Wedding!

I married my fiancee Ellen last weekend in Woodstock, Vermont. It was a whirlwind weekend that started with the wedding rehearsal at the church on Friday afternoon. That led almost directly into the rehearsal dinner, which was a lot of fun. Few of our relatives had attended the rehearsal but most were at the dinner; in some cases we were meeting each other's extended family for the first time. Earlier in the week, I had been afraid that I might spend all of Friday night tossing and turning from nervousness. By the end of the rehearsal dinner, though, I was so physically and emotionally exhausted that fatigue conquered nerves, yielding ten hours of much-needed sleep.

Saturday morning began quietly enough, and I made sure to eat a heaping bowl of Wheaties before heading to the church. We arrived an hour and a half early in order to get in a bunch of pictures with the photographer before the ceremony. Despite Hurricane Earl barreling its way up the Eastern Seaboard, the sun was shining and the birds were chirping. When the time came to enter the sanctuary, I was filled with excitement and nervousness, both muted by an overarching serenity.

Yet nothing could prepare me for the flood of emotion when the rear sanctuary doors opened and I watched Ellen begin to walk down the aisle. The joy and awe were indescribable. For as long as I live, I will never forget the way she looked and the way she looked at me. Though I remember keenly what was said and done, the rest of the ceremony nevertheless seems as a blur to me.

The wedding ceremony was followed by more photographs, this time with Ellen and me together with our families. After that the relatives were dismissed, and the wedding party retired to a nearby garden for one final round of photos. It was here that Hurricane Earl caught up to us, in the form of a brief but ferocious downpour. He was too late, though, as we had snapped nearly all the pictures we desired. As it began clearing up, we made our way back to Hanover for the reception.

Ellen and I both had a terrific time at the reception. An energetic cadre of friends had done a fantastic job decorating the DOC House for the event, and the decorations beautifully complimented the picturesque scenery. Perhaps best of all, though, was the opportunity to celebrate and rejoice with the friends and relatives who had traveled from all around the country to share the day with us. There were of course more pictures, plus toasts (my best man gave a terrific chess-and-marriage-themed toast), food, a slide show and naturally the cutting and first-bite-feeding of the wedding cake. And at long last, the time came for us to make our exit.

Next up for us was a night at a lakefront cottage in New Hampshire followed by a weeklong honeymoon on the beach in Florida. It was a superlative seven days. And now we're back in the Upper Valley, excited to be building our married life together, one minute at a time.

(PS: Pictures will be posted shortly.)