Woke up around 9. Good thing too, we wouldn't have made it in time to anything. Thank goodness for B12 too. We all woke up slowly, took showers, and generally never felt rushed. Chris and Heather, and James all met up at IHOP for a good way to start the day. When we walked in, they lady keeping track of tables said the wait would be about 40 minutes. What a buzz kill. Luckily, Chris had gotten there earlier and they called his name a minute later, so we were seated without issue. Perfect timing. We all placed our orders, caught up on the good times, and received our food. Chris led us in a prayer to bless the food and the day we were about to experience.
We headed back to the suite and started getting dressed for the ceremony. I had to show a couple things to everybody, but no major problems. Ray thought he was going to suffocate in his vest, until he figured out you can adjust how tight it is. We all sharpened up very nicely, and started getting nervous about getting to the church on time, so we half-assed the handkerchiefs and just started driving. We did the car swap at HEB and I drove the last few miles to the church.
Once there, we spent time with all the groomsmen in a room, and took some pictures. This was a little stressful because it was literally a room designed to watch the clock reach a certain time. We cracked some jokes and tried to just relax. Nex thing I know, we are making our way up to the alter.
The ceremony went mostly perfect for the first half, then near the end, all the tension was building up that something HAD to happen. A few words fumbled, a few miscues, and some audience laughter to relieve the tension. I actually felt a lot better about the audience laughing.
I walked with Damaris back to the bride's room, and celebrated the completion of the marriage with the entire wedding party. Then came picture time. I could tell some of the groomsmen were getting antsy and wanted to take off the attire.
Marisa, Ray, Damaris and I jumped in a 1940 Limo and cruised in style all the way to the reception hall. We had to do a drive-thru, and the place we picked? Golden Chick. Woo.
Once we were at the reception hall, we realized we had quite a bit of time to kill. Sat around, walked around, goofed around.
The sound guys called out Damaris' and my names, and we walked out to greet everyone. Ray and Marisa followed shortly. Dinner was fantastic, but then I started getting nervous. My toast was coming up, and I'm terrified of speaking. (Side story: I used to not be so worried about speaking or presenting in front of groups, but once I took Speech class in high school, which tells you all about what to do and what to not do in speaking, I became paranoid that I was going to mess something up, and I've never healed from that) Good thing I typed out pretty much everything I wanted to say. I could barely hear what Damaris said before me because I was so worried about blowing chunks. My turn was up and I just took a deep breath and went for it.
First off, I'd like to thank everyone for celebrating this wonderful day with Ray and Marisa, whom I refer to as "the happy couple". Ever since I started blogging a few years back, they became what I like to call "the happy couple". I'm not saying that they are perfect and everything is always happy, but more that they are happy with each other through the ups and downs and the trials and tribulations of life and their relationship with each other...and that is proof to me that they belong together.
I met Ray in 8th grade, back in the year 2000, practicing for a CPMS symphonic band competition. He was chosen at the last minute to join the top band for this competition in order to fill a gap made by another player. He had very little time to learn the music and he genuinely impressed me with his beautiful performance under the unusual and difficult circumstances.
Then we moved on to high school. Here is where I give a ton of credit to Ray for opening my ears to new styles of music. He would always point me to new artists and new songs and even gets the credit for introducing me to the now well-known band 'Tool', just as they started hitting their stride and taking things to different levels. He was also key in jump starting my interest in music composition, and culturing a love for music of all kinds. Those are things that will stay with me forever.
Also in high school, our common friendships converged into a group that we refer to as "The Krew". Crazy as it may sound, before long, the 'Krew' was most easily compared to the classic power rangers. (For all those who know the different types of power rangers, I am just referring to the first version of rangers released to the US). Matt, with his intellect, was the blue ranger. Chase, with his smooth talking, was the black ranger. Ray, with his stunning looks, was the pink ranger. Chris, with his noble and fearless leading ability, was the red ranger. Paul was the outsider, but also a welcome addition; he clearly fit the green ranger's role. Me, with my crazy antics and unrefined combat abilities, was the yellow ranger. If you have been keeping track so far, Ray is the pink ranger and I am the yellow. For those that may be unfamiliar with the group, these are strangely enough, the two female power rangers. I guess this helped define the brotherhood, or should I say sisterhood, that Ray and I now have. I wouldn't replace it for anything.
So with the historical stuff being shared with everyone here, I'd like to raise a toast to Ray and Marisa for having an amazing wedding on this most beautiful day in November. Maybe one day the Krew will be fortunate enough to defeat Rita Repulsa or Lord Zed and maintain happiness on earth. One thing is for sure though, the "happy couple" is now happily married and will charge into the future making many new and everlasting memories together. I love you guys. Cheers.
So glad once that was over, still had thoughts racing in my head and still couldn't really hear what everybody else was saying. Next up, partay! The dance floor stayed rockin the entire night, lots of mixing old and new. Amazing how alcohol gives you the ability to dance.
And in a flash, we were seeing the happy (married) couple off to the limo.
I took a group home with me and we listened to some tunes and passed out before long.
What an amazing day. Surreal.
