And Then it All Happened So Fast...
...my grandfather walked up. This was the 1/2 that didn't make it to the photo session. And the significance of this man is one I've never delved into in this journal I don't think. My father and I went through a rough patch (as I am sure many children do during their rebellious stages) in my teens. He was very hard on me and I am sure I was beyond stubborn at times. Often cause more harm to myself than good. And during this stage in my life, my grandfather quietly crept into the fatherly role (doing what he could not to make my dad feel he was stepping on my toes) and helped me not only get my feet back under me, but to help me patch the relationship I had put through the meat grinder between my father and I. He has been instrumental in fostering the amazing relationship I share with my dad today. But I also cannot not acknowledge the tremendous love and compassion this man has shown me all my life. Being the first granddaughter , I was his from day one. So on this day I wasn't surprised to find it had been difficult for him as well. What I hadn't imagined, however, was that he would get so inebriated that he and I couldn't even have a coherent conversation.
He walked up to the table and wapped me across the face with his napkin causing my hair to go everywhere. Stunned, I sat there trying to process what just happened and for God sake, why?? Robert was just as stunned as I was but recognized instantly that he had had far too much to drink. My grandfather was just trying to be the funny wise-guy that he is and his plan had failed. He muttered a few things that didn't make much sense, and then my uncle who was responsible for the amount of alcohol he had consumed quickly came up and ushered him into an empty room. My grandmother quickly ran up and explained the situation. He had gone all day without any food because of all the activity and being whisked from here to there. Then when they arrived, my uncle passed him a dirty martini (one of his faves), and then a boiler maker - all this without any food in an old man's stomach. Not failing to mention he is on blood thinners... You see the train-wreck from a mile away? Then at dinner he was promptly served a glass of wine which went down before the salad was finished. Long story short, he was wasted before I even had a real chance to chat with him. I am so saddened by this. I am not mad, just deeply sorry that my uncle hadn't any foresight to realize my grandfather had no business consuming that much alcohol. Anyway, after grandma had left the table sheepishly, Robert looked at me and said, "well, there's a drunk at every wedding. Who knew it was going to be him??" We had a chuckle and I left it at that.
We saw an opportunity before the major events to walk the room and say our hellos. What fun that was! There were people there who had traveled so far just for us. What an amazing event. We had promised each other that we wouldn't leave each other's side for longer than 10 minutes. Otherwise we knew we wouldn't see each other all night long. So we stuck together while we made our rounds and then after it was all finished we began to see champagne being poured and knew we would need to make our way back to the table.
Cake Cutting
The leaning pink tower of red velvet cake was wheeled out just as Lance put on That's The Recipe For Making Love, by Harry Conick Jr. That was our cue.
I was only somewhat thrilled with the cake. They wisely changed out the sugar paste rose that was to sit on top with a bundle of chocolate brown orchids which was it's saving grace. But it was a bit more pink than I had asked for and certainly had a slight lean to it. It was also a heck of a lot bigger than I had ever imagined. But you know, it's cake. Right? As long as it tastes good, who cares. We took our positions and got ready to cut the cake. I was a little nervous to see what Robert would do. I know he had made threats and then got snarky when I told him it was rude to smash cake in your new wife's face. So I thought I would take the lead and perhaps 'show' him where I drew the line in terms of 'cake fun'.
What you are seeing here is a stunned husband wondering why different rules applied to him!
Well, as you can see, he responded in kind.
And yes, that's frosting on my collar bone.
The Toasts
The cake was quickly whisked off the dance floor and this is when the parties responsible for toasts started to assemble. I took a deep deep breath because I knew this was going to be tough.
The three 'guest speakers' ramping up for their toasts.
Jamie went first because she was dying to get it over with. She is not a forced-center-of-attention type of gal, so this was asking a lot of her. However, he toast was one of the most heartwarming sentiments she has ever shared with me. She is going to send me a copy of the poem she wrote just for me and I will post it. It's just too good not to read. This was the result the night of.
Yes, that's me. Crying my little heart out.
Brian went next and his was just as touching. I have it but it's quite long. Needless to say, I was just as touched as was Robert.
