Hard as it is to believe, the wedding is over and we’re now back in Kansas after a completely amazing honeymoon in Hawaii. Everything went really really well, and and I’ve never been happier, both to be married to Jolayne and that all the planning , preparation, and stress are over. The wedding itself was a total blur, and I’d been told it probably would be. There are a few moments that really stand out though, the most important of which being the moment I first saw Jolayne coming down the aisle. Maybe someone who was there can tell me, but I have the feeling I was just grinning like an idiot. Also, I really loved how the slideshow turned out (thanks Tobin!) Pretty much everything went perfectly, except for those little things that only you notice because you’re in it and even if anyone did notice them they’ve probably long since forgotten. Of course it did snow on the day of the wedding. At the end of April. Thanks a lot Ohio. At the end of the day, the best part is just that you’re finally married and you both can relax. But not until after the reception, which is an experience not unlike being a human pinball. I think that was probably the hardest part about the whole thing, being at the reception and not getting a chance to talk to everyone. We were supposed to go around and greet all the tables, but we only got to 2.5 out of I don’t know how many, a full ballroom. You see so many people there that you haven’t seen in years, people you could spend an entire evening talking to but all you have time for is a quick “Hi, thanks for coming” before you run into someone else, or the DJ comes up and tells you its time for this or that. Ok, actually the hardest part was that we never even got to eat our cake. It was some really good cake too. Right after we cut it we began to make our rounds, and never got back to our table for the rest of the evening as our pieces of cake sat up there taunting us. Before we knew it, Jolayne and I were having our last dance of the evening (note to self: should have taken dance lessons) to Death Cab for Cutie’s “Passenger Seat” which despite a somewhat scratchy cd, I’ll always remember as one of those rare perfect moments in life. Anyway, that was the wedding. Hopefully I’ll write more about the honeymoon soon and get pictures up, but I could write pages and pages about that so maybe I’ll just let the pictures do the talking. I took over 800 though, so I think I’ll just try to get the best of them up. Also, thankfully my mom fully recovered from her illness. The doctor thinks it was some kind of inner ear virus but she’s completely better now. Thanks to everyone for their concern. Unfortunately, Jolayne came down with something nasty, most likely on the way back from Hawaii. She’s been a little under the weather, but we went to the doctor and got her some cough medicine so she’s feeling a little better. I tried to convince her that I actually said “in thickness and health” during our vows instead of sickness, and that I’m off the hook for taking care of her, but she’s not buying it. Hey, I’m still new at this marriage thing.

Comments

Comment by Dan on 2005-05-10 07:32:12 +0000

I couldn’t agree more–it’s quite the blur. Our dinner was sitdown, so we actually got to eat everything (something of a rarity I’ve been informed). But honestly, so what if things go wrong in places? It’s a celebration–not a performance. As long as everyone has fun, that’s the important things.

And yes, Laura and I both got sick during the honeymoon.

Comment by Sarah on 2005-05-10 14:52:59 +0000

I remember your grin; it was so huge I thought it was going to hurt your face. But it didn’t make you look like an idiot, it was really sweet because there was a direct correlation between how well you could see her and the size of your grin. I was really thankful that the other bridesmaids had clued me in that watching your face when you saw her would be one of the best parts of the ceremony, so I made sure to watch.

Comment by Tobin on 2005-05-12 11:54:37 +0000

We didn’t get to eat our cake either. Which was even more of a shame in our case, because ours was better than yours.

And your welcome for the slideshow. It was fun to put together, and I’m glad you liked it. (i was happy that it came out so nice too)

Comment by Carrie on 2005-05-14 02:28:45 +0000

Your face looked like it would bust open you were grinning so big when Jolayne came down the asile. Everyone sitting around me was whispering “look at him grin!” it was hilarious.

Glad you’re both back safe, hope the Mrs. feels better. 😉

Comment by John on 2005-05-16 10:20:37 +0000

Congratulations, Will! Thats soooo awesome! Its been a while since we’ve spoken, so email me your contact info.

Comment by mposko on 2005-06-05 10:55:31 +0000

Well, I would say not zipping up your fly was a little more funny then the big grin… but hey, what do I know.

My last post as a single man. *deep breath* Just be glad you haven’t been Jolayne this week, and had to listen to me announce my last X as a single man over and over. (“Well, that’s the last time I’ll go to Burger King as a single man” or “Did you see that? Last time I’ll clip my fingernails as a single man”) I’m just hanging out at the hotel right now, passing the time. I’ve got to get to the church at 3 for pre-wedding photos and then all the madness starts. Fortunately, my mom is doing much better and left the hospital earlier this morning. She’s still a little dizzy, but we’re all really relieved that she’s feeling better and will be able to make it today.

Comments

Comment by Nathan Hessler on 2005-04-23 13:16:44 +0000

congratulations Will and sorry Jolayne. 😉

At least you can say you got married in authentic Ohio weather.

Comment by Carrie on 2005-04-23 13:37:21 +0000

Woo I’m glad your Mom is feeling better!

T-minus 20 minutes!

Comment by Brett on 2005-04-25 08:11:04 +0000

Crap! I missed my last comment post to your site while you were still a single man.

Congrats. I hope all went well.

