Blood, Sweat, and Tequila

Well, it's exciting to finally write that the wedding went off without a hitch! We piled tons of clothes, suits, one extra large and fragile wedding dress, and boxes upon boxes of homemade favors and table decorations into my tiny car and headed down to La Jolla a few weeks ago Sunday. I picked my parents up from the airport and could barely contain my excitement. Luckily for us my in-laws have a vacation rental so my family stayed in that while we stayed in the main house. For once I think I finally understood how homesteaders must have felt back in the day when all the families gathered into one compound for safety. Only we weren't in fear of anything except bad weather, ugly decorations, and Montezuma's Revenge.

Caravaning with two families (one of which does not travel a lot and one of which travels all the time) to one of the busiest airports in the world was not the most relaxing way to start the trip. We met some friends at LAX and our group finally maxed out at 13 people and 19 bags on one flight. We managed to get there in one piece and so did our luggage, and after some negotiating and paperwork we were finally on our way to the resort. The resort itself was absolutely beautiful, and the staff was very friendly most of the time. There was a large group of Icelandic/Southern/Chinese on-line gamers at the hotel with us, so I think we were really testing the limits of the resort staff. On a side note, if you've never seen an on-line gamer with a bald head and a molester moustache wearing bright orange Speedos, then you've never lived. At first we were a little worried, but their group of 600 turned out to be very nice and respectful, and I'm happy to say that we've made some friends out of the situation.

I'll go into more detail about the actual wedding on a later post, but let's just say that every ounce of hard work and agonizing over details definitely paid off. We worked well together as a team and I think we did a great job putting together an event that our guests will remember for their whole lives; I know it will go down as one of the absolute best experiences of my life.

The best part about it was the fact that we had 81 people, and not one argument or disagreement. We had people from both ends of the socio-economic, political, and cultural spectrums, yet everyone mixed with everyone else under one common bond, us. To me, that's what our wedding was all about. Sure the epic location and endless food and beverages were great. And the decor and the setting was absolutely awesome. But the friends and family who made sacrifices to share the moment with us; you guys made it for us.

They say you can't choose your family. I say bullshit. You choose your family everyday. Those friends that you confide in when times are tough and laugh with when times are good; they're just as much family as your blood. The 5 guys that stood next to me and the 6 girls who stood next to my wife are my family. My wife's aunts and uncles and grandmas and grandpas are my family. But most of all, my wife is my family. The sacred trust that we've entered into is something that ties our families together. It sounds so cheesy, but I witnessed it. I saw 81 people coming together, living, laughing, and loving in a way that I've never experienced before. And I think one of the neatest parts of the entire experience was that we were able to introduce people with different perspectives and different ways of life, and instead of judging or seperating, people really seemed to embrace their differences and realize that there was one huge thing we all now have in common; we ARE family.

And I didn't get my mariachi band, but I did get to see my wife wail on a pinata. Win.

For all my family and friends as Page and I embark on our honeymoon, we truly do love you all with all of our hearts. You guys have no idea how special of an experience you made our wedding, and you will all forever have a place in our hearts. I couldn't pick a better group of people to have by my side.