Donna and JJ's wedding
First off, thanks to everyone who wished me Happy Birthday through posts, comments, e-mails, texts, phone calls. I wasn’t really looking forward to this birthday that much, but I realized that any day where lots of your friends are wishing you happiness is a great day!
Saturday I got up and ran over to PetSmart to buy a cat food bowl on a timer. It basically holds two bowls of cat food, and you can set what times the bowl will open within a 48 hour period. I felt so bad leaving Tam Lim overnight while going to the wedding, so this gave me piece of mind. Of course, I ended up leaving for Danbury 1.5 hours later than I wanted to, and had to get ready in a hurry for the wedding.
The wedding itself was wonderful, but there was one bad thing that happened to us. There was a shuttle service that took people from the hotel to the reception. It fit 6 people, so Crazy Mike, myself and 4 Psi Us took the shuttle at 4:15. To make a long story short, he TOOK US TO THE WRONG RECEPTION HALL!! I mean, what an idiot! This guy was totally clueless. When we left the hotel he started driving, taking us in one direction. About 5 minutes into the ride I asked my friends, “So, what is this place called again?” None of us remembered, so I said, “Well, our driver should know.” I asked him and he said “Um, I forget”. Or something like that. I figured that he was joking with us. I said “I think it was something like Tarrywine?” He said “Was it Candlewood?” Um, sure, that could be it too. We’re already heading in one direction, so I figure he knows what he’s doing. Anyway, we get to the place and don’t recognize anyone. The wedding wasn’t that big, so this seemed odd. We go inside and ask if this is Donna and JJ’s wedding. They say, “Yes, but it starts at 6:00”. No, the invitation says 4:30. We figure out that it’s not Donna and JJ’s wedding, it’s the Schultz’s wedding that starts at 6:00. We’re not at the right place! We run outside, and luckily our driver had not left the parking lot. I think he knew that something was wrong when we said we didn’t know anyone. I am pissed off beyond belief, but luckily the other people in the van were being very reasonable and kept in decent spirits, so that kept me from blowing up at the driver. We called the hotel and got directions to the correct location. Even then the driver still had no clue where he was going, and we had to give him turn by turn directions to the location. And it wasn’t like we could just say “Turn onto Triangle St,” we had to say “Turn onto Triangle Street. It’s about 1.5 miles up. The third left turn.” You would think that if his job for the hotel was to drive people around he would know his way around the area better! Luckily one guy had an iPhone and pulled up a map.(BTW, we did make a verbal complaint when we got back, and I'm probably going to write a more formal complaint too.)
So, we finally get to the location and the ceremony has already started. I guess they waited for us for a while before starting, but had to go ahead. Luckily, it seems like we just missed the procession and first song. I would have like to be there for that though, and I felt horrible that Donna was waiting for us. The parts we were there for were really amazing though. Everything was very personal and very fitting for them. I think it was the first wedding I had been to where the people had written the vows together, and I loved them. I was crying so hard. It was just the words I would want my future husband to say to me on my wedding day.
After the ceremony we took some group pictures and then went inside. Like I said, everything was very personal. Here are some things that I remember
- Cheese plates made from cheese around the world
- Play Dough for each table
- Centerpieces that were Zen sand gardens
- Two kegs of homebrewed beer that Donna and JJ had gone somewhere and brewed together! (A Red and a Porter)
- Lots of red wine from all over the world
- An iPod playlist of their favorite songs instead of a DJ
- The dinner was a choice of three Indian meals catered by their favorite restaurant (and lots of Naan!)
- The father-daughter dance was in French
- Pumpkin Pie for dessert instead of cake.
So for those who don’t know Donna, some of those choices might sound odd. As background, she studied three languages in college in three different countries (German, Spain and France). Two weeks from now JJ and her will be moving to France so she can attend school in Geneva for her master’s degree! Of course, JJ’s personality wasn’t left out of the wedding either - it really was personalized for both of them.
The sad thing is that this party marked the start of two years of them being away. So, unless I go to France (which I hope to do), I might not see her for two years. However, saying goodbye I felt like I should be crying, but really I was too happy and excited for them to do that. I know they will be safe, happy and successful as long as they have each other over there. :-)
Good luck you two!
ETA: I remembered another fun thing about the wedding. Now, at the ceremony and during parts of the reception I noticed this really tall, good looking guy standing by himself. (Let's admit it, if a guy is tall I usually notice him). So, I kind of wonder how he knows JJ or Donna. Turns out he is Nicole's fiancee! Nicole is Donna's best friend since 7th grade. When Matt found out who I was he couldn't stop thanking me. Why? Well, indirectly I am responsible for getting Nicole and him together. I am the reason that JJ and Donna met, and Donna and JJ are the reason Matt and Nicole met (Matt works with JJ). I seriously think that Matt came up and said "Have I thanked you enough?" about ten times that night.
