I was a little concerned about the timing of the ceremony after last night's laid-back rehearsal. I was also extremely worried about making it through mass with all of the problems that I had been having with my leg, but everything went perfectly. Meg and Nick exchanged vows in front of their family and friends in a beautiful mass. There were definitely tears when Doug walked Meg down the aisle. Nick also choked up when he said his vows which made me cry as well. I was so glad that Meg was able to have a Catholic mass in the same church that Doug and I first attended over 30 years ago together. As soon the ceremony was over, I completely relaxed. I was incredibly grateful that I was able to sit through it with absolutely no pain in my leg. It was so much fun greeting and celebrating with family and friends before taking family pictures on the altar with Grandma and Grandpa. Everyone was so complementary of the wedding ceremony and just how wonderful the homily was.
The wedding reception was absolutely fantastic. Doug, Cameron, Alina and I were the first ones to arrive. We had never been in the Far Center and were instantly impressed. The layout was perfect, everything looked elegant and the staff was more than ready to hand us a drink when we walked in the door. We spent a little bit of time unloading gifts and checking in with Paula as she had been the day of reception coordinator. It was so incredibly nice to have her help. I was extremely impressed with all of Meg's decorations. They looked wonderful. The vinyl records were my favorite part, but the flowers on the tables looked lovely as well. I was also very proud of the cake that Nick and I picked out. It looked fantastic as did the vintage wedding pictures of the two families that Meg placed beside the cake.
Before dinner started, the DJ introduced the couples starting with Doug and I first. I was so happy to be part of Meg's wedding party. She picked the most wonderful songs to walk in on. They put everybody in the perfect mode. Dinner was an Italian buffet. The food was absolutely delicious, especially the chicken Marsala. It was very nice of Meg to pay attention to everyone's dietary restrictions and allergies. I was glad that there was plenty of it as many people went back for seconds. After dinner, Meg and Nick visited all of the tables and then took some more pictures. The one that meant the most to me was a photo of the entire Heinisch family. I knew that Jeanette would have just absolutely loved that picture. Since Meg didn't have a grandparent to be there with her, uncle Phil took on that role. It was just so incredibly nice.
Meg took a lot of care in picking out the first song for her and Nick. She chose Forever by the Beach boys. The lyrics were perfect and I loved watching them sing along as they danced. It was also fun listening to her college friends singing the words as well. The next dance was my favorite. Meg had picked one of Doug's all time favorite songs to dance with him. As soon as It's a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong came on, I teared up. He didn't know that was the one that she had chosen. I was impressed that Doug made it all the way to the end until he started crying. That of course made everyone else cry as well. Afterward, Nick and Nancy danced to Beautiful Boy by John Lennon. As nice as their dance was, Cameron stole a little bit of their attention when he started sobbing. I couldn't blame him as it was such an emotional day, but I also couldn't help from laughing. We had talked so long about who was going to cry first and who was going to cry the hardest. Everyone knew that it would be me to cry first, but it was the Meg that was right about who would cry the hardest. Gabrielle, thankfully, told him to "suck it up" and get out on the dance floor when the bridal party danced together to Jim Croce's I Have to Say I Love You in a Song. The last planned dance was the anniversary dance. All of the married couples joined Nick and Meg on the dance floor to see who had been married a longest. Doug and I made it pretty far and my parents almost won, but Leroy and Maxine earned the top spot by couple years. I could never tell Meg how much it meant to me that she played Glory of Love for the anniversary dance. That was the song that Doug and I first danced to over 30 years ago at our own wedding reception.
The rest of the night was a lot of fun and it went by so fast. We ate cake, we danced, Meg threw her bouquet and we enjoyed the bar. I talked to so many people and even got on the dance floor for some of our favorite songs. The best part was when the DJ played Jump Around for the Heinisch family. It was the song that got Phil on the dance floor 30 years ago at our wedding and the song they got the entire Heinisch family on the dance floor at Meg's. It was absolute blast. Meg and Nick ended the evening with Wouldn't It Be Nice by the Beach Boys. It was the perfect way to end a fantastic day that I will never forget it
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