CJ Loves TJ!

Tammy and Curtis’ wedding day – 7/7/12 – started in a flurry of activities – showering, makeup, hot rollers in hair, and then I was off to Tammy’s room downstairs (the elevators at the Crown Plaza Hotel were the slowest ever) so that Tammy’s sister Margaret (another bridesmaid) could do my hair.  There were donuts and fruit, and mimosas to be had.  This was actually the first mimosa I’ve ever had, and I liked it…  better than plain orange juice or plain champagne.  When I got to Tammy’s room, Tammy herself was nowhere in sight, and Margaret was hard at work on Jesse’s hair (Jesse is Tammy and Margaret’s niece).   It has been fun to see Jesse grow up from an adorable little girl to the beautiful girl she is today.  Every time I see her, she is taller!

Tammy came in, and we all got ready.  Margaret, Tammy, and I found Zee’s hair extensions to be very entertaining:

our hair is done!

Pictures were at 2:40, and originally we were going to go off-site, but that plan changed at the last minute, and we stayed at the hotel. Margaret did a wonderful job on my hair – I can honestly say I have never worn my hair like that before (Tammy wanted our hairstyles for her wedding to be different than our every day hairstyles).

The landscaping at the hotel was really, really pretty.  We ended up taking just one picture of all the bridesmaids lined up, and I do not know how many of Tammy alone.  Both Tammy and Curtis were adamant that they not see each other before the ceremony (but of course), and that is the way it was.  Heather, if you can recall, was the matron of honor, and Margaret, Bridgette, Zee and I finished the bridal party.  The groomsmen’s names were Ryan, Tony, Matt, Chris, and of course, Adam.

The day before, at the rehearsal, it seemed to take Adam and me ages and ages to get to where the ceremony was going to take place.  I didn’t want to use my walker because it is hard to maneuver on grassy areas, and the aisle was grass.  Before the actual ceremony, I was having trouble with the shoes I bought (funny, they worked just fine when I was breaking them in), and so Zee was kind enough to go get my other shoes that were navy blue and matched the sash on my dress for after the ceremony (which was extremely nice of her because we did a lot of walking after the ceremony, taking pictures.  Thanks again, Zee, for all your help!  You’re awesome!).

Then it was time to walk down the aisle…  Adam and I were the first ones going down, so I was probably ten times more horrified (but probably not) when my left shoe fell completely off halfway there.  Adam was like, “Okay, forget it” and kicked it to the right.  That made me smile.  I got to my chair and Tammy’s sister Rebecca had my shoe for me.  I knew it was probably pointless to put it back on, and didn’t want to be distracted by trying to put on my shoe (for the fourth time that day, seriously) when Tammy walked down the aisle with her dad.  So I just put it under my chair.

I hope someone was able to capture the moment that Curtis saw Tammy for the first time that day, because I wasn’t looking at him…  I was watching Tammy.  She looked so beautiful.  I could actually hear every single word that was spoken during the ceremony, which was nice, but kinda not, because it made me want to cry.  BUT NO!  I was not going to cry!  And I didn’t, thanks to 9-year-old Ben Marek, who was a reader and read a poem.  He was worried that everyone would think that he loved someone there and he had the officiator say that in fact he did not.  And at the end, when Tammy and Curtis were being introduced as Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, I  was saved once again from crying, this time by the groomsmen, who whipped silly string out of their jackets and doused the bride and groom with it!  Adam later told me it was NOT his idea.

Tammy and Curtis getting hitched!

Me and Adam walking back down the aisle after the ceremony

It was during the pictures after the ceremony that I really started to notice that my vision was kinda off.  My dad had taken me to Walmart last Monday to get contact samples, so I wouldn’t have to wear my glasses (which were very scratched up so I was wearing my spares).  During the ceremony, I couldn’t really see if I looked straight ahead, and I just assumed that was just because of the sun being there.  But during pictures, I noticed that I really couldn’t feel my contact in my left eye, and that I really couldn’t see out of that eye!  But I did not say anything about it until we were at the reception (we entered as the wedding party, of course), after we ate (oh my goodness, that was some great salmon!) and Jac and I did the photobooth.

Sisters!

