Our wedding week... day by day...
Saturday we flew to Fort Lauderdale from Pittsburgh. It was 38 degrees in Pittsburgh and 79 degrees at our destination. My sweater and boots left me sweaty and uncomfortable. As Kory and I drove from Fort Lauderdale to Miami in our rental car, we listened to the Christmas radio station, and marveled at the palm trees and temperature gauge on the dash.
Miami is a wild and entertaining place, unlike any I have ever visited. The Hispanic influence is undeniable. The streets were literally filled with couples salsa dancing, moving to the beat of the blaring music. "Hola!" was a far more common greeting than "Hi!" or "Hello!" Equally interesting, in the same scene, million dollar yahts line the horizon while beggars line the sidewalks. The Christmas season and summer months climate didn't seem as surprising after that outing.
Sunday afternoon the guests began to trickle in. Kory and I spent the morning running last minute errands before heading to the local airports to start retrieving our guests. (The hotel is in a prime location, directly across the street from the Port of Miami. Getting to the hotel was the tricky part... or so we thought.) That evening we met up with a few our our friends at the hotel bar, before retreating to our gender specific hotel rooms to get a good night's sleep before we set sail the following afternoon.
Monday morning was impressively chaotic. Jera and Jazzie were passing out our wedding themed tshirts while Kory was taxing people around the city so they could collect items left behind. I was trying to coordinate the luggage transportation to the port. The plan was for our guests to walk across the street, to the port while Kory drove everyone's luggage in the rental car. To my dismay, the hotel matridee revealed that while the port is only 1/4 mile away, a sidewalkless 8 lane highway is a part of the trek. Somehow we'd received incorrect information. Luckily the hotel was able to provide a shuttle for a small fee. We were happy to pay $5 per person to ensure that they got to the port safely. The driver was happy to double charge each guest and collect that $5 a second time. This was a bit disheartening.
There was all kind of drama as our guests boarded. Kory had forgotten our passports in a backpack that he directed Marc to check in. Luckily, Marc was able to hunt down the backpack. Crisis overted.
I would find out later, that my dad and aunt, with their Scottish birth certificates, nearly didn't make it onto the ship.
Once we were all on the ship I could almost literally see the weight lifting off Kory's shoulders. I have never, ever seen him so stressed out in my life. We laughed about the stress - and how we would never try to plan a vacation or transportation for 60 people again. As we discussed our relief, we ran into our friends and family one small cluster at a time.
That evening Kory and I had dinner separately with different groups of our friends and family. That evening, my sisters spoiled me rotten. They rubbed my feet, painted my toenails, etc. It was incredible to have some time with my 2 sisters - how rare it is that the 3 of us are together. It is such a treat.
Tuesday morning, the ship docked in Key West. While I wondered around the ship aimlessly until I finally attached myself to Aaron and Brandis' group, Kory spent the day with Marc. Key West is one charming little town with lots of fun boutiques and shops. We found out that the formal, dress up night was actually that evening.
When we all got on the ship, we headed to our rooms to primp and prep ourselves for the fancy affair. While Jazzie straightened my hair, Carrie did my makeup. I felt like royalty. They were amazing. Then my prince charming showed up at my door with a perfect red rose.
Dinner was awesome! After our meal, my maid and matron of honors (my sisters) had planned a sweet little lingerie party. Jazzie had even managed to sneak some sweet homemade treats onto the ship! All of the ladies in our group gathered in our tiny suite with their hand picked lingerie in tow.
During the party, I noticed Jazzie started to look as though something was wrong. When all the guests left, she went into full out sick mode. Instead of joining us at the comedy club, she stayed behind. When we returned, I found my poor little sister more ill than I'd ever seen her. My immediate response was to go find our mom. Our conclusion was that she must have eaten something that just didn't sit well with her.
Wednesday, Jazzie and I woke up early to a sunshine attack. We were both dripping in sweat. I went out on our balcony to find temperatures far warmer than we'd expected. At 8 am, I would guess that it was nearing 90 degrees. In the shining sun, I would say it was creeping near 100 degrees. Needless to say, it was going to be a HOT day! When I returned to the room, I found my poor baby sister still feeling terrible. She apologized relentlessly for "ruining" our wedding day. I assured her, that she didn't ruin anything. I would never walk down the aisle with any of my siblings absent... we'd line the aisle with "vomit bags" if we had to. Slowly we saw her spirit lift.
