Alrighty, here we go. It’s time to give you guys the lowdown on the honeymoon. Since a full recap would just take way too long to write now, I will instead resort to everybody’s favorite cop-out: an outline. We drove over to Lisa’s parents’ apartment, who then drove us to the airport since they were going to use the minivan while we were away. We got there with plenty of time to shop for extra crap to bring with us on the trip. Oh you marketing geniuses at Newark… excuse me, Liberty International Airport.
You have to be careful about keeping up with online reading while away, otherwise you might miss a great story like this one. I think I have a new feed to start reading.
And we’re back. We flew in yesterday around 1 PM, but I barely slept on the plane so I’ve been in a daze for awhile. After driving Lisa’s parents home (they “borrowed” the minivan while we were gone, so they transported us to and from the airport), I crashed on our couch for a little bit until we decided to go to bed. Then, surprisingly, I got a third or fourth wind, and we watched Kyle XY and Eureka until about 1 AM. And that would be why we woke up at noon.
Being home again after a long trip feels pretty strange. This is the first time I’ve been away for more than a week since a two week training trip I took back in 2000, and probably my longest vacation since my family went to Disney World… in 1981!
Last night this barely felt like our home. The way we rushed out last Monday left it in a state of disarray, and the lack of television (more on that later) killed our typical method of chilling at home. There’s also the total lack of goobers – Shadow and Booboo Birdie are currently staying with one of Lisa’s co-workers – which leaves our house too quiet. Kind of like the life is gone out of her.
But now we’re getting back into the swing of things. Amazingly we’ve already started unpacking and cleaning up the house. I’ve got tons to share with you guys, including lots of advice for anyone considering going to Hawaii (number one advice: DO IT!) and a couple thousand photos (obviously I’m going to cut that number down a tad). For now, let me sum up our honeymoon by saying that, no matter what we missed, what we didn’t do the best way, and how much money we obliterated, it was absolutely incredible and satisfying through and through. I am quite content right now, even if I’m stuck back here in Jersey.
Okay, no I don’t. And actually, that’s not where we are either. That’s a shot as we fly away from Honolulu over to Maui. Now, Lisa is bugging me to hurry up so that we can hit the Road to Hana – which we saw as we came in on the plane yesterday:
We’re supposed to be leaving right now for Lisa’s parents. After a quick brunch, it’s off to Newark for our honeymoon. Don’t worry, we’re not staying there. There’s supposed to be some large, winged vehicle that will wisk us several hours West, to some group of islands known as Hawaii. It’s supposed to be nice there, we’ll see.
I’m out of here for two weeks of fun in the sun. See you suckers later. I’ll have intermittent e-mail access (at least in the beginning), so if any of you guys want to beg me for some Kona coffee or evil tikki gods, send me a message. Later…
Okay, seriously, I just can’t figure out how to write this entry. How do you blog about your own wedding? Talking about someone else’s is one thing, but trying to describe your own is just… well… futile. There’s no way I can capture all of the emotions that went into that day – and I wouldn’t want to try, either. These are things that I can only really share with Lisa, and talk about with people in person. Whatever I say here… it’s just a way of trying to mark the occasion.
I can tell you how Friday night was a wonderful dinner with family and friends that ended in a nigh disaster with the screwed up bill. I can tell you how perfectly Saturday started with all of my groomsmen showing up at my hotel room on time along with the photographer to capture those special “men getting dressed” moments. I can then go on to describe how much the pre-wedding moments dragged on as a realized that, not only were the women folk not ready on time, but the keyboardist for the ceremony was stuck in traffic. Perhaps the ensuing almost-breakdown would best be described by my sisters who bore the brunt of my subdued outbursts. Regardless, none of that mattered once the the keyboardist swept in just before Lisa walked down and the ceremony began with Lisa and I nearly crying once we finally saw each other.
The oppressive heat was hopefully just a minor inconvenience for our guests to bear for what seemed to be a short and sweet ceremony. Reverand Fox – who met us less than a month before – was perfect in his casual demeanor and big smile. And before we knew it, we were man and wife. For a more thorough description, you’ll just have to talk to me in person, or perhaps go through my co-worker Cindy’s entry for her magnificent photographs of the event.
As for the reception, everything they say is pretty muuch true. It goes by in a blur. There is not enough time to do everything and speak to everyone. We miss it already. There’s a certain sadness thinking that all of that buildup is over in an instant. I got to talk with all of my friends and relatives, and at least had greetings with most of Lisa’s side, but I needed a few more hours to fully enjoy it all. I don’t care how exhausted I was at the end, another 2 hours of dancing to keep everybody around would definitely have been worth it.
While I was against hiring a videographer (and forgot to press record on our own camcorder), there were a few moments I wish I could relive. Things like our first dance, the cake cutting, etc. I’m not sure that I could deal with hearing Mark’s speech again, as I was almost in tears halfway through his first sentence. You’re a great friend, Mark, and I’m happy that you took the time to get to know me. At least Cindy (my goodness, we probably should have just hired you) captured most of Lisa’s surprise duet with her father (well, I knew about it, but most of the guests didn’t):
The most meaningful part of the event has been the feedback from everybody. I have had so many people tell me how wonderful everything was, how beautiful we looked, how good the food tasted, how much fun they had. I love all of you guys, and I’m so happy that you could share our day with us. If I had the money, I’d do it all over again every year (with the same wonderful woman, of course).
