14- The Wedding

The whole week before the wedding was rainy. Actually, most of June had been rather wet. It was the year of El Nino. As the week passed, I got a little nervous. After all, the plans had not exactly included an "in case of inclement weather" location. We were ready to purchase some umbrellas and hope for the best.

The day before my wedding was pretty weird. There's all this anticipation building up to a wedding day and then the day before there's nothing to do. I was planning on working the whole day, but they sent me home early and told me I was crazy to be at work the day before I got married. Wa-hoo! I did a bunch of pointless wedding-type things that day and then headed up to my mom's house where I would sleep that night. It remains such a bitter-sweet memory for me. I don't know if I am alone in this, but the one thing I was sure of was that Marcos and I were supposed to get married. But the feeling of my last night as a single girl, living at home (sort of ) and hanging out with my sisters (all unmarried) and my best friend (also still single) was surreal. I was so excited to start my life with Marcos, but knew that a part of me was leaving behind the life I had always known and loved. It was hard. We talked about the wedding, the honeymoon and our new apartment. We laughed and giggled and practiced styling my hair. I remember steaming my dress with Lisa upstairs at my mom's house and crying and talking about how happy and scared I was. And how weird it was that tomorrow I would be married and live in a different house and ward...and with a boy. Weird. Lisa and I had a long, emotional embrace that felt kind of like goodbye. I knew we would always be friends, but it would be different. We had been Lisa and Maria for so long that I couldn't imagine that changing. Some people may not have known which of us was which for that matter. We were pretty much a pair most of the time. Now I was going to be Marcos and Maria. Yep, bitter-sweet indeed.

I woke up early the next morning so my sister, Alicia, and sister-in-law, Laura, could do my hair. Man, what a process! It looked pretty cute though. Thank goodness for prissy relatives. I would've been a mess without them! :) My mom and I got ready and left for the temple around 9:30 a.m. It was barely drizzling at that point - things were definitely looking up in the weather department. Talk about being pampered - those little old ladies at the temple sure take care of you and tend to your every need. It was amazing! We got ready, I said goodbye to my mom and went to meet Marcos. We sat in the celestial room forever just sitting, smiling and whispering to each other every once in awhile. It definitely felt right. A little while later we found out it really had been forever. Marcos' mom was running quite late and everyone had been waiting for her and worrying that something had happened. Thankfully we were away from the stress and worry of that tucked away in the celestial room. The sealing was beautiful. Marcos' dad performed it and it could not have gone any better. It was so special to both of us to have him be the one to seal us together for time and all eternity. His words were beautiful - humbly uttered through his broken English. I remember looking at my soon-to-be husband across the alter and feeling perfect.

After the temple ceremony, we walked out the door a very happy husband and a teary-eyed wife. We had family and friends and a pretty anxious photographer and videographer awaiting us (remember the late part - everyone outside the temple was wondering what was going on. I think they thought I'd backed out at the last minute :) ) We took a bunch of pictures and then headed over to Robintino's (I know, enough of that place already, but it was sentimental) for a very simple luncheon with just our immediate families.

Everyone parted and went to get ready for the reception. Marcos and I drove separately, which was really weird for me. Just the thought of everyone wondering what we may or may not be doing after the wedding made me a little paranoid. Stop looking at me like that. No we did not just run to the hotel for a quickie. Give me a break! Seriously though. That whole going from forbidden territory to a commandment is a weird 180 degree turn after you get married. Okay, so we headed up to my mom's house and luckily we left when we did. There was a huge wreck on the freeway so once again we were going to be dealing with everyone being late - including the photographer. We were supposed to take some family pictures at 6 p.m. and the reception would start at 7, but the photographer didn't get there until 6:45 p.m. Yikes! Oh well, we just went with it. People started showing up and we greeted them. So much for organized family pictures. We didn't have a formal line at the reception. We didn't want it to be boring or long so we just mingled. It was actually really fun. The only thing I wish is that we had maybe done the reception for the first hour and then dancing because I don't think I talked to everyone that came later to the reception. I'm not sure though. By that point, I was in my own world. Once I was boogying on the dance floor, there was no turning back. :) Basically it was a party - a great big celebration! There was tons of yummy food and tables for everyone to visit and then there was a big dance. We had everyone gettin' down on the floor. It was the best way to celebrate this moment with my family and friends. We really did have a great time and didn't end up leaving until almost 11 p.m. Hey, you only get married once, right? (well, hopefully.) By the end of the dance, I was hugging all my friends and telling them goodbye and secretly whispering how nervous I was for the wedding night.

Marcos and I changed (in separate rooms - I'm telling you people I was way more than a little bit nervous) and went to put our bags in Marcos' car before we said our final wedding goodbyes. We went to the car and discovered the nice send-off his brother, Esteban, had created - not! Marcos was so mad. He had guarded Esteban's car at their reception ten months before and Esteban was the instigator of our mess of a car. Oh well, we got the best of him. We cleaned it up before he could see our reaction. He was surprised when he walked out and realized the mess was gone. :) We went back to say goodbye, danced a couple more dances and then the remaining wedding die-hards walked us out blowing bubbles as we went. Aw, wedding rituals! :) Again Marcos wouldn't be Marcos without a big farewell moment. He drove off honking the horn and yelling goodbye to everyone. He really is crazy! As we drove down the street, it was one of those moments that I will never forget. Every detail is permanently etched in my memory. I was married to this kid now...and we were going to a hotel. Holy crap! Thank goodness we could tell each other everything. I leaned on his shoulder and whispered something about how nervous I was. He just smiled and said, "Me too."