Photographic evidence

I'm back! We finally went to L.A. to pick up the proofs of our wedding pictures. I just finished going through our photographer's favorites, and I'm a total mess. Every picture either made me laugh or cry (or both at the same time), and as self-absorbed as it sounds, I totally fell in love with our wedding all over again. My favorite pictures are the ones where people are just grinning like idiots and dancing like fools. While the people in the foreground are fun to look at, what I love is getting real close to the picture to see what's going on the in the background--the people who have no idea they're being photographed. Love it. Our photographer, by the way, is fucking brilliant. We have these awesome shots of us and all our guests right after the ceremony. I can't pick a favorite out of that bunch--it's a toss-up between the one where everyone is cheering and the one where she told all the couples in the bunch to kiss. I feel like a voyeur (but not the gross kind) going, "Look! There's so-and-so kissing! And they're kissing too! Awww!" Better, though, are the reactions of the people not part of a couple. It ranges from genuine put-out looks, to mock grimaces, to people lunging at their friends, trying to lay one on 'em. Hee!

So I never really blogged about the wedding, partly because I didn't know what to say. For a few weeks after, I felt overwhelmed and at a loss for words over the whole thing. I think I was afraid that whatever I said couldn't really express how I felt about that day. But seeing the pictures 3 months after the fact reminded me of how much I loved our wedding, so here I am.

In short, our wedding rocked and there was no way I could've predicted it. Because in all our careful planning and orchestrating, the one thing that never occurred to me was that there would be people there. I mean, duh, clearly I knew there'd be people--we invited them. But I forgot that these weren't just butts in seats and steaks vs. salmon vs. vegetarian meals. These were people who love us and were genuinely happy for us to be getting married. All of them had set aside six-plus hours of their lives specifically for us and many of them had TRAVELED from DISTANCES to help us celebrate. These people drank and laughed and danced (and danced and danced) and ultimately, that was what made our night. I mean, the ceremony was beautiful and I was really happy with how we'd planned the whole night, but in the end, that was all just icing, because now, looking at the pictures, what's captured isn't the table settings or the flower arrangements or the programs (though I loved all that). The thing that stands out in all the pictures is the joy and fun and excitement and love that was emanating from everyone there. I think the one picture that made me both cry and laugh the most is the one of everyone in my extended family on my dad's side: they're all cracking up--like, doubled-over, slapping their legs laughing--at a joke I made during my vow. It reminds me of our best moments together and it epitomizes what we wanted our wedding to be. And it was.