I said). But mostly, Jed needed a very particular prop for his Best Man's speech at the reception. We were in no hurry. We had no engagements other than the rehearsal and dinner that evening. We were in wedding mode.
Almost all the shoe stores in the mall were not in my preferred price range. We entered the mall through Nordstrom (Nordstrom's?), where I casually grabbed the price tag of a sundress I liked as we walked by: $298. Maybe I'll get into the colorful mental/emotional/moral exclamation points that danced in my head in another post. They had a live pianist at a grand piano playing lovely music, which we all appreciated. I wondered how much of the $298 went to his compensation.
Anyway, the highlights of Day 4 are that Jed found the perfect prop, I dragged everyone to about 5 stores that might work without finding THE perfect red shoe, then as we headed back to the car through Nordstrom, I ran through their shoe department just for fun. And found THE red shoe! How much? $298. No joke. They just have a thing for that number, I guess.
As we drove back to the hotel through the beautiful neighborhoods, Jed (who comes from a Penn State family) informed me that on the next house we buy, he's going to take the most prominent, flat, forward-facing roof face and arrange dark and white shingles in a way to create the image of the Penn State Nittany Lion. I expressed to him my excitement over this vision. And how very classy it would be.
The rest of the day we got ready for the rehearsal and dinner, then the events started rolling. All went off without a hitch (Kevin wasn't there for the rehearsal but sauntered in at the end and agreed to run through Ave Maria one last time; when Levi saw him, he shouted in that great room, "HI, MR. KEVINNNN!!), and the dinner was at a fancy, "old thyme," rustic type of restaurant with amazing, not-too-dry-or-creamy crabcakes, full of flavor with the perfect crispy breading. Mmmmm... Excitement was in the air, wonderful toasts were given, and there was much celebrating. We got the exhausted kids to the room after a late evening, but I was still thinking about THE shoes. I had found them on Target.com (between mall trip and rehearsal)!!! I therefore found a Target nearby and therefore took this small window of time (between 10pm and 11pm) to go there and procure my shoes (We also needed formula; I'm not totally nuts). I was tired, but stubborn, took a couple wrong turns, speed-walked past some possibly shady characters into the store, went straight back to the shoes, navigated over and through the horribly messy aisles where customers had scattered the wares all over the floor and employees didn't seem to care, and discovered that they did not have the shoes. OK, I would let the shoe thing go. After all, tomorrow was the Big Day!!
Day 5: The Wedding
Flurry of activity. Everyone getting ready. Me running through the hotel, one dress on, two more in hand, asking girls I passed which one I should wear (the shoe thing made me undecided again), then arriving at Becky's room (my awesome mom-in-law). Josh was there! As in, the groom! "Hi JOSH!" I almost started to cry, but he was highly focused on his task, as I was on mine. Joe (Grandpa Joe, Becky's awesome husband) chose my favorite, the Moroccan dress, saying, "That one is so you." But was it too busy for a wedding? Josh assured me it was fine, Becky picked it as one of the two she liked, then Jed, back at our room, officially chose it for me so that I would just move on with life. Curlers in my hair, fun-time meticulous make-up application, Levi in handsome little suit, Adelaide in beautiful little gown, me rushing: curlers out, finish hair, shoes on, which earrings? Perfume on, look up: Jed in pinstriped tux pants, pulls out his coat, with tails, and puts it on. Hello there, handsome! Such a dapper choice, Josh!
We meet in the lobby to take our bus to the church, and everyone looks gorgeous, dressed to the nines. Arrive at church, drop kids off with sweet sitter, Jessica, get the lay of the land, put on our corsages, and I find a private spot outside the church to warm up my voice without interfering with anyone. Make sure I have my reading and a program, leave Jed in the back with the wedding party, and find my seat up front. Deep breath.
Bridesmaids in knee-length, steel-gray gowns carrying rich red bouquets: so beautiful. Groomsmen in the aforementioned tuxes, escorting them: so handsome.
Katie was stunning and vibrant and elated, and Josh was dapper, calm, and proud. The Catholic ceremony had its various rites and parts, and everything went smoothly. I don't normally get super nervous before doing this kind of stuff, but for Ave Maria, I was a little antsy. It ended up going well, and as soon as the last organ chord rang out, I sat down and let out a long breath. And then, Mr. and Mrs. Josh Finley!!
Buses to the reception at an exclusive country club. Pictures. Party. Both families are a blast, and the bride was the life of the party, leading the way on the dance floor! She is full of energy and life and fun, and the reception followed suit.
There are two things that stood out to me on a personal note.
First, Jed's Best Man speech was hilarious, moving, honoring to the bride and groom, and delivered with some serious panache. I was so proud! And despite the fact that he is from a radically Penn-State family, he cast a line of peace to Katie's family, who is University of Michigan all the way, by donning his prop, a University of Michigan baseball cap. This act made Josh hide his face flat on his plate as he shook his head in shame. Katie, however, loved it with a victorious arms-raised celebration. The crowd was vehemently divided between cheers and disapproving groans.
Second, Levi has got some serious moves on the dance floor! All the practice worshipping Yahweh at church really paid off for his spectators at this party. He and the other little kids all had the crowd in stitches and imitating their moves, with videographer and photographer following closely behind.
Jed's honored position in the wedding party meant we got the bus ride back to the hotel, which also meant we and the kids got to stay till the very end. The kids were absolute troopers, partying and smiling and winning admirers left and right. In the last moments, they both gave in and collapsed in our arms.
What an absolutely memorable series of wedding events and parties it has been! Congratulations to Josh and Katie! Today is Day 6, and Josh and Katie are hosting a Bar-B-Q before they leave for Puerto Rico tomorrow. This post will likely be my last of this series. This relaxed Mother's Day with all the family, now that all the planning and hard work have come to such a satisfying fruition, will wrap things up perfectly.
Happy Mother's Day!
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