No Longer Newlywed's

I went to send a Happy Anniversary to my wife as Tuesday we will have been married for two years, and we can no longer be called newlyweds. I guess it is true that time flies when you are having fun, because I can’t believe that wedding was two years ago.

Joyce and I got engaged in October of 2002. This started a whirlwind of events that I thank the Lord I will never have to go through again. Here is a brief rundown of the decisions we made for our big day.

Hall - Joyce knowing how hard it was to get me to come that far, quickly wanted to set a date and pin me down. So, the first thing we did was to try to find a hall. After doing some searching we toured the Martinique in Evergreen Park and really liked it.

I liked it for all of its old school charisma. Dean Martin once sang there and the place has this nostalgic look and feel that I fell in love with. Joyce, also really liked it so we agreed to have the wedding there. We sat down with the manager of the place and went over the dates. We picked November simply because we both liked the fall and realized that you save money having a wedding in the off peak season. November 8^th was open in the books so, we put a deposit down and we were on our way. As our wedding day approached, it was met with some sadness as we learned the Martinique was closing its doors in the following weeks to make way for a Wal-Mart.

It is to bad because we really just fell in love with that place. They provided a free cake tasting every third Thursday. So, Joyce and I went there every month and ate a whole lot of free cake. In doing so we toured the place and saw how beautiful it was. In the end the place was great, they worked with us, let us upgrade our room, and did a first rate job.

Church – Originally, we thought we might just get married in the chapel that was located right on the premises of the Martinique. However Joyce had a change of heart and wanted to get married in a church. Since neither of us really belong to any catholic church (I know you are all shocked) Joyce suggested St. Albert’s. St Al’s was special to my family simply because, it was where I made my first communion and was baptized, my parents got married there as did two of my Aunts. Also, it is where my Grandparents have been parishioners since the sixties. I wanted to have Fr. Marek perform the ceremony simply because he performed my Grandfathers funeral and I felt with him performing the events, it would kind of be a reminder of his presence.

Fr. Marek was really cool about the ceremony, incorporating all of Joyce’s family customs and only requiring us to go to one pre-cana event. That is a story in and of itself lets, just say I was glad it was only a one-day ritual. We met with the organist and picked our music and all in all I can’t complain too much about the church portion.

Limo – Chicago Ridge Mall had advertised a wedding show featuring many different local business in the area. We went and this is where we found our limo. We were walking around getting bombarded with business cards from all the various companies when we saw this limo place called Royal Limo Service. It was convenient in that they were located right across the street from the church. I called around and found that they were very reasonable so, we went with them. I personally thought we got a good deal and the company did us right. My wife wanted a black limo for some reason and swears she told me this, however I never recalled her letting me know. So, she eventually relented and went with the white stretch and I think in the end was happy with them as well.

Photographer – Joyce really wanted to use Fred Fox Studios as she had seen some pictures from a wedding there and really liked them. I personally could have given a shit so, we went with them. We got to pick our photographer based on sample work and we went with a guy named Caesar. As for Caesar himself, I thought he was cool. He didn’t yell at people and seemed to have a lot of patience. He was professional and did a very good job. I thought that Fred Fox was a tad on the expensive side, but my Father was kind of enough to supply the dough for them, which I greatly appreciated. It took forever to get the pictures and I thought that they came out OK. All in all I was not dis-pleased but I still feel we paid too much for the quality we got back.

Tuxes – This decision was made simply out of location. I surmized (rightfully so) a tux is a tux. With my Dad living in Columbus, Ohio I figured lets pick a place that has locations in both Chicago and Columbus. Thus, we went with Desmonds. The funny thing is that I don’t think they are in Chicago anymore but I felt that they did a good job and got all the fittings and measurements done correctly on the first try. In the end they did a bang up job and if they are still around I would recommend them.

Flowers – This was another area I could have given a rat’s ass about. I let Joyce handle this one. Joyce got an invitation to a bridal expose at the Oak Lawn Hilton. So, she dragged me along to go with her. I was one of about three other men at the thing. So, I followed Joyce around as she looked at various booths. She then stopped at Grapevine’s Flower booth where she really fell in love with the flowers. She grabbed a card and eventually made an appointment. Again, I was dragged along as Joyce and the owner of Grapevine talked flowers. At one point I excused myself to go to the bathroom. I actually went next door to a bar and grabbed a quick beer. I came back and you never would have thought I was gone. Joyce really did like the flowers and other then the owner forgetting to supply roses for my Mom and Joyce’s Mom she did a good job. Again, they were a tad on the expensive side but it was worth it to make Joyce happy.

DJ – This is the one area of the wedding I was most concerned with. I’ve been to a lot of weddings and I personally believe that a DJ can make or break the event. Sadly, I’ve been to a lot more bad weddings then good. A while back, my friend Chuck got married and I really thought his DJ did a great job. Unfortunately, Chuck could not remember his phone number and could not find his card. So, Joyce and I searched on and on. We found this DJ service on Ridgeland and Southwest Highway and preliminary discussions with them, even going so far as to “crash” a wedding to see a sample of their work. However, we just never got around to signing a contract. Then one day Chuck calls me to tell me while cleaning out a drawer he found Steve’s (his DJ) card and phone number. So, I called Steve up and he was happy to take the job. We wound up saving a little money and I thought he did a fantastic job. In the end I think Joyce agreed and all was well that ended well.

Rings – Thankfully, Joyce’s Mom took care of this as a wedding present to both of us. All we had to do was pick out which band we wanted. We tried a couple of different sets and eventually went with a very classic solid gold design, nothing fancy or gaudy. We got our ring fingers measured and really we didn’t have to think about them again until the wedding day.

Rehearsal Dinner – My Mom and Dad agreed to split the costs of this one so, we wanted to find something good, while not breaking the bank. We had a number of ideas. First, we were going to go to this Mexican restaurant, but I didn’t like the owner so we moved on. Then we found this Greek place in Worth but we couldn’t just ever settle on it. Then all of the sudden Joyce up and suggested the Old Barn. The Old Barn was directly across the street from the church and would be way convenient. So, we worked out the details and went with that. All, I can say is, we made the right call. The food was out of this world and it worked out in a big way.

Video – Our biggest mistake. Joyce’s sister recommended her boyfriends brother to us. He worked for half the price of most video guys so, we went with him. In retrospect we should have just hired a professional but, we weren’t thinking. Two weeks after our wedding Joyce’s sister broke up with her boyfriend. This made getting the actual video a real pain in the ass. I was constantly calling the guy and trying to get a status. He kept telling me he was editing it. After eight months I was beyond fed up so, I told him I wanted the thing done. He told me he could give me what he had which wound up being an unedited mess of sloppiness. I doubt he worked one day on the final product. It was a complete waste of time and money.

All in all it was a lot of work and money for one hell of a party. I figured it was costing me enough, so I was going to have a good old time, which is exactly what I had. I shook a lot of hands and had my picture taken a whole lot. Of course all of that stuff is secondary to the fact that Joyce made me the happiest man in the world, by marring me. As much of a pain in the ass as all that planning and saving was, it was all worth it for that one great evening two years ago.