Paige's Journal Summary

Here is a collection of excerpts from Paige's bridal journal,
including her post-wedding commentary
reflecting on the event.

Last weekend, Rob and I went to Seattle to search for wedding sites. After reviewing dozens of sites on the internet and seeking recommendations from friends, I narrowed it down to 9 places (7 of which we visited over two days in Seattle). On paper, my favorites were Willows Lodge and D.A.R. house. Our favorites after visiting: Willows Lodge and The Seattle Asian Art Museum. We chose Willows Lodge. We also selected our wedding consultant: Jennifer Monteleone (Coral Rief Special Events).

The Chicago engagement party was this past weekend…what fun! It was so wonderful to see our friends and from so many different areas (geographically) and eras (of our lives). Rather than name all the attendees, suffice it to say that my closest friends from childhood, and from my various schools and jobs, as well as friends from LA and my family were all represented and traveled from parts as diverse as Washington State and D.C., New York, Ohio, Southern Illinois, and California.

I have not yet found a dress. Or, to be more specific, I have found at least two that I love but I am looking to see if I can find something similar for less. The dresses are beautiful and it is great fun to dress up. I feel like a seven year old turned loose in a princess' closet! I think I have visited most of the major bridal shops in LA/Orange County over the past month. The staff at Mon Amie in Costa Mesa were particularly helpful and they have a wide selection of dresses. Next weekend, I venture to Beverly Hills (I know, not a likely place to find a dress for less, but who knows…). After that I think I will start to focus on some of the discount bridal warehouses to see if I can find a treasure. Wish me luck…

While we were home for the holidays, we finalized some wedding plans. Dad took the day off and joined us on our vendor quest. We now have a florist: Mary Craig at Caroline Patrick Floral Design and a photographer: Bill Wright at William Wright Photography, both recommended by our wedding consultant. It was a productive day and all the more enjoyable to share the planning with Dad (and to have him chauffer us around in his limo!).

I decided on my dress! Carey accompanied me to Mon Amie in Costa Mesa where I tried it on (again) and well, simply put, it's the one. As I approached myself in the formal salon mirror, I was near tears. Carey says its because the dress is so beautiful and special (I think it might have been relief that I'd finally decided on one). Even though I enjoyed the past four months of trying on so many beautiful gowns, it is really nice to know that I found mine and that I finally decided that I could have it. Now for decisions about veils, shoes, wraps, gloves, bustles….oh, by the way, its an A-line ivory silk satin, for more details you'll have to attend the wedding.

Rob found a DJ! Brian at Wave Link Music. So that just leaves a baker for the wedding cake (and a few dozen other details to be sorted out). We are planning to do some more cake tasting when we are in Seattle in April.

By the time I was 15, I knew who would be my Maid and Matron of Honor, my sister Ashley and my friend Sarah (I planned on Sarah being married before me and Ashley after me). With each I have shared and compared views on life, been teacher and student, experienced triumphs and disappointments. Through the years, both Ashley and Sarah have been my confidant, cohort, and inspiration. They are important to me today not only as my dearest friends but also as my living history: my childhood and adolescence, my achievements and losses, my hopes and dreams.

My thanks to Sandy, Sarah and Ashley for such a lovely bridal shower this past weekend. Sandy provided a wonderful tea, with antique silver and china and a fabulous array of tea sandwiches and sweets. Rob's nieces, Hilary and Sabrina, enjoyed the strawberries dipped in powdered sugar, and I was quite partial to the heart shaped fruit tarts. The shower was filled with flowers and stories and it presented a wonderful opportunity to introduce Rob's family to more of my family and friends. We also chose a baker this weekend with help from my sister Ashley. The three of us sat down, at New Renaissance Cakes, Rob bit into the chocolate cake, and a look of supreme joy came over his face. Ashley also looked as though she had tasted heaven. Perhaps I am exaggerating, but suffice it to say the Belgian chocolate cake was probably the best I had ever tasted. We then looked through Bonnie's portfolio of beautiful cake designs, spoke with her about our ideas. By the end of the conversation, Rob decided that we had found our baker. I readily agreed.

As family legend has it, my mom and dad were married on today's date, in 1967. I say legend because they could never quite remember the actual day. That's the trouble with eloping, they did not have 20 plus months of planning to forever etch the date in their minds. While they never agreed on the date, they did figure out the important thing: how to create a loving, lasting partnership between two such different individuals.

