and so they were wed
Nov. 12th, 2007 11:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jlhSo one of the reasons you haven't heard much from these parts of late is that on Saturday I was honored to be a part of ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ali_wildgoose and emsariel's wedding, and there's been a lot of excitement and tasks and festivities leading up to it. I find it impossible, after several attempts, to write a coherent narrative of the wedding weekend, so I'll do a timeline:
Late February: Alison and Scott get engaged, and set the wedding date by the availability of the hall they want to be married in: November 10th. Ali asks her sister,erinfinnegan and me to be bridesmaids.
Late summer: Erin and I go dress shopping with Ali and find a really gorgeous spaghetti strapped floor-length A-line dress with a ribbon sash. Ali decides on a periwinkle with a white sash, to be the negative of her own white dress with periwinkle sash.
27 October: Erin and I throw Ali a bachelorette party at the generously donated flat ofcalloocallay and soupkills. Per Ali's request, there are 7 different cabbage dishes, ice cream drinks, and Mulan, plus Alison Jeopardy! and Apples to Alison.
3 November:marionv throws Ali a totally surprise three-location shower that starts with sushi and ends with lingerie with stops for a massage and chocolate fondue along the way.
9 November: Rehearsal at noon in an atrium so cold we could see our breath, followed by a late lunch with much onion soup and toasting. Note that the maitre d' from the hall was not there.
10 November: OMG Wedding.
10:30a: Alison calls me at 10:30, starting to reveal a bit of nerves. I assure her that I will be at her place on time.
10:45a:mistful, being my escort to the wedding, has kindly allowed me to stay at her flat over the weekend, it being closer to the action than mine, so it's a short walk to Ali's to meet up with her and Erin and take a cab to bring ourselves and our dresses to the hotel. Erin brings bagels, which are much appreciated by all. We all give a last hug to Scott.
11:40a: The female part of the bridal entourage: Ali, her sister, Erin, me, Scott's sister/best woman and groomswoman, and the three moms troop over to a nearby salon for hair and makeup. I'm one of the first for hair—the stylist spends a lot of time defining my curls with the use of a little leave-in conditioner, a lot of gel, and a very wide vent brush before pinning the sides up very simply (to show off the earrings) and adorning it with a blue hair clip I'd brought. The reaction: "Your hair is so shiny!"
1:00p: There is a small altercation over stocking color, with insistence on PEARL!mistful, who had delivered the flowers for Ali's hair, comes with me to get last-minute supplies from Rite Aid, including two protein bars I bought at the last minute. The other ladies are getting the usual fancy updo's, and Ali gets a sort of complicated flip with flowers (she will not be wearing a veil).
2:30p: Ali's makeup makes her look like a living doll. Everyone's makeup is applied with a trowel by a Russian woman who insists "you need it for the pictures!" (On Sunday morning our faces would all be red from scrubbing it off.) Ali and I share one of the power bars, which is convenient to eat as you can break it apart, like the bagels we've been eating all morning.
3:00p: I'm the last for makeup, and my eyes are prominent enough, thanks, it's a pretty quick affair as it only takes so long to apply dark lipstick. I buy the lipstick she uses on me for its auspicious name: sheer rhubarb.
3:15p: Ali's mom and I walk back to the hotel, everyone else having run over to start dressing. I ask her how she's doing and she says she'll be fine once the ceremony starts, and then talks about how proud she is of the woman Alison has become and how wonderful Scott and Ali are as a couple and how happy she is, and it's not only all true, but I'm pleased she still has sight of that after all the wedding planning blah blah blah. I say that Ali had said she was nervous about the wedding but looking forward to being married, and her mom says, "Those two have the right priorities!"
4:00p: Dresses are ironed and we realize we have to sew Alison into hers. I start the wrinkles on my own dress by kneeling to hook up shoes. I decide I am not going to worry about that. Ali and I share the second power bar.
4:30p: We pile into the limo: bride, five female attendants, bride's mom, dad, stepmom, stepdad, photographer. Erin and I are near the window to the driver who at one point turns to us and says, "I couldn't make the turn." Erin and I shrug not realizing that what he meant was that we would be going over the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan because he missed a turn. Ali's mom starts to worry, and Ali says, "They can't start without us."
5:00p: We arrive at the hall, and I call to make sure Scott isn't there. Then we get out and go upstairs, where we have cheese and fruit, which we nosh on, and then there are a lot of pictures on the stairs.
5:45p: People start arriving, some come up to our room, we close the door to prevent accidental Scott sightings, and the groomswomen leave us to go to Scott, who all day has really only had his dad and his groomsman to keep him from spinning into butter.