After breakfast with Carrie and Aaron, we retreated to the suite where Carrie would spend hours and hours curling each strand of my hair and Aaron would snap photo after photo! As 1 pm approached, I could feel my stomach start to flip and flop more vigorously. I gathered my dress and other bridal items and headed to the debarking area of the ship. As we were leaving, I saw my big sister and her family coming back on the ship. "There has been some confusion - it is just noon in Cozumel. The cars won't be there until 1 pm." My stomach dropped. The ship had remained on Florida (Eastern) time, while Mexico is, of course, on Central time. Somehow this detail had been overlooked. Most of our guests had gotten off the ship and spent an hour in the hot sun waiting for the cars! With all the planning and attention to detail that goes into a wedding, moments like these make you feel, momentarily, like the whole thing has failed. Luckily, that moment was fleeting. My awesome matron of honor (and big sister, Kelly), went into ultra optimist mode and made me realize that it really wasn't a big deal. But still, as the time drew nearer, I could feel my stress levels grow higher and higher.
When it was finally the correct time and the vans finally arrived, we were on our way to the beautiful venue. I don't think I spoke. I was more nervous than ever before. I could not rationalize why. I was not hesitant to marry Kory. I was fully prepared. I had all of my closest friends and family with me. I could not talk myself out of the anxiety.
When we arrived at the hotel, we were escorted to a room where we would finish getting ready while the guests enjoyed a cocktail hour in doors at the resorts bar. Carrie was there to catch me when I had my notorious "bridal meltdown!" When the nerves and stress finally surfaced, I was so thankful to have Carrie there with me to talk me through it all and to lend a shoulder.
I put on my dress. The girls got ready and we were off. I got to present the parents with their gifts, and next thing I knew, the door opened and the violinist had started my song - the song I had chosen to walk down the aisle to. My dad grabbed my hand, "You ready?" Before I knew it, we were down the aisle and my dad was hugging me while Kory tugged at my hand. It was a blur. One of the images that I recall is that all the men were absolutely dripping in sweat. Next thing I remember is, "You may kiss your bride..." and we were headed back down the sandy aisle, hand in hand, feeling as though a massive weight had been lifted off our shoulders.
Our ceremony was officiated by one of Kory's best friends - Marc. He did an amazing job making the ceremony personal, sentimental, and of course, funny. Marc's participation in our special day meant the world to us. It was especially meaningful because he had to leave Angela, his pregnant wife, to be with us. We missed Angela, terribly. And we will be forever grateful for their selflessness and love.
The rest of the day, we ate, danced, took pictures, visited with our guests... in the most beautiful setting. It was wonderful to get to keep our reception outdoors, on the beach. Shortly after the ceremony, there was a brief drizzle of rain. Somehow I found this unexpected precipitation so charming. We've all heard that rain on a wedding day is good luck - and luckily it happened after the ceremony, when I was in a relaxed state of mind to find the humor and sweetness in it all.
Kory and I had learned to foxtrot. Our dance floor turned out to be on the beach, on a hill. And my dress had not yet been bustled. Let's just say... it was not the graceful dance we'd hoped for... but a clumsy, hilarious mess.
At 8:00 pm, the vans returned to transport us back to the ship. It was over. We were married. Married and happy. As we walked from the van to the ship, Kory gave me a gift. He had found a ring that was very similar to my promise ring that he'd given me years earlier. (Unfortunately, the original was lost/stolen when I was at work a few years back.) It was the PERFECT wedding gift. And the perfect end to what I will remember (thanks to the videos) as an amazing day!
Thursday was Thanksgiving. Kory and I sported matching Cozumel t shirts. We spent the day mingling with our dearest friends and family and enjoying our new married status. When we returned to our room to change, we found a "Happy Honeymoon!" heart shaped cake. It was the sweetest surprise. And delicious! (We found out later that Kory's mom had ordered the cake for us. ) When we were done enjoying our edible surprise, we headed to a Carnival cocktail hour followed by a somewhat traditional Thanksgiving dinner. YUM!
That night we said goodbye to many of our guests that had early flights the following day.
Friday we returned to Miami. We were fortunate to run into many of our other guests before we left the ship and have the opportunity to thank them for being a part of our week long wedding celebration. When we'd finally all gotten off the ship, we headed back to the Holiday Inn, where we'd stayed earlier in the week. We met my big sister and her family there - before heading out on our Alligator Adventure.
The week was better than we could have ever dreamt. We are so thankful that so many people put for the effort and money required to be with us! We will cherish the time we got to spend and memories that were made for the rest of our lives.
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