I posted this in the same sex marriage forum but figured I should post here, too....

The wedding was one of the most magical days of my life!!!

Our friend Lala made our outfits from NYC, our friend (and pastry chef) Macauley traveled with our wedding cake in her truck all the way from Texas, our friend Ria catered, three other friends made out invitations...and then all our friends showed up in one room on time to support us and wish us well. That alone was enough to make all the stress and worry over the last six months WELL worth it.

I've been putting off writing a recap just b/c I'm still so tired from it all and because I wept through the whole ceremony, so I know writing about it will bring on the water works again.
But, here goes:

Most of our friends and some family arrived on thursday so they could attend our joint "Bach Party" thursday night, being held at a friend's house. We had to film some brief interview stuff for the TV show that afternoon but after that was over, my bridesmaids (two of whom live out of state) wanted me to meet them at my favorite coffee shop for some togetherness time before the madness began.

So, I went to the coffee shop to meet them, got my coffee, sat down and realized that everyone was being weirdly quiet as I babbled and babbled. So, I stopped and was like, "What's going on? Why aren't y'all so quiet?" And my friend Lindsey says, "Well, I'm just going to tell you. You're kidnapped."
"Huh?"

Danielle, my MOH, shouts "Get in the car. I'm not gonna tell you twice!" (She was trying to be tough-sounding in a hilarious way.)

So I was handed a clue that I had to decipher to tell them where we were going to. I was like, "Wait- you're kidnapping me but I have to tell you where to take me?"

Danielle: "Don't ask questions!" Ha!

So I figured out that the place the clue was talking about was the place Elroi proposed. So we went there and took pictures that would be left as a clue for Elroi, who has also unknowingly been kidnapped from our house by his side of the wedding party.

(Side note: Elroi was actually kidnapped right in the middle of washing our dogs. So, Danielle's boyfriend who had been helping at the house took over dog-washing duties. As El's friends were leaving with him, Macauley, our rascally cake-maker instructed Danielle's boyfriend to just "wash as many dogs as you can."

Every time I solved a clue, I got a present--so it was also like a surprise shower. I couldn't believe I didn't know anything about it and I felt so loved that all these people would plan something so elaborate and fun for us.

Later, at the bach party, there was a soft taco bar, a pinata, karaoke, a bonfire, and an overall fun, relaxing time. After many blind-folded attempts on the pinata by party-goers, someone shouted, "Elroi- just knock the shit out of it!" El hesitated and I was all, "Uh-uh, I can do this!" I proceeded to wail on the pinata with all my might. Most of our friends were shocked b/c I'm not known as an aggressive type...but it felt good!

More evidence of our friends going above and beyond-- they ordered hundreds of matchbooks with our names on them, just for us to keep, which they gave us at the bach party.

Friday: We were up early. The rehearsal at 3 went great, probably partly b/c our friend Ria brought us champagne to soothe our nerves. A nervous person by nature, I seemed to get less and less nervous as the Day approached while Elroi, usually calm and collected, started flipping out. It was a nice change for the roles to be reversed.

Friday night rehearsal dinner went amazingly. It was the first time our families met and everyone seem to get along great. It was also the first time my mom was in a room where she was a minority--most of our friends are tattooed queers with all kinds of gender identities--but she and the rest of my fam (super conservative brother, wacky grandma, and my favorite aunt) seemed unfazed.

I looked around and thought to myself, "This must be what it's like for straight people." Meaning, there wasn't a mention of or even an insinuation of this rehearsal dinner being any different just b/c we were queer. It felt so surreal to suddenly see our families getting on just as they would if one of us was born male. Don't get me wrong, I value my and our other-ness in a lot of ways, but this one moment, it felt really good not to be othered.

Saturday--I was stressed but strangely calm. Off to the Salon at 9 am, pictures at 3:30 pm. Got to the ceremony site at 6. The folks there had really gone all out for us, even printing our name on this (very large) gorgeous, antique marriage certificate. They'd also dressed some of their mannequins as pirates since El loves all things piratical.

There were no major mishaps or dramas. We hung out in a back room with some wine and water and fans going, with all dogs mincing around excitedly, until it was time to take our places.

Our celebrant friend and each couple of the wedding party walked one of the dogs (all of whom behaved amazingly well) down the aisle. Elroi and the wedding party processed to "Nobody Else Will" by the Cliks and I walked to Catpower's "I found a Reason," crying the whole way of course.

The ceremony went off without a hitch. I'll post the ceremony text later if anybody is interested.

We recessed to "Higher and Higher" by Dolly Parton while everyone cheered and clapped. It was a glorious moment, for sure. Then there was vegetarian buffet and open bar and Smilebooth (http://smilebooth.com/) and dancing all night. It went by so fast, I could hardly believe it.

I know this is still a pretty weak recap but I swear I'm still recovering. Everyday I look down at my ring finger and think, "It really happened!"

Here's a link to our pictures: http://ourlaboroflove.com/darkroom/share/?client/alyelroi

(The link will direct you to a slideshow of a streamlined story of
the day. To view ALL of the images just click on the button below on the
right hand side ³View Images & Order Prints². Once you have entered this
window you can scroll through the galleries in the top right hand corner
(there are 12 galleries).)

Also, our episode of Be Real ran last night on Logo. I think it runs a few more times in the next week if anybody wants to see it.

ETA smilebooth info.

[Updated on: Tue, 12 June 2007 15:35]

[Updated on: Tue, 12 June 2007 15:44]

[Updated on: Sat, 16 June 2007 09:16]