6:20p: We start lining up, with Alison back in the hallway so Scott won't see her. Scott's groomswoman and I round the corner to see that the platform that we are to stand on is a foot tall—and there is no step! We all climb up onto it as best we can, though I can't help thinking as I lean forward for balance, "Hello, wedding goers! Here is my ass, encased in blue!"
6:30p: The ceremony is pretty short—three readings, one from each set of parents, ten moments of silent contemplation and testifying inspired by Quaker tradition, and simple vows written by the couple that include promising to listen "no matter how long you talk about time-traveling samurai/hypertext narrative." We laugh, we cry, we sniffle. The officiant is not on the platform with us, nor leading the ceremony, but rather comes in from the side to say the official stuff, which is mostly, "I am from The Man, and The Man says 'Rock the fuck on!' Mack at will!" Scott gets three kisses in before he leads Alison off the platform, and we all pretty much leap off before walking out of the room.
6:50p: Other people get cocktails. We take pictures. The place did set aside apps for us, but they are up in the green room.
7:45p: Pictures over, we shove food in our mouths, suddenly starving, then run downstairs. The bar is closing and I say, "I am a bridesmaid! I was getting pictures taken! I need a drink now!" I get my jack and ginger.
8:00p: Ali and Scott are announced and everyone claps. Let the party begin! Scott and Ali looked great on their first dance, and then when everyone was asked to join, Maya, who had been in a haze of "allow me to be the perfect escort to you, Clio!" asked me to dance, and then … well, she can't actually lead. So I led. I can't remember everything that happened on the dance floor and when, but the things that stand out are:
12:30a: At the after party, the bridesmaids staged a fight using the centerpiece flowers. Erin won.
11 November: Brunch! Bacon! Fruit! Potatoes! Lots of goodbyes, then back to Ali and Scott's for packing and cleaning and hanging out so the party wouldn't end.
And this morning they're off on their "wedding tour" and I am cushioned from the return to real life by a quick visit fromwordplay, whom I'm running out to see for lunch right now!
ali_wildgoose and emsariel's wedding, and there's been a lot of excitement and tasks and festivities leading up to it. I find it impossible, after several attempts, to write a coherent narrative of the wedding weekend, so I'll do a timeline:Late February: Alison and Scott get engaged, and set the wedding date by the availability of the hall they want to be married in: November 10th. Ali asks her sister,
erinfinnegan and me to be bridesmaids.Late summer: Erin and I go dress shopping with Ali and find a really gorgeous spaghetti strapped floor-length A-line dress with a ribbon sash. Ali decides on a periwinkle with a white sash, to be the negative of her own white dress with periwinkle sash.
27 October: Erin and I throw Ali a bachelorette party at the generously donated flat of
calloocallay and soupkills. Per Ali's request, there are 7 different cabbage dishes, ice cream drinks, and Mulan, plus Alison Jeopardy! and Apples to Alison.3 November:
marionv throws Ali a totally surprise three-location shower that starts with sushi and ends with lingerie with stops for a massage and chocolate fondue along the way.9 November: Rehearsal at noon in an atrium so cold we could see our breath, followed by a late lunch with much onion soup and toasting. Note that the maitre d' from the hall was not there.
10 November: OMG Wedding.
10:30a: Alison calls me at 10:30, starting to reveal a bit of nerves. I assure her that I will be at her place on time.
10:45a:
mistful, being my escort to the wedding, has kindly allowed me to stay at her flat over the weekend, it being closer to the action than mine, so it's a short walk to Ali's to meet up with her and Erin and take a cab to bring ourselves and our dresses to the hotel. Erin brings bagels, which are much appreciated by all. We all give a last hug to Scott.11:40a: The female part of the bridal entourage: Ali, her sister, Erin, me, Scott's sister/best woman and groomswoman, and the three moms troop over to a nearby salon for hair and makeup. I'm one of the first for hair—the stylist spends a lot of time defining my curls with the use of a little leave-in conditioner, a lot of gel, and a very wide vent brush before pinning the sides up very simply (to show off the earrings) and adorning it with a blue hair clip I'd brought. The reaction: "Your hair is so shiny!"
1:00p: There is a small altercation over stocking color, with insistence on PEARL!
mistful, who had delivered the flowers for Ali's hair, comes with me to get last-minute supplies from Rite Aid, including two protein bars I bought at the last minute. The other ladies are getting the usual fancy updo's, and Ali gets a sort of complicated flip with flowers (she will not be wearing a veil).2:30p: Ali's makeup makes her look like a living doll. Everyone's makeup is applied with a trowel by a Russian woman who insists "you need it for the pictures!" (On Sunday morning our faces would all be red from scrubbing it off.) Ali and I share one of the power bars, which is convenient to eat as you can break it apart, like the bagels we've been eating all morning.
