Ding, Dong, the witch is dead
Ummm, oops, wrong jingle...
Yup, I've actually gotten married. It was official as of December
21st of last year.
Anyone who's known me for the last 6 years knows Dawnise, and anyone
who really knows us is not in the least bit surprised that we're
married - they're more surprised that it took this long.
The Planning
So, some time ago Dawnise and I went to San Francisco and drove across
the Golden Gate Bridge to Muir
Woods. If you've never seen it - just go watch Return of
the Jedi (coming soon to a theater near you) - many of the
Endor scenes were filmed there. It's one of the most beautiful places
I've ever been. The first day we were there Dawnise and I both
decided that when we got married we'd love it to be in the National
Reserve.
The Preparation
When discussion turned to actually planning a date for the wedding,
the topic instantly became -- where are we going to have it. One of
us (I don't remember who) said - what about the Muir Woods Idea - so
Dawnise made some phone calls and it turns out you
can have a wedding in the National Monument -- it's a
$150 permit fee and you can only have 30 people in attendance.
The 30 people didn't really bother us, we were planning on a small
wedding anyway, and $150 - it's the absolute cheapest wedding hall you
can get - and far more beautiful than anything indoors.
The Clothing
A good friend of ours had, some years ago, introduced us to going to
Renaissance Faires, and Dawnise and I had decided that our wedding
would be Renaissance themed long before we decided it would be in the
woods.
Being a rather talented seamstress, Dawnise took it upon herself to
make my wedding costume, with the exception of my doublet, which was
custom made for us using the same material in her wedding dress.
Her wedding dress, on the other hand, she didn't have time to make, so
she enlisted some help. My mother was happy to lend her time to
construct the dress. Oh, did I forget to mention that my mom goes to
Faires as well? Well, she does, and anyone who knows my mom knows
that she never just "sorta" does things - she jumps in head first.
The dress was beautiful - an Irish Bodice design in a lovely berry
fabric. I didn't actually get to see the dress until Dawnise arrived
for the ceremony. She was absolutely stunning...
The Week Before
As it turns out, I had to head off on a business trip the week before
the wedding was to take place. In the mean time, Dawnise and my mom
decided to have a chat with a nice fellow from the LA Times about the
wedding. He was interested enough that it appeared in print (and far
more to my liking, in the LA Times On Line). So while I was on the
trip I got an email from Dawnise with an URL pointing to the LA times -- it seemes that we ended up in the paper (unfortunately the link has expired, so it's no longer here...).
The Wedding
We figured that being late December in SF, rain
was very likely, and we weren't disappointed. It started the night
before, and didn't let up. It was actually the start of the really
bad rains that pounded the northern coast - not sure if thats a
Good Thing or a Bad
Thing.
Anyway, by the end of the day, most of the wedding party was sick, and
all of it was soaking wet - but the ceremony was beautiful.
The Proof
I've scanned a few pictures, (thanks to my Dad, my Aunt and Uncle, and
her parents for being so snap-happy) and while looking at these, note
that your eyes are deceiving you - the wedding was not at midnight,
rather it was at 8 in the morning - her idea, not mine :)
Sorry if these come out dark on your screen -- they look great on my
workstation, but they aren't gamma corrected for a PC I guess...
I wasn't actually in the room for this one,
but something about the picture I just like.
The ceremony actually took place in a tree that had been hollowed out
by a lighting strike - we actually stumbled across it on our trek into
the woods - more perfect than either of us had imagined. Not only did
it provide shelter from the rain, but it just looked so
cool.
Dawnise and I share our first hug. The "Man in the White Robes" is
Tom Wilson - who runs the Crossroads Renaissance Festivals which occur
around Southern California. he also happens to be ordained and so he
performed the ceremony for us.
My wife (still feels slightly strange to say/type) and my sister. You
can make out the roses and beads in Dawnises hair. And under the
cloak, my sister is in garb as well -- it wasn't mandatory for guests,
but most did.
After the wedding we did have a small reception - unfortunately many
of the wedding party weren't feeling well so it wasn't exactly a
"raging party" but some friends of ours took it upon themselves to
make us a cake (thanks Mycroft and Empress :) that
was not only quite good, but was shaped as a castle. (You can just
see it a turret the bottom of the picture)
Much of this wedding wouldn't have been possible without the help of
my Aunt and Uncle - not only for actual help with the preparations,
but also for providing their support and advice, when asked. Thanks -
we love you both.
Oh, and not to forget -- thanks Courtney and Amy, for the wonderful
gift basket - it was terrific.
And thanks to both of our parents and families for their support
and assistance.
December 21, 1996
...The Adventure Begins...