Then, my dad took the mic. I swallowed in air and told myself I wasn't going to cry.
I've heard my father give two speeches in my lifetime. Both times I was amazed with his grace and heartfelt sentiment. He spoke of what's to come, what he has witnessed transpire between Robert and I, joked about passed 'duds' I brought home to meet him and my mother and managed to keep it all together the entire time. Following his lead, I didn't cry once. It was a very meaningful toast and a heartfelt welcome to Robert.
The First Dance
After all the clinking of the glasses was over, Lance moved right into the first dance. It's Your Love, by Tim McGraw came on and my husband didn't waste any time sweeping me off my feet.
It was such a great moment because he had chosen the song (never mind I am NOT a country music lover by any means) and he meant every lyric of it.
It took all I had not to get all red-faced and sappy. You can see his cuff links in this shot!
And then he topped me off with a dip.
Father - Daughter Dance
If I had been successful in keeping it all together in front of my dad, it all was in vein when Lance asked my father to join me. I had chosen Ballerina Girl by Lionel Richie for our turn around the dance floor without letting him know. I had grown up with lots of Lionel playing in our home and this song holds a lot of meaning between the two of us. So as he made his way up, Lance put on the song and he physically missed paused when he realized what song it was. There I am in the middle of the dance floor, bottom lip trying not to quiver with knowing family members 'awwing' and my dad was so shocked he almost fell. He made his way to me and we finally had a moment to be able to tell each other everything that was weighing on our hearts that day.
He told me he was so proud of me, that he wished he could take an ounce of credit for how I had turned out, but that he knew someone like me was born pure of heart and her parents could only hope to provide her with enough opportunity to allow her to grow to her full potential. Girls, I was bawling my eyes out. He had it all wrong. I had relied on him, even in his greatest times of doubt, to guide me in the right direction. I looked to him for encouragement, and still do. And as I was spilling my heart out he kept disagreeing with me!! I am crying right now just thinking of how stubbornly humble he was. I owe him so very much.
Crying. What did I tell ya? Red nose, beacon eyes, swollen lips. Not pretty.
Anyway, we exchanged more thoughts clumsily and through our tears and yet again, the song was done far too soon.
Mother - Son Dance
Sorry ladies, no pics to share of my handsome husband and his mother sharing a dance. It was sweet and they were laughing and smiling the entire time. Not the emotional purge mine happened to be, but just as touching. And while I tried to collect myself, what happens? More emotional outpour from an unlikely source. Can a girl get a break...
He walked up to the table and wapped me across the face with his napkin causing my hair to go everywhere. Stunned, I sat there trying to process what just happened and for God sake, why?? Robert was just as stunned as I was but recognized instantly that he had had far too much to drink. My grandfather was just trying to be the funny wise-guy that he is and his plan had failed. He muttered a few things that didn't make much sense, and then my uncle who was responsible for the amount of alcohol he had consumed quickly came up and ushered him into an empty room. My grandmother quickly ran up and explained the situation. He had gone all day without any food because of all the activity and being whisked from here to there. Then when they arrived, my uncle passed him a dirty martini (one of his faves), and then a boiler maker - all this without any food in an old man's stomach. Not failing to mention he is on blood thinners... You see the train-wreck from a mile away? Then at dinner he was promptly served a glass of wine which went down before the salad was finished. Long story short, he was wasted before I even had a real chance to chat with him. I am so saddened by this. I am not mad, just deeply sorry that my uncle hadn't any foresight to realize my grandfather had no business consuming that much alcohol. Anyway, after grandma had left the table sheepishly, Robert looked at me and said, "well, there's a drunk at every wedding. Who knew it was going to be him??" We had a chuckle and I left it at that.
We saw an opportunity before the major events to walk the room and say our hellos. What fun that was! There were people there who had traveled so far just for us. What an amazing event. We had promised each other that we wouldn't leave each other's side for longer than 10 minutes. Otherwise we knew we wouldn't see each other all night long. So we stuck together while we made our rounds and then after it was all finished we began to see champagne being poured and knew we would need to make our way back to the table.
