Recieving Line

Since we ran up from the ceremony tent to the reception area, there was nothing even approaching a receiving line. So we spent a good amount of time trying to get around and greet all of our wonderful guests. These pics are only a sampling, there are many, many more to come.

Above: My awesome Bride's Party - though Nick is kinda hidden in the back there.






Me and my cousin Rachel, who also just recently got married.






Kelly K and I catching up.







Another great one of my wedding party - Nick STILL hiding in back.








And here are the Groom's men inside partaking in part of their gift, "Scorpion Kings."

Reception Restructure

Because it was still pouring, the groomsmen and some other wonderful, amazing friends moved the ceremony tent way up the yard to join it with the reception tent so that everyone could fit comfortably without getting [more] soaked.

Get This Party Started!

First Order of Business!!

Kosher wines for our Jewish guests

Fancypants exclusive Saki brought in from Manhattan just for our redneck wedding.

Recessional

This is the point where I’m Yours by Jason Mraz* was going to play, and we would walk back up the aisle to a receiving line, to the reception.

But, as the rain effectively canceled the music and there was no aisle left with all the guests and the wedding party under the tent, we just did hugs right there.

*As a note: This was long before I’m Yours became the most overplayed song of the year – not that it bothers me hearing it often. :-)

My soaking wet father.

My Grandpa. I am so glad he was able to be there. I really miss him. He was an amazing man.

This is where my grandma headbutted Chris. (Kidding, of course!)

Signing the duplicates


And then I did some more running in the rain!

Mr. and Mrs. Gregory

My wedding gift to Chris: I let everyone call me “Mrs.” Gregory for a whole day.

Doesn’t he look like he just totally got away with something?

The Kiss!

"You may Kiss the bride."

I think the above picture is my favorite of all the wedding photos.

The Blessing

“Chris and Amanda, may you know great love together, and may you live in the desire to attain that blissful state in which each may win more richly because of the other. May you strengthen one another in all sorrow, share with one another in all gladness, and be companions to each other in times of the silent and unspoken.

“May your home help to make the world more homelike; and should you be lost in a maze of circumstance, may there be for you both a way back to the tenderness and beauty of a life together. Wherever you may be placed by changing fortune, may you be united not in word or outward form alone, but by the presence in your hearts of an ever deepening love.

“May the benedictions that rest on those who truly love rest on you, and fill you with love’s grace, both now and always.”

The Declaration

“Because Chris and Amanda have exchanged their promises of faithful love, and because in our presence they have exchanged symbols which make their covenant visible, by the powers vested in me, I now declare them husband and wife.”

“May their days be long upon the earth, and may they live in love and joy together.”

The Marriage License

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We chose to incorporate the signing of the marriage license into the ceremony for a few reasons. We wanted to emphasize the gravity and completeness of the commitment we were making in an additional way. We wanted to recognize all the dimensions of our marriage, spiritual, emotional, and legal. Also, I never understood the idea of signing either before vows are taken or after a couple is pronounced husband and wife (or husband and husband, or wife and wife, as the case may be).

So my dad built us a beautiful table that matched the arch on which to sign, and we bought a lovely white feather pen.

(My uncle Bill with the table my dad built)

Both items got rained on.

But the Best Man, Dan, graciously ran out into the downpour again to retrieve the pen.

(For all the things it might look like, this is Chris shaking the water out of the quill after Dan ran out and got it)

And we made it legal.

Rev. Nurya

Chris

Me

Dan

And Mandy

The Rings

“What symbol do you offer as a pledge for the fulfillment of these vows?”

____________________

Picking out our rings was an amusing debacle. We made a number of trips to the Diamond District, and we scoured the internet, emailing images of rings back and forth. We didn’t have a whole lot of money to spend, but we both had very specific things in mind.

I wanted something featuring leaves or vines, something with a nature feel to it. He wanted a dark metal with the Gregory crest laser etched into it. We ended up going through Wedding Ring Originals (www.weddingrings.com) on Lex. I tried on about a dozen different “leafy” rings, and settled on the simplest one (it’s funny, at the time, I found all the others too flashy, but now I’m thinking I might have this one added on to in a few years, lol). It is absolutely beautiful.

Chris didn’t have it quite so easy. He found the perfect True Tungsten ring, but the etching technology that was within our price range was not nearly the quality we were looking for. I’m hoping to get him an etched ring for some future anniversary. But he loves the ring the way it is; it has an amazing shine to it. I had our names, wedding date, and “Always” (per the Bon Jovi song) engraved inside.
_____________________



“The circle of the ring speaks of love freely given: it has no beginning and it has no end. The circle of the ring declares the unity and the oneness of your two lives, which shall contain your devotion beyond every journey, that you may always return again to your togetherness.”




“I give you this ring as a sign of my love and faithfulness. With all that I am, and all that I have, I join my life with yours.”






“I give you this ring as a sign of my love and faithfulness. With all that I am, and all that I have, I join my life with yours.”



(And on my right hand you’ll see my engagement ring. I couldn’t settle on just one style, so I wear them on opposite hands)

Vows

26 May 09

Chris and I wrote our own vows. For obvious reasons, we both considered the vows to be the most important part of the whole ceremony. They were/are extremely personal and important to us (not that either of us finished writing them more than a day before the ceremony). When we said them, we said them to each other, and we meant every word.

Part way through saying our vows someone, ahem, said loudly, “We can’t hear you.”

To which Rev Nurya responded, “They’re not talking to you.”

This has been repeated to me more than anything else as guests’ favorite part of the wedding.

We’ve been considering putting the vows up here, and we will continue to consider it. For now, though, they’ll remain just between us. That is, until one of us gets around to typing them all out. They’re currently handwritten and living in our memory book, where they have been since the wedding.

Second Reading

Boo honored us with Oh the Places You'll Go by Dr Seuss

He had to borrow Rev Nurya's copy because his got so wet that it disintigrated. The other groomsmen were even trying to hold the sheets very delicately out for him. He was also annoyed that we picked a little bit of a tongue twister.

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the couple who'll decide where to go.
You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "We don't choose to go there."
With your heads full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down, any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.
It's opener there
in the wide open air,
Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.
OH! THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!
You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to great heights!
You won't lag behind, because you'll have all the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang, and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly you'll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don't.
Because sometimes, you won't.
You'll get mixed up of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed upwith so many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with great care and great tact
and remember that Life's a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)
KIDS, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So, be your name Buxbaum or Dowrie or Bass
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to great places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So … get on your way!