Wedding planning continues as I am plagued by details. Do I want to wear gloves (short, elbow length or longer), what about a tiara, or maybe a wrap? Where do I find comfortable, yet stylish, satin shoes in ivory (or white, but dyeable)? I really need to start looking for a vintage purse. Accessories are on my mind. The Dress arrived and is awaiting my appointment next week to preview it as well as consider appropriate accessories. My dress consultant and style coordinator, Carey, is joining me. We might even try to look for shoes beforehand!

Undone by a two-cent stamp…. Rob and I are weathering the big issues just fine, his grandmother's death, his job change, Disney's layoffs and recent departures, changes in our honeymoon plans, but I am brought low by the U.S. Postal Service.

We accomplished quite a bit this past week. We tasted the menu at Willows Lodge. We also tasted the other cake flavors from New Renaissance cakes. Think lots of chocolate! I did a trial run with the make-up artist and hairdresser. While I am not quite ready for Hollywood, it was fun to have someone do my hair and make-up. Rob and I also met with our DJ, Brian Dale, from Wave Link Music. He was terrific and really seemed to understand what we wanted for the ceremony (non-traditional) and for the reception (no goofy songs).

The dress fitting went great. Very little needs to be done to the dress, a couple of bustles, and the hem. I was very pleased. So the wedding day ensemble is coming together. The veil and tiara have been ordered. The shoes are being dyed and the dress is getting its final touches. The rings are back, engraved, and the pearls have been cleaned and restrung. So far, so good. I just need to keep up my exercise routine and stay away from ice cream for another 55 days!

This past weekend was my bachelorette party in Los Angeles. What fun! Sarah and Ellen flew in, Ashley drove down and Carey hosted us in Manhattan Beach. Anna was also on hand for dinner Sunday night. It was wonderful to spend time with the girls. It was a pretty low-key weekend (just as I had hoped) with lots of time to hang out, relax, and talk.

Less than a month to go! As for wedding details…our ring pillow arrived from Embellishments. Dyan Emery did a beautiful job creating a pillow around a mother of pearl button from my Grandmother Dorothy's button box. My tiara and veil have not yet arrived. I am feeling some anxiety on that front, although Paulette's Ambience assured me the tiara would be here by the end of next week. Mon Amie was less reassuring about the veil. Although the veil is late, they did offer to charge me a RUSH fee to ensure that it wasn't even more past due. I declined and offered that instead they deliver my veil in a timely manner. We'll see.

Less than two weeks to go! I have had my final dress fitting - it still fits! The veil and the tiara both arrived in time for the fitting. I'd love to say it all looked great, but I am far too insecure and critical to make such a judgment. Everyone assures me that I will look beautiful on the day of my wedding. I have decided to believe them. We met (via conference call) with the Willows Lodge wedding coordinator last week and made all of our final decisions regarding menus etc. Finally, Rob and I are once again taking dance lessons for that all-important first dance. We are taking more individualized lessons this time with much better success. I am still nervous about it, but with practice we might actually be able to pull it off. Now, if we can just get the programs done…

You may have noticed that my last journal entry was September 9, 2001, just two weeks shy of our wedding and two days prior to the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, and the downing of Flight 93. Six months ago this country experienced unbelievable horror and loss. In the days following the terrorist attacks much was uncertain. Airplanes were grounded. Television coverage consisted of an unceasing loop of the tragic events of 9-11. We were, as individuals and a nation, overwhelmed by grief, fear and disbelief.

Rob and I spoke briefly about postponing the wedding, but decided to embrace life, to choose joy. We sent an e-mail to our friends and family informing them that we planned to go forward with the wedding festivities but that we would understand if they could not make it.

As a bride, you worry about many things (as my journals will attest), you prepare yourself mentally for something to go wrong. A tragedy of this magnitude was not something I was prepared for: the tearful last minute regrets of friends were heartbreaking, the disappointment of replacing a wedding party member who could not make the wedding, the craziness of constantly changing confirmed numbers and table arrangements. But my pre-wedding concerns and difficulties were vastly overshadowed by the horrific loss suffered on September 11.

I do not regret that we moved forward with our plans. The pre-wedding festivities were wonderful. The wedding rehearsal was what I expected - nobody really paid attention but everyone was smiling and I was unconcerned. The rehearsal dinner at Buca de Beppo was fun and relaxing. And, bowling afterwards with our friends and family was hilarious. The ladies' tea was lovely and I really enjoyed spending time with all the women (and Dimitri). Rob enjoyed his paintball war with the guys (although my brother took a hit to the jaw and it rained!). Nevertheless, the week's difficulties caught up with me Friday night - I did not spend much time at the planned party at Red Hook. I was too worried about dealing with the cancellations (25% of the confirmed guests within two weeks of the wedding), and normal bridal concerns (is my veil too poofy?), I snapped at our wedding coordinator and suffered what I can only term a pre-wedding melt down.

