Valerie and Dale

So, I caught you up on the work stuff but you never got to hear about Val and Dale's wedding because of all my drama last week. Sheesh.

The wedding was on October 27th. It's one of the reasons that Mike and I decided to have ours next year (if you don;t remember that part of the reasoning).

The two had met in March (I believe) of last year at a sci fi convention in Maryland. Got to see the exact spot they met which was pretty cool. Anyway, after a whirlwind courtship, they were engaged and had that date set. Val would have preferred to elope but Dale wanted a traditional wedding. I know, that's the opposite of how it usually happens but he has two sisters and a traditional kind of family so I guess that's why. Let me tell you. . .by the time the wedding came around, he was ruing the choice. lol Especially as Val reminded him a gazillion times about who's idea it had been. I actually felt sorry for him. (heehee)

As you are probably aware, that date happened to fall right after the rainstorms had come through the east coast. I told Val that she should have had the wedding sooner cause then the drought might not have lasted as long. (she wasn't amused) It was to be an evening wedding. So, you can imagine how nail biting it was to have it still pouring late into the night on the 26th. Val was miserable that day. The whole thing was set to take place at the Cloisters: a beautiful castle-like structure set in the woods. The place was perfect for her. Problem was, they hadn't really planned for an indoor wedding. The reception was supposed to be inside but not the ceremony. We went to the Cloisters to develop a contingency plan. The place was gorgeous. And it can work for indoor stuff too. They have events all the time and are used to having to accomodate such things. Problem was, indoors is not what was planned and Val said that she could have chosen any number of other places if that was what had been wanted.

Let me make something clear: Val had not been your typically giddy bride. She was not looking forward to the whole shindig at all. Oh, she was looking forward to getting married but not to the rigamorole. And to be fair, she didn't have an easy time of it all. They may have met in Maryland but they planned most of it all long distance. She ended up in Huntsville, Alabama, earlier this year and has had to plan for several major life changes all at once. So, her being stressed was understandable. I just wish she had been happier about it all but the anticipation of the wedding just couldn't overcome all the other stuff.

Fortunately, the weather cleared by noon on the 27th. Us girls -- Val, me (MOH), Jessica (childhood friend), and Anne-Marie (work friend) -- trooped to the hair dressers and Val's spirits started to pick up. She got the normal nerves thing going on and everything but seemed in a much happier place. When we all got back to the hotel and were finally done up, she was doing much better. And oh, she made such a lovely bride. She'd chosen a beautiful lace sheath dress. She was simply stunning in it. When I get some pics, I'll post one. I figured that picture taking was the least of my responsibilities that day.

We all went to the Cloisters for the picture taking. Because it was an evening wedding, we had to do the pics beforehand. Ok, here's where things are a little complicated. Dale is Catholic but Valerie converted to Judaism (from Lutheran) about two years ago. So, the ceremony and stuff was actually Jewish. Because there's a part where Dale and her are together for the actual ceremony, him seeing her beforehand wasn't a big deal. So, that whole tradition of not seeing the bride before the wedding didn't matter.

The photographer was awesome. He did an amazing job of setting it all up. My favorite moment was when Dale got to see her for the first time. He had the properly stunned look on his face and she was giggling like a schoolgirl. It was like it was only the two of them around. Such a movie moment. One of the reasons being outside was so important was because the Cloisters has a windmill and Val so wanted the wedding party pics to be there. That was fun. After that came the family photos and the rest of us ended upstairs.

I'm sure I could have stayed downstairs to help but I thought that I would just be in the way. It was a tossup cause I know she wanted me to help keep her mom from driving her nuts but I didn't know how I could do that for the photo stuff. So, I just waited. Finally they all came upstairs.

All of the wedding party and immediate family gathered around in one of the rooms so that we could watch them sign the Jewish marriage agreement. It was a cool little part of the ceremony. Then came the aisle walking and all that jazz. I messed up a little with Val's train because I forgot that she needed me to hand it to her so she could walk around Dale three times at the beginning. I wanted to straighten it out pretty. lol It didn't seem to be a big deal. We hadn't had a rehearsal (just a verbal run through) so hopefully I'm forgiven. The rest went off pretty well. The only thing I felt the OCD need to tweak was when her veil went back. It didn't completely go straight on one side and I didn't want it to look goofy in the pictures so I quickly steeped up and tweaked it down straight. lol Val didn't even know I had done that til later.

The reception was very elegant: open bar, cheese, dessert. Very simple but beautifully done. My speech was impromptu and not the best thing in the world (bad speech teacher) but I wanted to go with the flow of the moment and emotion rather than something rehearsed. I had a few things planned but mostly I just went with the moment. Afterwards, Val danced with her father and also with Dale. It was the only dancing that happened. I thought maybe seeing her with her dad would make me feel sad since I won't be able to do that but it just made me smile. Besides, it's when I got to help her mom out so that was good. Her mom had done really well not to cry until then. It was sweet.

Overall, the wedding went off without any major snafus. There were minor things but it was an awesome event. Just as elegant as Val could have wished.