Bride's Blog
May 18, 2007 - The Day Before the Big Day!
Today, I got up at 7:30AM. I got showered and dressed and drove to "Beautiful Nails". When I walked in the door only one woman was there. The shop had just opened. I told her I had an appointment for a manicure by Molly and a pedicure but someone else because Molly was not open for both. The woman looked at the schedule, over and over. My name was not there. I felt my pulse pounding in my head. I had called the day before to confirm and to check to see if they would apply the fake nails I’d bought. She was quick on her feet and decided since no one else had arrived yet, she would get me ready for the pedicure. Somehow they worked it out and an hour later I had a beautiful French pedicure and the fake nails were on my fingers and looking way better than my real nails ever looked. I paid and realizing I had a few minutes extra, I went out the door thinking about stopping into PayLess Shoes (not realizing I had sat my book and the extra nail tips down on the counter and left them). I went into PayLess, found nothing and drove home with the foam flip flops and the toe separators still on my feet. I was home before I realized I had left my book at the nail salon. I called Ray on his cell phone. He had gone with his dad to Springfield Mall to pick up the tuxes, ties, and vests. Unfortunately, they were almost home and no longer close to the nail place. I began packing my car. Ray got home and helped finish packing up all the wedding stuff, clothes for the rehearsal dinner, all the ceremony accessories and decorations, including the flowers. It was an unbelievable amount of stuff and it just barely fit in our two cars.
I drove back to the nail place and got my book and the extra nail tips, returned home and we left for Baltimore. Our first stop was Jocie’s house. Her friend, Kim was meeting us there to get all the flowers and the accessories. The traffic was much worse than we expected. The drive from home to Ellicott City took an hour and a half (20-30 minutes more than usual in the middle of the day). Kim and her husband met us at Jocie’s and we transferred all the flower stuff into her minivan and then left for our respective hotels. I drove to the Hunt Valley Marriott and Ray drove to the Marriott Courtyard. I got there and into the room. It was 3:30PM.
I curled my hair and put on my make-up, changed my clothes and left for Manor Tavern by 4:00PM. I got there by 4:20PM for the 4:30 Rehearsal. I was a bit frazzled, but I took a deep breath and kept going. Everyone else was there and ready to go. I gave Terry Lombardi, the Manor Tavern Event Coordinator, all the wedding stuff... the favors, the programs, the place cards, etc. We did a run through with the Minister and the wedding party. It went well. Then we all headed inside for dinner. We were seated on the opposite side of the restaurant, on an enclosed porch. Rev McNaught did not come to dinner, which made our party thirteen people. We ordered some appetizers -- Yum! Some people had salads. Then came the main course. Yum!
Joey, my nephew, was the main attraction. Joe taught him to clink his glass with his spoon. Each time he did it, I jumped up and ran to the other end of the table to kiss him. He loved it and kept clinking his glass over and over again, each time waiting for his kiss. Later, when everyone was eating he said, "Aunt Nona????" I said, "Yes?" He asked, "Are you going to have kids?" I said, "One day, I hope so." He paused, looked down and then said, "Will they be as cute as me?" Everyone broke up. Li brought me some gifts and after dinner, I opened them. One was a scrapbook that she and my niece, Danielle, put together with photos from my bridal shower. It was beautiful and fun and funny. I loved it. The other gift was very creative and unusual. It was called a "Blessings bowl". It was a handcrafted pewter bowl with special papers for writing down blessings and placing them inside. We loved it. They served dessert... a small dish of ice cream... a nice light touch. My dad gave a toast. It was lovely... not too long...thoughtful and kind. I asked Ray to give a toast. He got very quiet and anxious. After what seemed like a long time, he said he was ready. He started to talk and before three words came out, he got choked up and he looked like he might cry. I had never seen him like that, so emotional he could not get his words out. I spoke up, thanking everyone for being there and for being so supportive. He seemed relieved. Gradually, everyone left. We paid the bill, added some extra tip for Karen, the server, who did a fabulous job, and drove back to our respective hotels for the evening.
Once I got back to my room, I sorted through my things to get organized for the next morning. I filled out the room service card so I would have some breakfast early in the morning. I called Stacey to check on the flower situation. She was in her car driving away from Kim’s house with the flowers in tow. She said they all fit just barely in her car. It was about 9:00PM. I chatted with her a while and then called Manor Tavern to let them know she would be arriving shortly with the flowers. I called Jocie to thank her for her hard work on the flowers. We chatted for a bit and when I hung up, I got a call from Manor Tavern. The flowers had arrived. Ray and I chatted briefly, to say "good night". Around 10:15PM, I crawled into bed, but could not sleep. What a day! My mind was full of thoughts! I thanked God for my life, my family, my friends, and most of all, for Ray. I finally fell asleep around 11:30PM.