My First Wedding!

Last September, my cousin Christine got engaged and planned to get married in June.  I was not only excited for her but excited because I had never been to a wedding before.  On Thursday, June 12th, the wedding festivities started.  After my family ran some errands, we went to pick my dad’s and my tuxedos.  We saw JC, my soon-to-be cousin-in-law there with his groomsmen who we met for the first time.  That night, we met at the church to rehearse the wedding; such as when Christine and the brides maids walk up the aisle, and the hymn that was to be sung and the procession out of the church, when the wedding is over.  After this, we went to Willington Pizza House to have our rehearsal dinner there.  The people that were there were Christine, JC, my parents, my sister, my aunt, the brides maids Catherine, Allie, and Victoria, the groomsmen, Andre, Joe, and Josh, and I and six more people.  It was a lot of fun.  We ordered cheese pizza, Hawaiian pizza, and the Widow Maker Pizza, which had meatballs, pepperoni, and sausage.  I wish I had more of it; it was great!  I had a great night getting to know the groomsmen, and despite the fact they are older than me, we had a great time joking around as we talked over pizza.  The dinner went until ten, and when we all left, we were all tired but had had a great time.

The next day was the day before the wedding, and my family and I went over to the Nathan Hale Inn to help set up for the reception.  We covered the tables with white tablecloths then blue tablecloths over those.  The rest of the time was mostly spent making the tables look fancy and setting up the dessert table; my dad, JC, and I did most of the taste-testing to make sure the food was okay!  Despite all the work we did, we all had a fun time.  We went home and got ready for the next day, the wedding day.  We were all so excited!

The next morning, we all woke up early and got dressed and got ready to go.  My mother and my sister went to get their hair and make-up done with Christine and the bride’s maids at the Nathan Hale Inn, and my dad and I went outside and met up with JC and the grooms’ men to play basketball.  We all shot to see who would be the captains.  I scored on my first shot; it took everyone else much longer, but finally Josh scored.  I chose Andre, then JC to make up my team; Josh then chose my dad and Joe.  We all had a blast, but were very sweaty by the time the game was done but of course we all forgot to bring water!  My team won 12-8, and I scored two baskets.  After this we went into the Nathan Hale Inn and took a quick and refreshing dunk in the pool before going back to our room to shower, before heading down to lunch, in our very own private meeting hall!

After lunch, we got all dressed, and then everyone, except my dad, got to ride to the church in a limo.  We joked around in the limo and it was a lot of fun, since it was my first limo ride.  Josh was the radio operator, and he was finding all the love songs on the radio; Joe did probably the best rap I have ever heard!  Josh was the usher for people sitting on the groom’s side, and I was the usher for the bride’s side, and Joe stood in the middle of the aisle to make sure people went down the sides and not the middle.  We had everyone seated for ten minutes before the bride and the bride’s maids arrived.  It was exciting for me that all of the groom’s men, which included me, got to stand on the altar with JC, not just the best man.  The service went without a hitch and both JC and Christine said “I do”, so I had just witnessed my first marriage.  After the service there was the normal receiving line, were all the members of the bridal party and of the groom’s men, and of course the bride and the groom, shook hands (or hugged) the people who came to the wedding.  We all then took wedding pictures behind the church; after this the other groom’s men and bride’s maids and bride and groom took more pictures at the church, while my family, my aunt, and everybody else headed to the reception.

Cocktail hour had just begun when my family arrived at the reception.  My parents and sister talked to one of my aunt’s friends, while I listened and munched on strawberries, cheese and crackers until the other groom’s men, bride’s maids, and the bride and groom came to the party.  My sister and I rejoined them in the meeting hall in the hotel, where we gathered together again, this time to process to enter the reception in pairs, to lead up to Christine and JC being introduced for the first time as Mr. and Mrs.  We all had to cross the dance floor, and had to do something funny as we walked across, to prepare for the first dance.  Everyone clapped and cheered when J.C. and Christine were announced for the first time as husband and wife; right after reaching the dance floor they started their first dance to the song “So Close”.  After a while, the rest of us paired up and joined in; Andre danced with Catherine, Josh with Victoria, Joe with Allie, and me with Rachel.  After the dance, we all sat down and got ready for dinner.  I was sitting next Joe.  We were first served salad, as an appetizer before the meal.  All the other groom’s men got steak, and most other people for that matter, but I got chicken with a delicious stack of potatoes.  I finished it all except for  a thin slice of the potatoes, which Joe and Andre polished off!

