It was an early start...I tried to stay out late the night before, hoping that it would make me tired enough to sleep past 6:30 AM. My plan backfired. My eyes popped open promptly at 6:30 as usual. My mind was going a mile a minute as I was going through the day ahead. I was about to become Jennifer's husband. I was about to unite my family with her's forever. The anticipation was indescribable!
I had to be at the hotel to get dressed at 11:00 AM, so I had a few hours to burn. I did a quick workout and got cleaned up. Shaving my face that morning will forever be locked in my mind. I thought for sure I was going to gash my face and bleed uncontrollably for the rest of the day, because that would be just my luck. Wedding photos with a hacked up face, or little pieces of toilet paper on all the nicks and cuts. I eventually convinced myself that it would be nothing Photoshop couldn't take care of, but for a few minutes I was pretty stressed. I made it through with only a small nick. Whew.
We got to the hotel on time and enjoyed some Jimmy Johns before we got tuxed up. As we were eating, I noticed one of my groomsmen (who will remain unnamed) did not have on the awesome argyle socks I had given him the night before at the rehearsal dinner. This prompted me to ask, "do you have your socks?" to which he replied, "No, was I supposed to bring them?" Now let me preface the following by stating that this particular individual is a Lilly Scholar, an Engineer, and one of the most intelligent people I know. That said, he has about as much common sense as my right pinky finger.
Why on Earth would I have given him argyle socks if he was not to wear them in the wedding? Of my seven groomsmen, he was the only one who did not have his socks. Furthermore, he did not have ANY socks other than his low cut white socks. He said he assumed the tux rental came with socks. But for the gift of argyle socks the night before, this was a feasible argument. However, he had in fact received socks the previous evening, and I do not randomly gift socks to others if said socks are not a requirement.
All said and done, it turned out okay as his wife was kind enough to bring him the forgotten socks. The following picture would not have turned out so perfect with one set of pale, hairy legs and low cut white socks...
Once we were all looking our best, we headed to the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) for pictures. The B'Maids and G'Men each had their pictures taken separately, then we all got together for group pictures. That was, of course, after I got to see Jennifer in her dress for the first time in a private "reveal". She was absolutely captivating in her dress, and I will always remember that first look at the IMA. We were able to get all of the wedding party pictures taken at the IMA after I got to see Jennifer. It was the perfect setting for some really amazing pictures. Our awesome photographers, Sarah and Rachel (LinneaLiz Photography) did a great job of capturing our day. It also worked out well to have nearly all of the pictures done before the reception so as to reduce the amount of time between the ceremony and cocktail hour.
The wedding party all rode together in a party bus from the IMA to St. Luke's United Methodist Church for the ceremony. After a slight mishap involving the driver's lack of directional knowledge, we eventually ended up at the Church for family photos before the ceremony. It was great to see all of our family together in one place. We could not help but feel surrounded by love. We were especially blessed to have Grandma and Grandpa Stewart in attendance. They are a true inspiration for our marriage as they recently celebrated 70 years together!
At 4:30 PM, I married the love of my life...We could not have asked for a better ceremony! We are blessed to have two friends, Carl and Olivia, who happen to be amazing violinists. Olivia also plays the guitar and sings, and was kind enough to share her talents during the Unity Stone portion of our ceremony. We are also blessed to have our pastor, Jamalyn, as a close friend. She was the officiant, and delivered a truly amazing Homily which meant more to us than we can ever describe. Everything about the ceremony was meaningful and surrounded by love. God's love, our Family's love, and the love of our Friends. I can remember standing at the altar, looking out at all of the people who were there for us. Their love and support will be a part of our lives forever, and we are blessed to know so many people who will always be there for us.
Our Faith is the foundation of our relationship. It was important to us that we integrated our Faith into as many aspects of the ceremony as possible. We were fortunate to be able to include the Creed, and were blessed to be able to take and offer communion as our first act as a husband and wife. Communion was made even more special as a family friend, Pastor Jimmy, delivered an awesome message before breaking the bread and pouring the wine. It meant so much to have him there with us, and we will always be grateful for his support. One of our favorite aspects of the ceremony was the Unity Stone. Neither of us were thrilled about using a unity candle, or doing a more modern sand ceremony. Not that either of those things are a bad tradition, it's just that neither carries much meaning to us. We wanted something which served as a symbol of our relationship, not just an run of the mill tradition. After much thought, we decided that we wanted to highlight the aspects of our relationship: Faith, Family, and Love. We set out to find a way to model our relationship in a concrete form. Faith as a foundation, Family as the second level, and love at the capstone. It became clear that we needed a stone statue which had three levels representing the aspects of our relationship.
