Whew!

It's finally over. With a little (okay a lot) of help from our friends, the big day is history, and it went off in spectacular fashion.

Things were a little worrisome at the rehearsal Friday when it seemed to rain the whole time at the wedding site. We were asked several times "What do you plan to do if it rains?" Our answer: "Get wet". We really wanted to get married outside and if it was going to rain, we were fully prepared to get wet. There's no plan B.

The weather looked like a tossup on Saturday morning. It was gray out, but there were breaks in the clouds, so I was hopeful. By the time we stopped in Lyons for gas, there was even some sunshine and I thought to myself "hey, this might just work out." I really enjoyed the drive through Lefthand Canyon up to the Colorado Mountain Ranch. It was a nice crisp morning, and I swear the trees had turned more yellow overnight. Since Kuzca was riding with me, I drove a little more conservatively and enjoyed the sites.

The pre-wedding activities at the ranch are kind of a blur. The arch was decorated, assembled, and moved into place. Nat set up his cello and started rocking out. My brother directed parking. Christine and I changed into our wedding clothes. I had seen Christine in her wedding dress a while ago, but she looked even more amazing in it on our wedding day with her halo of flowers. Even my dog got in on the action with a collar of flowers that matched Christine.

Just in time for the ceremony, the clouds broke and the sun shined brightly. It was amazing. As I stood at the front of the amphitheater I had to squint as I looked out on the crowd of our friends and family. Even with all the people, when Christine's father put her hands in mine I felt like there was nobody else around. It was great to stand up there with her while our officiant read the ceremony we put together, all the while cracking jokes to each other. Before I knew it, the deal was done and I was signing paperwork. There's no turning back now. I'm married.

We stuck around to clean up our mess a bit and it started to rain again just as I left to drive down to the Chautauqua hike. The clouds also started to roll in, and the road down Sunshine Canyon was thick with fog. It put a damper on what I had hoped was going to be "spirited" drive down in the R32, but not as much of a damper as a slow driver a little further down the hill. I was stuck behind a line of a half dozen cars going extremely slow. Unacceptable on such a fun road. When we got to the pavement there was a short straight section and I passed everyone. It was smooth sailing from there on, and I had fun cruising down to Boulder.

The rain kept up at the park and we all huddled under the porch at the ranger station while we waited for lunch to arrive. Lunch consisted of sandwiches (from Tastebuds in Fort Collins), IZZE sparkling fruit juice, and some homemade cookies from Christine's mom. By the time lunch arrived, the rain was just about finished and we were able to enjoy our tasty lunch in the sun before heading off for a hike in the park. I've never hiked at Chautauqua, and it was fun to do a hike at the base of the Flatirons.

Later in the evening we arrived at the Rembrandt Yard to help coordinate table setup and decoration. We helped a little, but really the bulk of the work was done by friends and family. It was really great to have that help so Christine and I could head off for a quick bite at Leaf (which, by the way was delicious). The rest of the evening went by rather quickly. There were dance lessons. We had our first dance. We danced with our mom and dad. We ate good food. We had some cake. It was all quite fun, but it was over before I knew it. I only had two drinks the entire night because I was trying to chat with people.

Everyone seemed to have a good time, and I hope they did. We sure enjoyed seeing everyone and throwing a fun party.

The whole day couldn't have been a success without the help of a lot of people. Here are a few:
Jamie - Thank you for being our photographer. I've only just started to go through all the great photos.
John and Annette - Thank you for entertaining the guests with some great music and introducing some of them to swing dancing.
Nat - Your cello playing was outstanding.
Adam - Directing traffic and handling the dog aren't normal best man duties. Thanks for handling the odd jobs.
Christine's bridesmaids and friends - Thank you for help out with a the little details and helping keep Christine calm(ish)
Our families - Thank you for your help leading up the big day and beyond.
Shannon - I don't know what we would have done without your help. Your help in a countless number of details was priceless.

And of course my beautiful and amazing bride Christine - Clearly you did the lion's share of the planning, and you did an amazing job. Thank you for choosing to spend the rest of your life with me. I win! You mean the world to me and I can't wait to grow old with you (as long as we don't have to grow up too).