After dinner I talked to Andre, while Joe and Josh made the rounds from table to table.  I got to know him a lot better, and we had a quite a few laughs too.  After this I just hung around for a while, sampling some food from the dessert bar, talked with my Uncle Bob, and my Uncle Sonny, and my family and I tried out the photo-booth they had at the wedding, where you dressed up in silly costumes and had your picture taken.  After that, people started dancing.  My parents and my sister started dancing to the song “Do The Twist”.  I was waved on by them but I tried to avoid going on the dance floor, but I finally gave in before the song was over.  I surprised myself by pretty much dancing the rest of the night and with how many compliments on got on my dancing (It was actually the first time I had danced in my life!).  Towards the end of the night I did stop dancing, and started to do other things.  I watched Christsine and JC cut their wedding cake, and then, before the photo booth closed for the night I did photos with JC and the other groom’s men, and then with JC and his dad. Soon after, we had to leave, but not before taking home a slice or two of the wedding cake, and some pieces of dessert!  We were all exhausted when we got home but we all had a ton of fun!

The next morning, we got up early again to go to a brunch from 9:00 to 11:00 at the Nathan Hale Inn.  The brunch consisted of french toast, bacon, eggs, and orange juice, which was served to us by the hotel; it was all very good.   Here I got to talk to my parents, grandparents, aunt and sister, and also say a disappointed good-bye to the other groom’s men, Joe, Josh, and Andre.  Before we left though, I got to sit in and honk the horn on a 1938 Model T, that Christine’s high school art teacher’s husband owned.  It was a really cool experience!  The rest of the day we spent playing games with my dad, and giving him cards and his gift for Father’s Day.  Later in the afternoon, my aunt, cousins Catherine, and Christine and J.C. came over to visit for a little while.  My aunt and Catherine stayed longer since Christine and J.C. left for their honeymoon, where they were going to go to Sanibel Island in Florida!  Eventually my aunt and Catherine left too.  My family that night, had dinner, and then soon after went to bed, for we were all tired.

From Left to Right: Father Russel, Pastor Russel, J.C., Andre, Josh, Joe, and Me

The Wedding Rehearsal Reception

From Left to Right: Christine, Victoria, Catherine, Rachel, and Allie

Smile For The Camera

Opening The Gifts

Having A Laugh

Bride’s Maids Opening Their Gifts

The Aunt Of The Bride

The Cousins

Setting Up For The Reception

The Groom Sets The Table

Getting Fancy

Family

Letting Out The Excitement

The End Result!

Playing Basketball On The Wedding Day

Taking A Shot

At The Church

The Groom And The Groom’s men

The Flower Girl, Rachel

Bride’s Maid, Allie

Bride’s Maid, Victoria

Maid Of Honor, Catherine

The Bride And Her Mother

One Happy Groom

Standing On The Altar

Saying The Vows

Husband And Wife

Grandparents of The Bride

From Left To Right: My Uncle Sonny, sister, and me

My mom and me

The Whole Wedding Party

My Family And Me

The Reception

The Entrance

First Dance

The Dance Floor

Having Fun

The Cake Has Been Cut!

Down Comes The Bouquet!

All Smiles!

I had a blast at my first wedding, and it was even more fun since it was a member of my family!  It was fun being there at every stage, from the rehearsal dinner, setting up for the reception, the wedding day, where I got to stand up on the altar with J.C., and ride in a limo, to going to a brunch the day after.  Although it is hard to believe my cousin Christine is married, I’m glad I was there to celebrate it, and I had a great time in those four days!

Tags: 2014, Family, Weddings