Susan was very supportive of our idea and found a stone sculptor in Pennsylvania who was willing to carve our three stones. He did an amazing job, and we could not be happier with the end result. We will forever have this carving as a symbol of who we are and what our relationship means.
After the ceremony, we dashed out of the Church under a shower of flower petals and sped away in an awesome BMW Z4, which I borrowed from my roommate (and violinist), Carl. We took a spin around the block, reflecting on the ceremony and how blessed we were to experience such an awesome and meaningful event with family and friends. Neither of us could believe what we were experiencing. It seemed so surreal...We were on cloud nine!
From the ceremony, we headed back to the IMA in the party bus with our wedding party. We celebrated together with our family and friends who were kind enough to be a part of our wedding party and share in our love. A quick drive and a few bottles of champagne later, we were back at the IMA for a few more pictures. Then, it was on to the Deer Zink Pavillion for the reception!
There was a cocktail hour of which we were able to catch the tail end. It was great to catch up with guests and talk to everyone for a few minutes before we headed in for the reception. After a few drinks and some conversation, the reception hall opened and our guests took their seats. I still have a difficult time convincing myself that the reception was actually ours, and took place in real life...It was absolutely gorgeous! The wedding party was announced and introduced to the tune of "Your Touch" by The Black Keys. Jennifer and I made our grand entrance and immediately cut the cake. I was responsible for making the cut, and I completely botched it - I cut a sliver so small we could barely get the cake server underneath it! We were able to wrestle out a piece and share our first bite together. We did the champagne toast sans champagne (as the flutes were empty) and headed back to our table for the served meal!
There are not words to express how great of a job Kahn's catering did for our event! The food was incredible, and the service was top notch. We went for a plated meal consisting of beef tenderloin, potatoes, and veggies. My description does the meal absolutely zero justice as it was far more elegant than I am able to put into words. Everything about the food and cake was perfect!
The toasts followed the meal. First up was Heather, Jennifer's best friend and Maid of Honor. She did an amazing job with her speech! She was able to reference a letter that Jennifer wrote to her future husband while in high school. It was classic! To have a friend that has known you for so long and can speak about you like you are her sister/brother is absolutely amazing! Heather's speech was meaningful and entertaining. What more could you ask? Next up was my brother and Best Man, Justin. He had a tough act to follow, but also did an incredible job! He has always been my best friend, and has been nothing short of incredible. The final toast was Jennifer's father, Jim. His toast was one of the most heartfelt and incredible speeches I have ever heard in person. With Jennifer being his only girl, I know that day had incredible meaning and emotion tied to it, and everyone in the room experienced his emotion through his speech.
The final formal aspect of the evening was our first dance. Boy was I nervous for that! We had been taking dance lessons for a number of months, and I thought for sure I was going to forget every bit of what I learned! We danced to "Waltz for Jennifer" by FFH. We of course did the waltz, but it also had some foxtrot peppered in for good measure. Once we took the dance floor and the music started, I zoned in on my bride and everyone else in the room disappeared. We strolled around the dance floor, and I felt like we were on a cloud. I got lost in her eyes, and was completely enthralled. I do not mean to brag, but I do not believe I missed a single step - even when I slipped on her dress at one point! It was absolutely incredible, and we completely nailed it! Whew :) At that point, the last bit of stress for the day was gone, and it was time to cut loose and have some fun with friends and family!
The live music was masterfully played by Souled Out Band. They pumped so much energy into the room I could hardly believe it! They did not miss a single detail, and at one point even got out wood blocks and cowbells for the kids to play! It was so much fun dancing the night away to their music. And dance the night away we did. At one point Jen and I noticed the dance floor clearing off and the room emptying out...We were wondering where everyone was going, but then looked at a clock and realized it was almost midnight! So. Much. FUN!
April 28, 2012 was one of the most amazing days of my life! I am guessing the only day(s) that can even come close to it will be the day(s) our future child(ren) enter this world, and believe me, there will be many future children since the only way we can ever show enough gratitude to Jim and Susan for such an awesome day is to fill their hearts and lives with the love and laughter of grandchildren! We are so blessed to have such an amazing family, and we look forward to many years showing them all how much they mean to us.
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