to the day

We married on July 12, 2008. It's incredible that we've been at this for two whole years, and I can't think of anyone else with whom I would rather grow and learn in life. I don't have much upon which to wax philosophically (cut to a shot of everyone else breathing a sigh of relief), though we did learn a thing or two that wedding day. Practical (or don't be dumb like us) advice on weddings and the honeymoon ahead, written in my usual loquacious and minimally-edited (read: lazy) style after the break.

1. If you're getting married on a certain day, you should really go get a marriage license so the officiating minister can sign it and marry you with the authority vested in him or her by whichever state it is. We completely forgot. Minutes before the ceremony began, the pastor asked me for the license, and it, as the kids say, hit the fan (or so I thought). Undeterred, the pastor plowed onward, noting, "Not everyone will find this to be kosher [paraphrasing here], but we'll do the ceremony and get it right once you get back." On the Monday after we returned from sunny San Diego, we were first in line at the Courthouse for a marriage license, and we held a "second wedding" in the pastor's office (very private ceremony, witnessed only by the secretary; the news media was not informed). We weren't morally devastated by the state non-recognition of our marriage for eleven days; we haven't looked back.

2. Weddings are usually highly orchestrated ceremonies; ours was. Wedding receptions are a different animal. I don't easily remember much from our reception except this: our plan of methodically meeting-and-greeting from table to table was quickly dashed since people kept coming up to us regardless of which table we were visiting (the logic of a receiving line had evaded us). And while that was a little frustrating, that may be the most negative thing I could really remember from that entire ordeal. The entire day was a happy, chaotic blur. People weren't kidding when they told us that you really don't often remember much from the wedding day (they also weren't kidding when they said, "Remember to actually eat something"). That's how our amateur videographer friends and pro/am photographer friends blessed us so richly with an audio-visual account of our big day so we could actually take it in, days and weeks later.

3. If you're traveling with credit cards, (a) just bring all your credit cards and (b) pay them off more than a few days in advance. I "cleverly" left one card behind (to minimize troubles should I have lost my wallet or had it stolen; and honestly, there's a nonzero chance I would forget it somewhere; speaking from experience). We realized at 11PM PST (1AM CST, for those of you keeping score at home) in the lobby of the Westin San Diego that the payment on the cards had not yet completely gone through. The one credit card that would have cleared up the mess was sitting in the drawer of my desk at home. Instead, there was a near meltdown the likes the Tsays have never since experienced nor care to experience ever again. The guy at the counter wasn't helpful, either (the hotel's A-team isn't there late Saturday nights; go figure). Things eventually resolved (we won't be staying at Westins if we can help it; though the price-range alone almost assures it), and we stayed the week at the hotel without further incident. But count that as another lesson learned.