Comment by kimmee on 2005-05-04 14:44:12 +0000

CONGRATS!

i missed most of your April posts, but congratulations Will. you win at life.

Comment by Will on 2005-05-09 21:36:44 +0000

Thanks everyone!

Well, here we are at T minus 2 months and counting to the wedding. Things are moving along pretty well, but now I’m starting to realize just how quickly this is coming up. Of course Jolayne has known this all along, but now I’m finally starting to go “Holy crap, we’ve got to do stuff!” For instance, finding people’s addresses. We’ve been realizing that we don’t necessarily have the current addresses of a lot of people we’d like to invite, just because we’ve been out of Columbus for so long. We’ve got to figure out the music for the wedding too. There’s a string quartet, but we’ve got to figure out what we want them to play. Some friends of ours are going to do a song also, but again we’re not sure what yet. At the moment, we’re leaning towards something by Johnny Cash. Then there’s also the matter of figuring out what gifts to get for the wedding party. Jolayne’s got the gifts for her girls, but I still need to figure out what to get the groomsmen. I suppose I can’t really go into any more detail since several of them read this. One major thing that I’ve gotten out of the way is the planning/booking of the honeymoon, and I think it’s going to be awesome. We’re going to spend 9 nights total in Hawaii, 6 on Kauai and 3 on Hawaii. So yeah, all we’ve got to do is survive the next 2 hectic months and then I’ll be on a beach in Hawaii, married to the most wonderful girl ever.

Comments

Comment by Neal on 2005-02-23 22:50:33 +0000

/me feels guilty about not answering Will’s e-mail inquiry yet.

Comment by Carrie on 2005-02-26 04:57:08 +0000

Oooo Hawaii.

*jealous*

Comment by Phil on 2005-02-26 12:08:42 +0000

Hey, do you need our address for the invites?

Comment by Benjamin Lewis on 2005-03-05 09:51:27 +0000

Hey you stole Kaui from me I will get you Will you will regret it. Oh and by the way I dotn have any of those addresses you needed but I can find Chris’s I am sure.

Comment by Posko on 2005-03-09 14:15:21 +0000

They closed Hawaii… You’ll have to settle for a Honeymoon in Nebraska. I hear it’s a wonderfull place to go!

In the 3 months since Jolayne and I got engaged, we’ve made quite a bit of progress on our wedding plans. For example, we set the date (April 23rd) and I can’t help but feel that that’s a crucial step to take. I wasn’t aware of this, but even when you set a wedding date that’s over 10 months from the date of your engagement, planning begins immediately. Fortunately, Jolayne was aware of this (In fact, the same evening we were engaged we went to Barnes & Noble so she could get some bridal magazines). Not surprisingly, she knows lots of things about wedding planning that I was completely oblivious to. So in the time since setting the date we’ve booked the church and reception, gotten the minister, chosen invitations, she’s gotten her dress, we’ve gotten all of the wedding party lined up, planned the rehearsal dinner, (nearly) finished the guest list, and most recently chosen the flowers this past weekend when we were in Columbus. We’ve also begun our gift registry, which we both agree is probably the most fun part of the whole thing. Walking around stores shooting things left and right with the barcode scanner is pretty great. With all of that I can’t hardly imagine what we have left to plan, but Jolayne assures me there are quite a few things to do still. Its still so exciting to think of being married to Jolayne that time just doesn’t seem to be passing fast enough. I know I should enjoy it though, because I’m sure that time will resume its standard breakneck pace soon enough. When we were in Columbus over the weekend, we saw the church for the first time and we both loved it. Being in there was exciting and it really started to sink in that this was actually going to happen even though it seems so far away. It was also the first time I got a little nervous, as I pictured being up in front of a sanctuary full of people. I’m sure I’ll get stressed about that and other things as the date approaches, but since the end result is that I get to be married to the most wonderful, amazing person that makes it more than worth it.

Comments

Comment by Dan on 2004-09-06 18:25:46 +0000

Man. Tell me about it. We’ve (I use the term “we” liberally… I actually mean “Laura for the most part”) have only 6 months.. crap.. 5 months I have yet to experience registry joy, however. I have been informed that it is quite the experience.

Comment by Tobin on 2004-09-07 08:11:27 +0000

I remember when you used to tell me that *I* was the most wonderful, amazing person.

Comment by Posko on 2004-09-08 19:43:08 +0000

Another announcement… Will would like the Groom party to wear their Birthday-Tuxedos. Not sure if that includes shoes, tie, and a cumberbun (sp?).

Comment by Ben Lewis on 2004-09-09 17:00:51 +0000

Will I thought you thought Morrissey was the most amazing person on the Earth. This post says your marrying Jolayne. What gives?

Comment by Will on 2004-09-13 23:16:35 +0000

Dan – You bring up a good point about the use of “we” in contexts such as these. In my post feel free to s/we/Jolayne.

Matt, I believe the correct spelling is “cucumber bun”.

And yes, it would appear that I have some explaining to do to Tobin and Morrissey. Probably Björk too for that matter.

Comment by Carrie on 2004-09-14 02:26:22 +0000

Chicks know way more about wedding planning then men EVER will.

We’re hard-wired to know this stuff … anything that involves being the center-of-attention/Pretty-Princess-for-a-day is passed to us in the womb from our mothers.

Yay weddings!