Tammy and her sisters Colleen, Kristine, and Margaret were all in the photo booth ahead of us.  This is what we saw:

haha!

My dad offered to go get my glasses, and once I had them, I was happy because I could see.  Tammy wanted to dance with me, so I finally headed out to the dance floor.  I really did not recognize any of the songs they played (that is actually how they decided which table got to get their food.  We sat with the Mareks, and Heather said that Adam was really good at this game.  But we were still the third to last table to get food… not for the lack of trying on Adam’s part!)  All three of their boys – Ethan, Ben, and Aaron – got chicken and fries before we got our food, and then they disappeared to the kids’ room.  Eventually, Tammy wanted to dance with me so Jac and I headed out to the dance floor.

Jac and I stopped to pose with Heather, the beautiful Matron of Honor!

Dancing with the bride

After that, the party wound down, at least for us.  It had been a long day.  Curtis and Tammy are married!  YAY!

the happy couple… at last!

Last Friday: Beaches, the wedding rehearsal, and the rehearsal dinner

I was free from bridesmaid duties until four in the afternoon last Friday, so we had a chance to sleep in.  When we finally did get moving, we drive around in the rental car, looking for beaches to walk and just hanging out together.

Posing on the way to the beach. Because I had forgotten to grab my wheelchair footrests, we made do with my dad’s coat and a little pillow under my legs..

Don’t look down!

We had lunch at Taco Bell, and then we went to another beach area before heading back to the hotel.  I got ready for the rehearsal.  I was walking down the aisle with Adam Marek, the husband of the matron of honor, Heather.  Adam is a sweet guy, funny and strong, and I knew that no matter what, he wouldn’t let me fall.  Once we were up there at the front where the ceremony was gonna take place, Tammy had a chair waiting for me, and Adam took me right to it, so I didn’t have to worry.  Before rehearsal started, Tammy gave us girls sashes that said, “Bride’s Maid” or in Heather’s case, “Maid of Honor” and little hair combs that had small crowns on them.  Tammy herself was wearing a Bridezilla t-shirt.  I forgot what it said exactly, but it has something to do with I’m the bride.  Do it my way or I am smacking you with my bouquet.  Here’s a picture of Tammy fake-smacking me:

Be afraid, be very afraid!

And here is a nice picture of us together:

This is what friendship looks like

Of course, Tammy is too nice of a person to be very much of a bridezilla.  I met her aunt and uncle from England.  When we were introduced, her uncle took my hand, and kissed my cheek, and said, “Hello, we are English!”   I liked him instantly.

The rehearsal dinner was at Bay Club hotel on Shelter Island, the very hotel Zee and I stayed at last year when I went to San Diego for the Glee live concert.  The Johnsons’ boat is docked behind the hotel, and Tammy and Curtis were staying on the boat with his family, except for that night, the night before the wedding, Tammy was staying at the Crown Plaza, the same hotel we were at, and the site of the wedding.  My sister pointed out that we could actually see the wedding site from our room balcony, which was cool.  We could see all the preparations that were being done for it.

I rode to the rehearsal dinner with Tammy and Heather, and sat at a table with Zee and Tammy’s friend Lucinda and her daughter K (I don’t know how to spell it, though it is a very beautiful name).  K was on crutches.  She told me that she had sprained one of her ankles ice skating.  I remembered meeting her last summer at Tammy’s house, but I doubt if she remembered me.  I didn’t ask.  There were little Dove chocolates on the table, and we had fun unwrapping them and seeing what they said on the wrappers.  There was seafood, of course, and K told me that she loved to eat seafood.  Zee ordered squid and allowed me to try it.  I was very surprised at how good it was!

I got to talk to a lovely woman named Sara who had expressed interest in this little blog of mine the night before at Applebee’s, and I got to talk to her again at the rehearsal dinner.  She came up to me and said I was very inspiring.  I thanked her and was able to tell her a little about what happened to me:  neuroblastoma, viral encephalitis, etc.  I also told her that I am a childhood cancer advocate and was at the beginning of writing a novel about it.

Tammy passed out gifts after dinner.  My bridesmaid bag contained a very beautiful bouquet that will never die (in other words, not real flowers), a pretty glittery wallet that matched my bridesmaid dress, and a necklace and earring set to wear with the dress. She also gave me a little card that thanked me for being a part of her and Curtis’ special day, and for being her little researcher.  Awww….