3:00p: I'm the last for makeup, and my eyes are prominent enough, thanks, it's a pretty quick affair as it only takes so long to apply dark lipstick. I buy the lipstick she uses on me for its auspicious name: sheer rhubarb.
3:15p: Ali's mom and I walk back to the hotel, everyone else having run over to start dressing. I ask her how she's doing and she says she'll be fine once the ceremony starts, and then talks about how proud she is of the woman Alison has become and how wonderful Scott and Ali are as a couple and how happy she is, and it's not only all true, but I'm pleased she still has sight of that after all the wedding planning blah blah blah. I say that Ali had said she was nervous about the wedding but looking forward to being married, and her mom says, "Those two have the right priorities!"
4:00p: Dresses are ironed and we realize we have to sew Alison into hers. I start the wrinkles on my own dress by kneeling to hook up shoes. I decide I am not going to worry about that. Ali and I share the second power bar.
4:30p: We pile into the limo: bride, five female attendants, bride's mom, dad, stepmom, stepdad, photographer. Erin and I are near the window to the driver who at one point turns to us and says, "I couldn't make the turn." Erin and I shrug not realizing that what he meant was that we would be going over the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan because he missed a turn. Ali's mom starts to worry, and Ali says, "They can't start without us."
5:00p: We arrive at the hall, and I call to make sure Scott isn't there. Then we get out and go upstairs, where we have cheese and fruit, which we nosh on, and then there are a lot of pictures on the stairs.
5:45p: People start arriving, some come up to our room, we close the door to prevent accidental Scott sightings, and the groomswomen leave us to go to Scott, who all day has really only had his dad and his groomsman to keep him from spinning into butter.
6:20p: We start lining up, with Alison back in the hallway so Scott won't see her. Scott's groomswoman and I round the corner to see that the platform that we are to stand on is a foot tall—and there is no step! We all climb up onto it as best we can, though I can't help thinking as I lean forward for balance, "Hello, wedding goers! Here is my ass, encased in blue!"
6:30p: The ceremony is pretty short—three readings, one from each set of parents, ten moments of silent contemplation and testifying inspired by Quaker tradition, and simple vows written by the couple that include promising to listen "no matter how long you talk about time-traveling samurai/hypertext narrative." We laugh, we cry, we sniffle. The officiant is not on the platform with us, nor leading the ceremony, but rather comes in from the side to say the official stuff, which is mostly, "I am from The Man, and The Man says 'Rock the fuck on!' Mack at will!" Scott gets three kisses in before he leads Alison off the platform, and we all pretty much leap off before walking out of the room.
6:50p: Other people get cocktails. We take pictures. The place did set aside apps for us, but they are up in the green room.
7:45p: Pictures over, we shove food in our mouths, suddenly starving, then run downstairs. The bar is closing and I say, "I am a bridesmaid! I was getting pictures taken! I need a drink now!" I get my jack and ginger.
8:00p: Ali and Scott are announced and everyone claps. Let the party begin! Scott and Ali looked great on their first dance, and then when everyone was asked to join, Maya, who had been in a haze of "allow me to be the perfect escort to you, Clio!" asked me to dance, and then … well, she can't actually lead. So I led. I can't remember everything that happened on the dance floor and when, but the things that stand out are:
- Scott's college gang shouting the additional lyrics to "Sweet Caroline" with gusto, and later, running about the dance floor with Scott on their shoulders.
- Dancing in a big circle of ladies with Ali, and looking over my shoulder to see her mom dancing in a big circle with her friends.
- Scott and soupkills doing a spontaneous unison dance.
- The table cards, which were drawings of various beloved fictional couples that Scott and Ali commissioned from their artist friends.
- The final song "Hey Jude", wherein everyone just swayed on the floor and sang, holding the candles from the tables aloft like lighters.
12:30a: At the after party, the bridesmaids staged a fight using the centerpiece flowers. Erin won.
11 November: Brunch! Bacon! Fruit! Potatoes! Lots of goodbyes, then back to Ali and Scott's for packing and cleaning and hanging out so the party wouldn't end.
And this morning they're off on their "wedding tour" and I am cushioned from the return to real life by a quick visit from
wordplay, whom I'm running out to see for lunch right now!
