The Wedding

Just to get this out of the way, because it is embarrassing. Just hours before my wedding, I ended up in the emergency room after accidentally stepping on a champagne flute. I ended up with stitches and a bum foot for one of the biggest days in my life.
No more about my foot.
A week ago from last Saturday, I got married to the woman of my dreams. We did not have any sort of conventional wedding besides me in a suit and her in a dress.
The rest was done they way we wanted. And in its simplicity, those who attended told us that it was one of the best weddings they’ve been to.
One of my best friends officiated the whole thing. Because I’m sure he wouldn’t like his name in print, he will be called by his alias, the Rev. K. Bacon Martini.
Let’s not jump ahead here.
We were married at Gina’s late mother’s ex-husband’s land. It’s a scenic place, a lot of land and a lot of space. It was the perfect place for us, and her step-father was proud to have it there.
I was arriving a little late due to my bum foot and rushing about getting the final refreshments in order. My friend, Joe Brown (sports editor for the Marshall Independent) picked me up and headed out to my wedding after getting all this last minute madness.
When we arrived, it was like stepping into a time machine that went all crazy and threw everyone I’ve known into one place for a bizarre reunion.
Friends from high school, old jobs, college, the college newspaper and two from the Daily Globe (sports editor Aaron Hagen and sports writer Daniel Kerwin) mingling with one another was a strange thing to see.
Plus all the family there, too. I was so nervous that my anxiety meds were at war with my nerves and my nerves seemed to be winning.
Gina and I had friends from Minneapolis, Arizona and South Dakota there as well.
Like I said, seeing my past and present in one spot made me a bit nervous.
Then the announcement came that the whole thing was about to begin. I felt like passing out, but my brain refused any of this sort of business to happen.
But when I saw my bride walk down the aisle, my eyes began to get moist. I wanted to chalk it up to my bum, painful foot, but it was seeing Gina in her dress with these little kids throwing pedals (plastic ones) and all that was quite the emotional moment for me.
The Rev. K. Bacon Martini gave us the kind of speech we wanted: short and sweet so we didn’t have to stand there very long. All these people looking at the two of us was somewhat unnerving.
But I kissed the bride and the two of us wanted to relax. No one informed us about all the photo taking that follows weddings.
My friend from college, Kai, was our official photographer. He was running every which way taking hundreds of photos all day and well into the night.
We posed all over the place, with friends, family, here, there, get in the Minneapolis crew for a group shot, college photo, with parents, with uncles and siblings. To be honest, it sort of all blurs together now.
But it was one of the greatest days of both our lives. Surrounded by friends, family and a lot of food was great. The day was perfect. Blue sky and no humidity made it all the more better.
So, thanks to everyone who showed up and those who helped out immensely. It all went great, even with my bum foot.
The reception that followed is a whole other story I will not write about. But for full disclosure: I did fall down and scuffed up my hands. I guess I was injury prone for my wedding, but it makes for a great story.