Our rainy wedding day

May 22, 2014 in Travel

On March 29, 2014, Gerard and I wed.

Exactly 10 years from the very day we first met in a night club. Oh man I’m embarrassed to admit it but that is how our story began — on the dance floor. Only took us 9 years to get engaged. Can you believe it? It’s been a decade in the making.

Just fair warning, I am about to share an obscene amount of pictures! And, I thought it would be fun to relive the day in the tiny mishaps that made it extra special and all the more memorable. Because let’s face it — if we can survive our wedding twice (let’s not forget our tea ceremony), we can make it through anything. I hear it’s good luck.

Apparently, rain on your wedding day is supposed to be good luck. At least that’s what everyone kept telling us days leading up to the big day when it was very obvious it would rain. I half thought maybe we should just get married during rehearsal instead just the day before. At least then we could have had our ceremony outdoors like we originally planned. It is a big part of why we chose this venue. We were pretty bummed, not going to lie. I even cried myself to sleep that night. But then Gerard did something that gave me hope. He scoured the internet for wedding pictures taken in the rain for inspiration. Bless his heart that even in the midst of wedding day disaster, he finds the silver lining. The next day, I received an overnight package for a pair of bright, school bus yellow rain boots and a larger than life How-I-Met-Your-Mother umbrella to match. When it rains… get rain boots. Duh!

Photos by: Catherine J. Gross Photography

“It’s your marriage, but it’s your parents wedding.”

That’s exactly what our Deacon said on our second encounter. Words to remember by when you’re in the midst of the wedding venue planning. Maybe it’s an Asian thing, I don’t know, but it’s true — it really is their wedding, at least they think it is. Between my dad wanting a Karaoke machine, my mom’s last minute dress change (she literally wanted a new dress), Gerard’s mom not want to do the mother/son dance, Gerard’s dad forgetting exactly how many people he invited, we were near the brinks of total meltdown. In fact, getting all parties to agree on the guest list was by far the most frustrating part of the planning process. I laugh when I think at how the “adults” did not feel the need to RSVP to our invitation. Our parents just couldn’t understand why we needed a final headcount. “We’ll just add more chairs,” they kept saying. If only they knew..

Repeat after me.

The time our Deacon asked to repeat after him… Gerard went first. He did so well, repeated everything the Deacon said without skipping a beat. Then came my turn.

“I, Q, take you Gerard to be my husband.” Easy.

“I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health.” Yup, nailed that one too.

My voice started to get shaky as I tried my best to hold back tears. I was concentrating so hard I completely missed what the Deacon said next.

“I… Whaaaat?!”

An immediate burst of laughter erupted and I could not believe I just botched my vows in front of everyone.

Our Deacon chuckled before saying, “That’s OK. We could do this as many times as you like.”

A good laugh and a deep breath later,

“I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.”

The case of the stolen suitcase.

More like all the money that was in the suitcase! You see, we opted for cash in lieu of gifts, so we had this suitcase set up during cocktail hour for guests to drop off their envelopes of cash. Gerard’s dad was concerned about the money’s safety, so he took it upon himself to take all it without telling anybody. You can imagine the panic that ensued when my Maid of Honor found the suitcase empty. Took an hour for the bridal party to trace it back to Gerard’s dad. Moments like these remind us why it’s important to plan ahead—like setting up a secure wedding registry to keep everything organized and stress-free.

Did you cut the cake?

No, but somebody else did right before we were about to perform the cake cutting ceremony. Our coordinators hurried to fix the cut marks, turned the cake around and rearranged the toppers so it wouldn’t look obvious. As it turns out, it was Gerard’s dad who cut the cake. Gerard’s dad.. again.

Things won’t go as planned

And that’s ok, because no matter how good you think you’ve got it covered, things will go ary:

My dress was soaked. I dragged my customize wedding dress through the rain and wet grass. I was a mess and my dress, drenched to my knees. My girls had to blow-dry me down just before I walked down the aisle.

Gerard lost my gift. He set it down somewhere, not exactly sure where, the day before during rehearsal. The next day our coordinators had to search the entire mansion for a small box wrapped in white glossy paper they had never seen before. Eventually, they found it.

We argued for weeks about the dessert bar. I was adamant we had far too much while Gerard knew in his gut we did not order enough according to the 4 piece per person rule he’d read somewhere on the internet. But as usual, he let me win and did not order more. The dessert bar was emptied before we cut the cake. I was wrong. He didn’t gloat.

I walked down the aisle to the wrong song. It actually was the right song, but the timing was off. I blame this on Gerard. He sent a last minute text to our DJ which may have caused the confusion as to when to start the song.

One of us did not make it through the wedding. That being me. Trust me, I’m just as shocked especially when I was the one to warned Gerard he’d better not get too drunk at our wedding. But people kept handing me drinks one after another, and before I knew it, I woke up at 4am confused as hell. I was told I made it through the wedding. Even danced like I’ve never danced before. There were pictures. They were embarrassing. I don’t remember a thing.

I share this despite all that went wrong, we had our picture perfect wedding, we just didn’t know it at the time. A lot went right that totally made up for the mishaps: Our parents and their friends had a blast! That’s important. My mother looked beautiful in her last minute dress. Even more important. The cutouts were a hilarious hit and guests, young and old could not get enough of the flip book photo booth. The dessert bar was delicious I’m told, we never did get to taste it. But hey, at least we did not run out of alcohol! There’d be major problems if we ran out of liquor.

I would not change a thing, especially the weather. Everything worked out. Everything always works itself out especially when you’ve got a positive attitude and a good sense of humor about it. I think that’s how Gerard and I have made it through all these years. I know it’s how we will make it through the rest of our lives together.. with a smile on our face and always looking for that silver lining. Life is great.

Here, some more photos of our day!

We ordered superhero cufflinks and tie clips for the boys as their gift — Batman for the Groom, his favorite superhero of all times. Superman, Iron Man, Captain America and Spiderman for the Groomsmen. Not pictured: Chloe & Isabel earrings and matching necklaces for my Bridesmaids.

We may not have made our rounds to take photos with every guests, but our cutouts sure did! They were great at filling in when we weren’t around.

Retrieving of the garter looks painful from the expression on my face. And apparently too much for a six year old to handle judging from my precious flower girl, Winnie, the one in the purple jacker to the left.

We’d like to thank everyone for making our day so special.

And to our totally awesome vendors, without whom we would not have been able to relive our memorable day over and over again. Thanks for capturing our vision and giving us an unforgettable, magical day with our friends and family.

Photos aren’t enough? Well here’s a video.