Wedding, receptions, and an awesome mustache.

Let's do the timewarp again!

This should (should) be my last retroactive post.  Soon the time space continuum will be back in order.  The Doctor can rest easy.

So, Monday night, December 20th, was the day before the wedding.  There was the Big Family Dinner thing.  I guess it's still called a rehearsal dinner, even if there's no rehearsing going on?  I dunno.  We had Chinese food from Dad's favorite place.  I love it too, but we had it due to a funny miscommunication.  Kate's Mom and my Mom were having lunch together a few months ago, and talking about all the weddingy plans that had to be made.  Laura asked Mom what she wanted to do for the rehearsal dinner, and Mom joked "well, David would pick Grand Buffet, of course."  The David there is Dad, who eats at Grand Buffet approximately 10 days a week.  Laura missed the joke, thinking that Mom meant that I would pick Grand Buffet, and so she started planning on that.  In another conversation, Mom brought up the question again, and Laura said "David wants Grand Buffet," so Mom got the idea from Laura who got it from Mom, and both of them thought it came from me.  I feel like I'm watching Inception again...

The dinner was good, and we all had a good time.  Kids ran around screaming, in-law-in-laws met (I wish there were a word for that relationship), and Chinese food was delicious.

The next morning, Kate came over to drive to Houston with me.  Yes, I saw her the morning of the wedding.  When she walked in the room, nieces and nephews were running around, and nieces were trying on flower-wreaths (is there a name for that?  Flowers for their hair?).  Mom saw Kate and said "Who is that beautiful girl!?"  At this moment, Olivia was trying on her flowers and thought she looked beautiful, so she declared to her grandmother that she herself was that beautiful girl.  "Olivia!"

The wedding itself was simple, as Mormon weddings tend to be.  The ceremony was very simple, followed by a bit of advice from the man performing the ordinance.  He only told us to remember the covenants we had made today, both those we made with each other and with the Lord.  After, we took lots of pictures.  Kate's brother-in-law Josh had said he wouldn't take pictures so we found another photographer.  Josh decided that he would take pictures too, so we had two photographers and lots and lots of pictures.  One of these days I'll get them sorted through and post some here.  Or maybe not.  Who can say.

After the pictures, Kate and I went to eat together at a sushi place in Huntsville.  It was pretty darn good.  Then came the reception.  It was not nearly as bad as people say.  We didn't have a formal line, just Kate and me standing in the middle of the room and people came and talked to us.  I feel like there's not much to tell about this.  Maybe when I post pictures there'll be more stories and stuff.

After the wedding and the party and all that, Kate and I drove to Madisonville where we were staying at a bed and breakfast.  We had called them earlier in the day and mentioned that we were going to be getting in late, and they told us not to worry, that the key would be in our door if nobody was there to greet us.  I remembered from the website that some rooms opened directly to the outside of the building (onto a big porch) and some opened to the inside, but I couldn't remember which we had.  I just sort of assumed that ours opened to the outside. 

When we got there, the place was locked.  I could see the front desk through the windows, and nobody was there.  It was late, we were tired, and we were locked out.  Kate sat in her dress with her bags on a bench on the porch while I walked around the building trying to find a way in.  Eventually I found a couple around back who had stepped out to sit on the porch and drink some coffee.  The husband was named Sydney (I think) and really looked the part of a good old gentleman from Texas.  Bolo tie, cowboy hat, and mustache. He let us in the building, and even carried Kate's bag.  What a guy.

When we got inside, there was our key sitting in our door as promised.  I appreciate their help leaving the key there, but I kind of wish they had told us "you can get into your room, but good luck getting into the building, suckers!"

The next day, we drove to Daingerfield for another reception.  More of the same, but less formal.  Kate hung out with her friends and I sort of wandered around trying not to look too lost.  And that's about it.