AntiNEC

Wow, so much to talk about, so little motivation. But I feel I should sum up the last 3 weeks to my adoring fans who frequent this website (do I hear crickets?)

Alright, lets start with, oh, I dont know, how about the new ring on my finger? Yes, the wedding has come and gone. Never again do I want to experience another week as hectic as that one. The strange thing was that I was not nervous at all before the big day. Was able to get a decent 5 hour sleep after I finished writing my speech.
I think the best way to describe that day is with a timeline:

June 16 - The day before. Wake up at 8AM (early for us), go to the hotel to drop off most of the things we needed. From there, off the to gardens for the ceremony rehersal (25 minute drive). All goes well there, back to the city to pick up the flowers and DJ equiptment (30 minute drive each way), then over to St. Albert to drop off some flowers for the cake (20 minutes). I think we used about half a tank of gas just driving around town.

That evening we had our relatives and wedding party over to our place for a get together. Was nice enough, everyone left around 10:00...that's when 2 of our friends came over a wee bit late to visit. That brought it to around midnight, when we had to try to write our speeches. Off to bed at 2:30am.

June 17: The day has arrived. All 5 of my groomsmen show up on time at my place to get into their tuxedos. We hop into the limo about 90 minutes before the show starts. We are at the garden for an hour, then guests start showing up...11:00 rolls around, still no bride or bridal party. Hmm...11:30 and they show up. Guess she didn't grab the next flight to Okinawa after all :D

Ceremony goes off very well, only a few verbal faux pas noted. We then proceed to the most painful part of all - photos! Pictures of all the guests, the parents, grandparents, bridal party, me and Nadu, me and my buddies, Nadu and her friends, Nadu with a tree - Aaaaaaaaa, so hungry!!!! You know it's time to go when I see a bird fly by and wonder how it would taste.

Next stop driving back into Edmonton is the lunch. Lets look for a nice place to eat on this special...oh screw that, it's A&W time! I footed the $50+ bill there since I'm such I nice groom - and proceed to forget to buy Nadu anything. Whoops. Luckily one of her bridesmaids had a rice ball in her purse. Now that's prudent planning!

Next up it...what? MORE PICTURES? I think the patrons of the limo are about to revolt, the results of which would make the Whyte Ave riot look like a day at the county fair. But we did manage to talk them into it, as we had the coolest spot ever - Rexall Place 2 hours before game 6 of the Finals! We also took some pictures at the legislature, where I proposed to Nadu. Awwww.

Finally, on to the hotel. Ah, but not time to relax yet, of course. We all jump out of the limo and into the hotel, and start setting the room up. Centerpieces, DJ equiptment, guestbook, etc, etc, etc. Finally we finish, and head up to our room for a second of rest. What? Clock says it's 5:00? Dammit, gotta head back down, the show is about to start. We get down there, and it turns out the clocks in the rooms are all a half hour ahead. I tried to hold back my tears...

So we start, and - here's what makes this the coolest wedding ever - we turn on the hockey game. So during supper everyone's eyes are not focused on us, but on the TV. Now THAT'S how you relieve the pressure.
I thought it was funny how after people were done their meals, they started gravitating towards the tv in the front, trying to get a closer spot. Some people even were bringing their plates with them, eating standing up! And of course, the Oilers won 4-0 to get the evening off properly :D:D

During the intermissions were the speeches by my dad, Nadu's dad, and our friends. Not too many embarassing stories about me from my buddies, since incriminating me in turn incriminates them. My dad gave me the gift of the night, a clock and pen holder with the label from our old NEC computer. The AntiNEC was quite moved.

Nadu and I did our speeches. She was first, and I knew it would be an emotional one. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house. I saw tears coming from people whom I didn't think had tear ducts. It was very nice.
So next I come up. Well, I'm not the emotional type as most of you know. I managed to lighten the mood with my words. I thought it went over well.

The rest of the night was filled with dancing and drinking and eating and talking and drinking, and for most of my buddies, a bunch of drinking. Ah, the Jagermeister flowed freely that night!

So, that's the story. A fantastic wedding that went almost too smoothly. But, that's what you get when this guy's in charge of planning. Am I right? Yeah, that's right.

While all did go well, a full 50% of credit goes toward Nadu, who kicked my ass into gear on more than one occasion. And she found these wicked rings from Okinawa. Yesterday I almost lost it at the Godsmack concert...I guess it takes some getting used to :P