The Wedding!

What a wonderful wedding!  The celebration was one to never forget!

I left Belize on August 6th, arriving in San Francisco after 11:00 PM.  Getting through customs in Dallas was a breeze, as we were the only flight there.

On Wednesday morning, I walked across the street from the Hilton Garden Inn in San Mateo to a strip mall where I began my intensive shopping race!  With Starbucks and Target, I made a good start on getting things to take back to Belize.  Jeremy arrived with a trunk full of boxes, all things that we had ordered to take back as well.  Fortunately, Amazon uses a lot of packaging that was unnecessary for us, or we would have had to buy more suitcases!

Jeremy, who lent me the "Green Monster" (my name for his neon green Mustang), and I went to Saint Michael's Alley in Palo Alto for lunch.  It was a special time, just the two of us, catching up.  After taking Jeremy to work, I went on to Stanford Mall and found a dress to wear to the wedding!  Whew!

On Thursday morning, I went to Jeremy's dentist.  Right down the street were Nordstrom's Rack, Burlington, and Ross, so I was set for the afternoon!  I was in high gear as I bought shoes for the wedding and scouted clothes that Dave would need for the wedding and to take to Belize.  A very successful afternoon!

Judi Simpson, Dave's sister, arrived on Friday morning.  I had to return to Stanford Shopping Mall, but we somehow miscalculated our timing, so we had to have lunch at McDonalds.  There is something so wrong about a McDonalds being at Stanford Shopping Mall and worse that we ate there!

Judi and I went to Mission Bay Works in South San Jose where Jonattan works.  He gave us a tour of the facility, which serves developmentally delayed adults.  What a creative, progressive program!  Very fun to see!

Jonattan took us to his favorite salon, where he and I had pedicures and I had a manicure--with flowers painted on toes and fingers!  The three of us then met Jeremy and Greg Sharp, my brother, at the Blackbird in San Jose for dinner.

On Saturday morning, Dave, Judi and I went walking on San Francisco Bay.  What a pretty place in cool weather!  Nathan and Megan arrived in the afternoon, as well as Jeremy and Jonattan with the Honda Element filled to the brim with wedding decorations.

In the afternoon, the wedding party began arriving for the 4:00 PM rehearsal.  Rob Rojanasathit, a friend of Jeremy from Johns Hopkins University, presided over the rehearsal.

After the rehearsal, people enjoyed greeting one another in the lobby before heading to the rehearsal dinner at Little Sichuan Restaurant in San Mateo.  To my excited surprise, Debbie and Chuck Real arrived to join us!  It was great fun talking.  The restaurant was not prepared for our big group, though they had confirmed our reservation, so things moved very slowly.  Amusingly, a table of people was seated in our room, and they looked a little like they had no idea what had happened to them!  We were a jovial group!

On Sunday morning, more guests arrived, including Stan and Candace McKenzie from Seattle.  We had brunch while Jonattan and his friends were busy decorating the wedding room and the reception hall.  Jonattan went to a wholesale flower mart, and he designed all of the bouquets that we carried and wore, as well as the flowers on the tables.  He had candles and hanging lights.  It was really a spectacular room (which I snapped a photo of before all began).

Guests for the wedding began arriving, sipping on wine in the lobby before the event began.  The San Mateo Hilton Garden Inn, which employs a number of friends of Jonattan, was an absolutely wonderful, welcoming place!  The staff bent over backward to have things perfect for us, essentially shutting down their operation for Sunday evening as Jeremy and Jonattan's big group took over the space.

The Best Man and Mom

Megan Daley-Brown and parents, Bill and Kathy Daley

Jonattan, Nathan and Greg Sharp

Soon the music began and the very large wedding party began entering.  The music was wonderful, but I don't remember all of it.  I do know that Jonattan walked in with his brother, Richard Chua, to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, which produced tears in Jonattan and a few others!  But I smiled throughout the ceremony, just thrilled that the day could happen!

Jeremy seats his parents

Rob brings a moment of humor to the vows

Vows being recited

Following the wedding, the guests gathered again in the lobby for drinks and conversation while pictures were being taken.  And the photo booth was in operation!

Stan McKenzie, the Daleys, and Nathan

Judi Simpson, Debbie & Chuck Real, and Greg Sharp

The photo booth in action!

The party moved to the beautiful reception room.  Jeremy and Jonattan thought that a certain percentage of people invited would be unable to come.  To their astonishment and delight, almost everyone came!  (Quite an honor to the couple!)  The room was packed with tables, as was the patio.  Nathan introduced the wedding party and the grooms, who arrived to cheers!

The toasts began, with Nathan giving a moving toast of his brother's courage and of Nathan's pleasure that Jeremy has found his partner for life.  He had many in the room in tears!  Others, including Richard, Dave, a high school friend of Jeremy, and a forsaken ex-romantic love gave moving or hilarious toasts as well!  And the wine at our tables, from Jeremy's collection, was wonderful with which to toast!

The wedding combined U.S., Filipino and Chinese traditions.  The gifts came in the form of a money tree, decorated with red Chinese envelopes!  The food was wonderful complete with a whole roasted pig!

Roasted pig!

Dinner and bouquet

Reception dinner

Time for the first dance!  And then the dance with the mothers!  Since Jonattan's mother is in the Philippines and could not attend, he chose Candace McKenzie, Jeremy's godmother and a close friend to the two of them, to be his stand-in "mom."

First dance

Dance with the moms

And finally, cutting the cake and throwing the flowers!  

Everyone had a joyful celebration, sharing this most important landmark for Jeremy and Jonattan, for our families, and for our society, moving in a direction of acceptance of the love and commitment of all people who choose to marry!  A gay affair, indeed!

I want to thank Candace for taking pictures with my camera, which I haven't even figured out how to use!  I thought she did a great job!