So, now I've introduced two couples successfully, and one couple indirectly. I am not one who likes to "set people up" though, although several people have told me that I should do more of this because I know a lot of people, and can read people well. JJ asked me who I was going to set up next, and I said "Hopefully, myself!"
Saturday I got up and ran over to PetSmart to buy a cat food bowl on a timer. It basically holds two bowls of cat food, and you can set what times the bowl will open within a 48 hour period. I felt so bad leaving Tam Lim overnight while going to the wedding, so this gave me piece of mind. Of course, I ended up leaving for Danbury 1.5 hours later than I wanted to, and had to get ready in a hurry for the wedding.
The wedding itself was wonderful, but there was one bad thing that happened to us. There was a shuttle service that took people from the hotel to the reception. It fit 6 people, so Crazy Mike, myself and 4 Psi Us took the shuttle at 4:15. To make a long story short, he TOOK US TO THE WRONG RECEPTION HALL!! I mean, what an idiot! This guy was totally clueless. When we left the hotel he started driving, taking us in one direction. About 5 minutes into the ride I asked my friends, “So, what is this place called again?” None of us remembered, so I said, “Well, our driver should know.” I asked him and he said “Um, I forget”. Or something like that. I figured that he was joking with us. I said “I think it was something like Tarrywine?” He said “Was it Candlewood?” Um, sure, that could be it too. We’re already heading in one direction, so I figure he knows what he’s doing. Anyway, we get to the place and don’t recognize anyone. The wedding wasn’t that big, so this seemed odd. We go inside and ask if this is Donna and JJ’s wedding. They say, “Yes, but it starts at 6:00”. No, the invitation says 4:30. We figure out that it’s not Donna and JJ’s wedding, it’s the Schultz’s wedding that starts at 6:00. We’re not at the right place! We run outside, and luckily our driver had not left the parking lot. I think he knew that something was wrong when we said we didn’t know anyone. I am pissed off beyond belief, but luckily the other people in the van were being very reasonable and kept in decent spirits, so that kept me from blowing up at the driver. We called the hotel and got directions to the correct location. Even then the driver still had no clue where he was going, and we had to give him turn by turn directions to the location. And it wasn’t like we could just say “Turn onto Triangle St,” we had to say “Turn onto Triangle Street. It’s about 1.5 miles up. The third left turn.” You would think that if his job for the hotel was to drive people around he would know his way around the area better! Luckily one guy had an iPhone and pulled up a map.(BTW, we did make a verbal complaint when we got back, and I'm probably going to write a more formal complaint too.)
So, we finally get to the location and the ceremony has already started. I guess they waited for us for a while before starting, but had to go ahead. Luckily, it seems like we just missed the procession and first song. I would have like to be there for that though, and I felt horrible that Donna was waiting for us. The parts we were there for were really amazing though. Everything was very personal and very fitting for them. I think it was the first wedding I had been to where the people had written the vows together, and I loved them. I was crying so hard. It was just the words I would want my future husband to say to me on my wedding day.
After the ceremony we took some group pictures and then went inside. Like I said, everything was very personal. Here are some things that I remember
- Cheese plates made from cheese around the world
- Play Dough for each table
- Centerpieces that were Zen sand gardens
- Two kegs of homebrewed beer that Donna and JJ had gone somewhere and brewed together! (A Red and a Porter)
- Lots of red wine from all over the world
- An iPod playlist of their favorite songs instead of a DJ
- The dinner was a choice of three Indian meals catered by their favorite restaurant (and lots of Naan!)
- The father-daughter dance was in French
- Pumpkin Pie for dessert instead of cake.
So for those who don’t know Donna, some of those choices might sound odd. As background, she studied three languages in college in three different countries (German, Spain and France). Two weeks from now JJ and her will be moving to France so she can attend school in Geneva for her master’s degree! Of course, JJ’s personality wasn’t left out of the wedding either - it really was personalized for both of them.
The sad thing is that this party marked the start of two years of them being away. So, unless I go to France (which I hope to do), I might not see her for two years. However, saying goodbye I felt like I should be crying, but really I was too happy and excited for them to do that. I know they will be safe, happy and successful as long as they have each other over there. :-)
Good luck you two!
ETA: I remembered another fun thing about the wedding. Now, at the ceremony and during parts of the reception I noticed this really tall, good looking guy standing by himself. (Let's admit it, if a guy is tall I usually notice him). So, I kind of wonder how he knows JJ or Donna. Turns out he is Nicole's fiancee! Nicole is Donna's best friend since 7th grade. When Matt found out who I was he couldn't stop thanking me. Why? Well, indirectly I am responsible for getting Nicole and him together. I am the reason that JJ and Donna met, and Donna and JJ are the reason Matt and Nicole met (Matt works with JJ). I seriously think that Matt came up and said "Have I thanked you enough?" about ten times that night.
So, now I've introduced two couples successfully, and one couple indirectly. I am not one who likes to "set people up" though, although several people have told me that I should do more of this because I know a lot of people, and can read people well. JJ asked me who I was going to set up next, and I said "Hopefully, myself!"