Would you like to see photos of our wedding? I would.
Andy and I were married on a little beach in Wellfleet, Cape Cod on October 10th, 2010.
I don't know how I got so lucky to marry someone that wonderful, but here we are.
And there we were.
The boys, Andy's sister and mother, my parents, sisters and grandmother, my aunt, our dear friends Alison, Elaine and Chuck, Jan, Lindsay and Alex, and Elise and Alex celebrated with us. Our friend Alex Dunn married us, and my sister Alexa did a beautiful job photographing.
We rented a house and had a small wedding of about 17.
We decorated the house with lots of colorful paper, fabric and balloons.
I ran out on a rainy day by myself and chose my wedding dress soon after getting engaged in New York. Andy proposed to me on October 16th, 2009, in front of the Flatiron Building in Manhattan. We often walked 23rd Street and Lexington Avenue together, since we had both attended the School of Visual Arts.
I didn't mean to cut my mother out of her first daughter's dress buying experience, the truth was I was so excited about the wedding I just went and did it immediately. I found a nice Oleg Cassini dress that was pretty inexpensive and a feather hair pin with some rhinestones. Andy's sister Darlene did a beautiful job on my hair that day.
I loved my satin dress with a single shoulder train.
I did my own makeup and wore a pearl necklace my father gave me.
It was brisk, bright and crystal clear.
My dad walked me down the aisle right a huge gust of wind came up from the shore.
My necklace was something borrowed, and there were blue "Veronica" flowers in my bouquet, made by a friend of the family.
Andy gave a moving set of vows about how he felt like he was Frankenstein's monster, just a shell of someone made from dead body parts until my love brought him to life. He felt like we were made for each other, (and that he hoped unlike the Bride of Frankenstein I wouldn't scream and reject him) - only the love of a real partner; a true friend; a true love - can bring someone to life from feeling dead.
My vows were taken from a letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams. I always loved their relationship and their sentiments were so beautifully expressed. Then I started blubbering so much no one could understand me. (But that's OK -- they got the idea.)
Alex did a wonderful job officiating.
Right after the ring ceremony. Andy always joked he was fat here but I didn't think so.
And anyway he always looked handsome.
I love what he chose to wear. He always had such style and taste.
I love this picture of my grandmother. Grandma Betty has the greatest laugh. (Betty & Veronica!)
It would be the last time she'd leave Iowa before being confined to the senior complex in which she still lives today.
I love this picture of Elaine so much.
It would be too windy for us to eat outside so we cozied up in the house.
We ordered Thai takeout for our wedding dinner. Andy and I just love Thai food, so we got tom kha gai, chicken skewers, peanut sauces, thai chilis, coconut rice and jasmine rice and dumplings.
Jan and Elaine wrote our names in front of a real pirate ship.
(Well, the last convicted pirate in the state of Massachusetts - he stole lobsters!)
Our cake was funfetti. We wanted lots of color around the house and made the decorations.
I always loved that Andy hated the "shoving cake in the bride's face". He told me;
"I just find that mean. I would never do that to you, even joking. It just seems rude."
That always stuck with me. Andy was always giving me small kindnesses like that.
I also loved the way the golden hour began as we were dancing and doing the cake-cutting.
My grandmother baked us the simple Pillsbury "Funfetti" cake (as per my request) and Lindsay and Alex picked up bride and groom cupcakes from Sweet in Boston. The bride flavor was carrot cake with fall spices and the groom was classic vanilla bean with a red heart. We also had a rich chocolate.
We did want a bigger ceremony but as wedding planning became unwieldy and money ran short we made it very small at the last moment.
We always wished we invited more people and had plans to have a second wedding, or renewal of vows and invite everyone we wanted to the first time plus new friends.
We didn't get to do that, but I will still look on this day forever as one of the happiest of my life. I can feel the strong ocean wind, the rich sunset warmth and his arms when we danced to Lou Reed's "Perfect Day".
My favorite people ever.
The sun reflecting off the water shines in our eyes.
Family! My parents were happy they finally added a son to the mix.
We could walk right down to the sand from the porch.
Audra put up sweet touches around the house.
We wanted the house to be filled with color...
We ate and talked and danced and played games and laughed until dark.
Everyone watched the sunset melt into the waves.
The tide was out for our wedding but the next morning it would come roaring and crashing right up over the pirate ship again.
And all too soon, it was over.
I also can't stop listening to this song, which somehow makes me feel back at the house on the beach, and the day after the wedding when everyone had left, and we walked along the sand before leaving the next day on our honeymoon in Japan. That day, the first full day we spent as a married couple, we would often say was another happiest day of our lives.
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