Tuesday, March 27, 2012

It was the happiest day of my life...



There are moments from Saturday that will forever remain in my mind. Seeing Faith being brought down the aisle by her (and now my) father was such an incredible sight. She was the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen. The night before we’d had a lovely time at the rehearsal dinner hearing stories from our families and friends and seeing how excited they were about our marriage. It’s such a lovely coincidence to make your family proud of you simply for falling in love with a person that you want to spend the rest of your life with. Faith and I have been a part of each other’s families for a while now, but it was nice to have them all in the same room together.


Let’s get back to Saturday. When Faith’s dad reached out and shook my hand before handing me his daughter he looked me in the eye and said “We love you.” He then placed Faith’s hand in mine and she and I proceeded to enter the covenant of marriage in front of God and so many friends and family members. The service was beautiful. The music was perfect. The décor was wonderfully personal. Our wedding party stood tall and looked great : ) At the reception I saw so many faces I didn’t expect to see. So many people traveled long distances just to witness our marriage. I tried my best to see everyone I could! I wanted to thank every single person for being there and I hope I got to most. After the reception winded down we stepped out into the courtyard for photos. The weather was incredible! We can’t wait to see those photos!

We left the church and drove, as husband and wife, to the after-party. There was Greek food, dress cutting, laughter, and sitting (probably my favorite part at the time) downstairs in the old pool hall area. Then it was time for us to make the trek upstairs to the Dreamland Ballroom. Faith and I couldn’t have found a better place for an after party. Dreamland is equal parts Faith and Jeff. My sister in-law, brother in-law, and Alana had all helped me set up the ballroom and it looked amazing! My band started playing as the sun went down. It was a wonderful feeling to play on the same stage that Louis Armstrong, Etta James, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, and so many others had played on so many years ago. At the end of our set we played The Beatles’ “Birthday” as a surprise for Faith. I ran to the back and grabbed a confetti cannon I had secretly purchased and ran down next to Faith and sent confetti flying into the air. As it rained down on us, I grabbed my wife and planted a big kiss. We spent the rest of the night dancing and laughing with friends and family. Dad even came and danced a while! It was a magical evening.

I have thought about Saturday a lot over the past three days and I can honestly tell you that it was, by far, the greatest day of my life. I have never felt so incredibly blessed. I can’t wait for every adventure that Faith and I will have. I’m so lucky to have her.

(Pictures to arrive in about a month)