Cake Cutting
The leaning pink tower of red velvet cake was wheeled out just as Lance put on That's The Recipe For Making Love, by Harry Conick Jr. That was our cue.
I was only somewhat thrilled with the cake. They wisely changed out the sugar paste rose that was to sit on top with a bundle of chocolate brown orchids which was it's saving grace. But it was a bit more pink than I had asked for and certainly had a slight lean to it. It was also a heck of a lot bigger than I had ever imagined. But you know, it's cake. Right? As long as it tastes good, who cares. We took our positions and got ready to cut the cake. I was a little nervous to see what Robert would do. I know he had made threats and then got snarky when I told him it was rude to smash cake in your new wife's face. So I thought I would take the lead and perhaps 'show' him where I drew the line in terms of 'cake fun'.
What you are seeing here is a stunned husband wondering why different rules applied to him!
Well, as you can see, he responded in kind.
And yes, that's frosting on my collar bone.
The Toasts
The cake was quickly whisked off the dance floor and this is when the parties responsible for toasts started to assemble. I took a deep deep breath because I knew this was going to be tough.
The three 'guest speakers' ramping up for their toasts.
Jamie went first because she was dying to get it over with. She is not a forced-center-of-attention type of gal, so this was asking a lot of her. However, he toast was one of the most heartwarming sentiments she has ever shared with me. She is going to send me a copy of the poem she wrote just for me and I will post it. It's just too good not to read. This was the result the night of.
Yes, that's me. Crying my little heart out.
Brian went next and his was just as touching. I have it but it's quite long. Needless to say, I was just as touched as was Robert.
Then, my dad took the mic. I swallowed in air and told myself I wasn't going to cry.
I've heard my father give two speeches in my lifetime. Both times I was amazed with his grace and heartfelt sentiment. He spoke of what's to come, what he has witnessed transpire between Robert and I, joked about passed 'duds' I brought home to meet him and my mother and managed to keep it all together the entire time. Following his lead, I didn't cry once. It was a very meaningful toast and a heartfelt welcome to Robert.
The First Dance
After all the clinking of the glasses was over, Lance moved right into the first dance. It's Your Love, by Tim McGraw came on and my husband didn't waste any time sweeping me off my feet.
It was such a great moment because he had chosen the song (never mind I am NOT a country music lover by any means) and he meant every lyric of it.
It took all I had not to get all red-faced and sappy. You can see his cuff links in this shot!
And then he topped me off with a dip.
Father - Daughter Dance
If I had been successful in keeping it all together in front of my dad, it all was in vein when Lance asked my father to join me. I had chosen Ballerina Girl by Lionel Richie for our turn around the dance floor without letting him know. I had grown up with lots of Lionel playing in our home and this song holds a lot of meaning between the two of us. So as he made his way up, Lance put on the song and he physically missed paused when he realized what song it was. There I am in the middle of the dance floor, bottom lip trying not to quiver with knowing family members 'awwing' and my dad was so shocked he almost fell. He made his way to me and we finally had a moment to be able to tell each other everything that was weighing on our hearts that day.
He told me he was so proud of me, that he wished he could take an ounce of credit for how I had turned out, but that he knew someone like me was born pure of heart and her parents could only hope to provide her with enough opportunity to allow her to grow to her full potential. Girls, I was bawling my eyes out. He had it all wrong. I had relied on him, even in his greatest times of doubt, to guide me in the right direction. I looked to him for encouragement, and still do. And as I was spilling my heart out he kept disagreeing with me!! I am crying right now just thinking of how stubbornly humble he was. I owe him so very much.
Crying. What did I tell ya? Red nose, beacon eyes, swollen lips. Not pretty.
Anyway, we exchanged more thoughts clumsily and through our tears and yet again, the song was done far too soon.
Mother - Son Dance
Sorry ladies, no pics to share of my handsome husband and his mother sharing a dance. It was sweet and they were laughing and smiling the entire time. Not the emotional purge mine happened to be, but just as touching. And while I tried to collect myself, what happens? More emotional outpour from an unlikely source. Can a girl get a break...