I'm pretty sure that everyone who actually reads this blog knows that my daughter got married this past Saturday. What you don't know is that I have spent most of this past month concentrating on my Father-of-the-Bride duties and have had very little time to read anything for pleasure. What that means is that this entry will have nothing to do with my usual topics but, since it's my blog, deal with it.
I'm not going to post any pictures here, but I do want to list some of the things - the brief moments, the episodes - that stand out, for me, from the rest of the Big Day's activities. So, in no particular order, here goes:
Seeing my daughter walk into her mother's living room in her Wedding dress for the first time - with her hair and make-up done. That's when I realized she wasn't my "little girl" anymore.
Walking down the aisle with my daughter and her mother. Don't know if that's acceptable, but it was right.
Handing her to her Husband-to-be. Telling him to keep her safe. Asking her if she was happy.
Seeing my brothers and sisters together, for the first time in years, at a happy occasion. Having most of their kids there, too. Being able to talk about inconsequential stuff with them was great.
Being introduced at the reception.
Watching Cousin J. escort in both of the Bridesmaids. He did it for the ceremony, but the entrance at the reception - strut and all - was priceless. We all said he was the only one who could pull it off.
Giving the Father-of-the-Bride speech. This was the main reason that I got no reading done for the last month. I had the idea running through my mind all that time, but I wrote nothing down.I put it together as I was speaking and I think it came out pretty well. People said they liked it.
My nephew, C., coming to me after my speech and saying that he knew it wasn't my original but that I had the "heart of a writer". Very much appreciated.
The Father-Daughter dance. She told me that she hadn't cried all day, until then. I told her the same. The song was by Heartland, "I Loved Her First". My daughter had it engraved on the top of a photo cube for me. I tried to keep talking so that I wouldn't have to hear the words and cry some more.
The cake-slicing ceremony.
My nephew, K., dancing with my daughter's grandmother.
The longest-married couple dance. 56 years. God Bless 'em.
The people who helped all day. 1) Debbie, at the reception hall. She kept everything running smoothly. 2) Johnny, the DJ. Did an excellent job. 3) Martin, the photographer. He was with the bride from 11:30 AM till the reception ended at 11 PM. He was so personable, and he really knew what he was doing. 4) Dom, the limo driver. I was only with him from when he showed up at the house to pick up the bridal party, till they left the church, but he exuded confidence. He told us what to do, and calmed my daughter down early on. 5) Father Desmond, who performed the ceremony. He was warm and funny and managed to make everyone feel good. (Coincidently, he is a friend of the groom's father and the chaplain at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital, where I'd met him.)
My new son-in-law saying, when everything was closing down just before 11 PM, that he understood why you often read about a celebrity punching out a paparazzi.
Just some random observations that stick in my mind out of everything that happened on the happiest day of my daughter's life.
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