We won’t be getting the professional photos for another month, but in the meantime we’ve been enjoying those from friends and family that have already rolled in (including Kris’s shot of our first dance uploaded on the spot). Thank you to everyone who celebrated with us. This is such a wonderful feeling, and I can’t wait to see where it leads.
Last week, Lisa and I spent a couple hours with one of our wedding photographers in Hoboken for a “pre-engagement shoot”. It’s a way of getting some professionally shot casual photos as well as getting to know the only people who get to boss you around on your wedding day. Most importantly, it was a ton of fun:
DSCF1893e-mailbwart Hosted on Zooomr
The strangest part of the evening, however, was simply not being the one taking the photos. Since I bought my Canon Powershot A40 back in 2002 and subsequently the Digital Rebel in 2004, I’ve pretty much always been the guy with the camera. While I’ve been lax of late, it’s still typically a surprise for people to see me at events, parties, raids, etc. with empty hands. And while more and more people feel they should be kind and offer to take a picture of me, those handful of shots can’t compete with the tens of thousands I’ve taken of other people, places, animals, stop signs, rocks and other boring items.
Sitting for a real photographer was pretty enlightening as far as learning the process of dealing with us irritating human beings. Autumn was great, and I’m sure I’ll be recommending her and Craig (Pittelli Photography) once we can show off what they do for us on Saturday. Personally I’ve yet again felt the push that I need to do more with my own photography. As much fun as the nature stuff and random city scenes can be, I’d really love to try some photo shoots. So while this is obviously out until we’re back and settled from the honeymoon, I’m just gonna throw the idea out there that if any of my friends are interested in free, amateurish photos of you, I’d love to get together and have some fun experimenting with my camera in a photo shoot atmosphere. Obviously we’re not talking studio stuff here, but that’s boring anyway ;).
In the meantime, you can get a sampling of the 200 photos she took the other night in my Pre-Wedding set on Zooomr.
Saturday marked the begining of my final week as a single man. So I proceeded to get trashed beyond belief at a friend’s party – in front of Lisa. Ugh. There’s a number of reasons why I don’t drink like that. It’s not just the crappy feeling afterward, but also that fear of how stupid you might have been coupled with the fact that you forget half of the night hanging out with friends. Sure, I vaguely remember an impassioned rendition of “Brickhouse” and some incoherent scribblings during some bizarre game, but I kind of miss the real interaction amongst friends. Maybe that should count as a bachelor party?
Lisa was an angel, and was far more concerned about my well being that my stupidity. But I reminded her that as frequently as I drink, there’s been maybe 1 or 2 other occasions since we’ve been together that were even close to this (actually, I can’t remember anything that bad in at least 4 years). Regardless, there’s a reason that beer remains my truest friend – he never hurts me.
In case you couldn’t guess, this left my Sunday in a lazy haze of resting and settling my stomach. That killed just about an entire day of doing almost anything for the wedding or the house. But by that night I was doing just fine and ready to take on the world. Which meant, of course, that the world had to come up with something new to throw at me.
That’s when I decided to leave early for work Monday morning. And turning the car keys rendered a rather pathetic attempt to turnover anything. Several attempts later and I realized that my hopes to get an early start on the week had been trashed like my bruised and battered liver. Lisa was kind enought to offer to drive me in, but my car was blocking hers and the slope of the driveway is such that any attempt to push my car would have resulted in my legs being crushed. And then I’d need all new tux measurements…
Geico’s roadside assistance is very friendly and helpful, but that doesn’t change the fact that it takes 90 minutes to get a tow truck there. Fortunately we were able to jump the car, and he assured me it was just the battery. At the Sears Auto place, I again met new a nd friendly employees, and the guy got my car done (with the cheapest batteyr available – hey, you try to afford the gold-level one with your wedding at the end of the week) while I waited. Oh joy, I’m so glad I got into my car before 9am so that I could get to work after 12. That’s one hell of a commute.
At least yesterday I got a pick-me-up as my co-workers threw me a surprise wedding party thingie at work. They even invited Lisa! Yeah, my company rocks. And now the rest of the week looks like a little smoother sailing. Unfortunately, I hate water…
Lisa and I lifted our year-long ban on seeing movies in the theaters for the opening of M. Night Shyamalan‘s latest flick, Lady in the Water. Alright, it wasn’t actually a ban, so much as laziness. Heck, we even tried to see The Devil Wears Prada once, but it was sold out. Anywho, what was I talking about?
Let me start by saying that I am an M. Night fan. I’ve loved each of his four major films (nobody really counts the first two) and can watch them over and over again. With that out of the way, if you’re not a fan of his, this movie ain’t gonna change your mind. I actually loved the plot, and most of the script, but the pacing felt too slow due to a lack of suspense for much of the film. He still demonstrates a great eye for direction and a fantastic sense of combining reality and mythology, but it just doesn’t gell as well as his previous efforts. I will say that the second half picks up a much stronger pace, and came off as more of the film I was expecting.
This really isn’t much of a review, as I’m just too tired to act like I’m really a critic. I think I just wanted to brag about seeing a film – on its opening night no less.
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