But, the sun rose on our wedding day. My maid and matron of honor dragged me from the hotel (where I was trying to oversee a decorating detail) to my hair appointment where the day began in earnest. I recall Sarah running to the mall to buy a handkerchief that I could "borrow," Ashley worrying about her hair (which looked great), me worrying about my hair (which looked great), the makeup artist helping my brother cover his paintball injury (I didn't even notice the bruises after she was done), and the arrival of our photographer, who was there to capture all the pre-wedding moments but was never in the way. The flowers were unbelievably beautiful; the olive branches added just the right touch of fall amidst the burgundy dahlias. The design from indoors to out was seamless. And, my bouquet was simply gorgeous - vibrant, rich and full of texture.

I remember my dad stopping by the Bride's changing room every few moments to see if he was supposed to stop by yet. When I finally had my dress on, they invited him over and the look of joy on his face was profound. I haven't the words to describe how happy we both felt at that moment. I absolutely loved my beautiful dress and delicate tiara, although my veil was too poofy (I elected to wear it for the ceremony only). The formal photos progressed smoothly from there, except for Rob feeling a little ill. We later learned that he had a fever and the beginnings of a bad cold. The morning and afternoon flew by in a flurry of activity, marked with smiles, laughter, hugs and a few happy tears.

The guests began arriving just before 6:00, but the sun was still shining squarely in everyone's eyes. We had moved the ceremony back until after the sun went behind the hills, but I was still overly concerned about everyone sitting, waiting, with the sun in their eyes. Someone found our wedding coordinator and Rob decided on a plan: open the bar immediately. It was a great decision. Around 6:25, the wedding began. The ceremony was beautiful and relaxed. The wine portion of the ceremony went off without a hitch - although Scott filled our glasses rather full (I had a moment of concern about spilling on my dress). The judge was great - we received compliments from several guests on our choice.

Rob and I took time together after the ceremony while the guests continued to enjoy the bar and tray passed hors d'oevres as well as a few last minute cheese and fruit presentations (due to the last minute cancellations we were in danger of falling short of our food minimums so we ordered more food for the cocktail hour). We appreciated our brief respite in an otherwise wonderfully crazy day while we sampled the hors d'oevres, which were excellent (we especially enjoyed the crab cakes).

The reception was terrific. It's funny, we spent so much time choosing the "perfect" dishes and wine, but I don't remember much of it. We did eat but, oddly, we hardly drank. The toasts, given by Scott, Sarah and Greg, were well done, the perfect blend of humor, history and advice. Rob ad-libbed a wonderfully moving toast, he acknowledged the recent tragedies of September 11 and thanked our guests for choosing to share our joy, to come together in celebration during this difficult time for the country. The wedding cake was exceptionally good (Rob ranks it among the best dessert he has ever had). The trays of chocolate goodies were beautifully presented (picture mountains of éclairs, chocolate covered strawberries and brownies). We managed our first dance with little difficulty and seem to have impressed our friends and family with our (very choreographed) grace. I laughed through most of the father-daughter dance. Indeed, the room seemed to be filled with laughter for much of the night. The Shoe Song had everyone on their feet, with shoes over head, shouting "what I like about shoes" to the chorus of the Romantics' "What I Like About You." I danced with my uncle to AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long." Sarah and I tried to remember the arm movements to "YMCA" and Rob and I even managed to dance a couple of slow songs together. I think my only regret is that I danced too much; I wish I had spent more time with our guests. Oh, I also regret not taking home leftovers of the cake - that would have made a nice treat while waiting at the airport during the inevitable delays.

The party was over all too quickly. Rob and I retired to our room where I proceeded to remove millions of bobby pins from my hair. The following morning was lovely. We opened presents with a few friends and family and then proceeded to the brunch. I am so glad we chose to do a brunch. It provided a second opportunity to talk with our guests, several of whom we had not been able to spend much time with during the wedding. Again, Willows Lodge did a terrific job with the food and presentation. We shared stories from the wedding and generally relaxed. Before too long, we were off to the airport and our honeymoon.

What a wonderful, special week. My wedding was everything I wanted, more than I hoped for and I cannot temper my descriptions with "It was really great but…" Although I will never forget that our country came under attack shortly before we were married, or that so many lives were profoundly altered by these events and that many of our dearest friends could not join us, instead I choose to remember the joy we felt in having our friends and family together to celebrate life and the power of love.