When the dinner party was winding down, I talked to a few other people, and ended up walking out to the front of the hotel with Curtis’ sister, Bridgette, who is very excited for the Twilight cast to come to San Diego for a comic con.  She told me that if Jacob saw us tomorrow in all our bridesmaid finery, he’d be like, “Bella who?”  And the same goes for Edward….

Sidenote:  Yeah, I dunno which guy I would choose if I were Bella.  Being a vamp would be cool, because I’d be stronger than I ever could really hope to be, but I dunno if I could be a “cold one” for eternity.  I hate being cold.  Like really hate it.  And Jacob’s hot (yeah, both his looks and his body temperature).  If I chose Jacob, then nothing would really change.  I would live out the rest of my life, and Jacob would start growing old with me and we’d eventually come to the end of the line:  death.  I dunno really, how it works for Jacob.  He’s a fictional character, yeah, okay.  Psssh.  It doesn’t really matter in the end, does it?

I rode back to the Crown Plaza hotel with Tammy (Heather had met her family at Bay Club), and my dad met us in the courtyard (I just love saying that…  in the courtyard…  sounds so elegant).  Tammy had on the sweatshirt I gave her, so my dad was able to see it.  We said good night after talking for a few minutes and then parted ways to get our beauty sleep for the big day.

My first ever pedicure and the bachelorette party

Jac and I waiting in front of Instyle Nails

Last Thursday, it was a spa day – my first ever professional pedi and mani.  I was very nervous going in, because I have heard or read horror stories.  Psssh.  It wasn’t that bad.   Tammy had texted me directions to the place, but it was Jac’s i-phone that got us there.  We got there and I texted Tammy that we were there, and she said they were on their way.  So Jac and I waited outside, and I saw Heather’s van pull in, and Tammy waved at me.  The wedding fun was going to start!

The lady who did my nails was Asian (they all were, in fact) and she had a heavy accent, so I didn’t really understand her very well.  But Tammy had the chair beside me, and translated for us.  I got sparkly gold polish on my toe nails (I loved the foot soak and hot towel on legs and the mini massage) and kind of a light tan on my fingernails.  The lady was kinda apprehensive about doing my fingernails because of my right hand (it seriously gots a mind of its own…), but Tammy told her to just do it.  If I messed it up, I messed it up.  Isn’t that the way things go?

Me, Tammy’s sister Kristine, and Tammy. First ever pedicure, check!

Tammy got claws. Just kidding. She got a french manicure.

While I got my nails done, Jac went to go eat lunch at a nearby thai place, and when Tammy was done with her and we both paid, we headed over to the same restaurant and ordered food as well.  I haven’t sampled very many thai dishes, but I do know that the pad thai was safe and good, so I ordered that with shrimp.  My parents came right when our food came, and my sister was done at Instyle Nails, so they went to Ross to see if Jac could find an outfit for the bachelorette party that night.

Are you ready for this?  Part one of the bachelorette party was a burlesque dance lesson!  Heather (the matron of honor) was friends with the girl who owns Ooh La La dance studio.  We went back to the hotel to get ready after lunch/shopping.  We had a little bit of time to spare, so I read a little on the balcony, and everyone else went down to the pool, which I could see from where I was.  I could see the wedding site as well.  I got a text from Tammy saying that her sister Margaret had room in her van for both me and Jac, so all we had to do is to show up in the lobby.

All dressed and ready to party!

At Ooh La La dance studio saying cheese!

Once we were at the dance studio, we got dressed up in corsets and gloves and feather boas, and then the party began.  I can only really move my upper body to music, but the instructor was really nice.  She understood and found ways that I could participate, which I appreciated.  We took lots of pictures and Zeenat showed up in the middle of it (she had been driving all day).  Once we were done dancing and taking pictures, we had champagne (there was even non-alcoholic!) and then we left for part two:  Applebee’s.

Once there, we all ordered (and yes, I got a peach sangria!) and then Tammy opened her presents. I had gotten her a white zip-up sweatshirt that says “BRIDE” on the back and some panties that say “tied the knot” on the back from Victoria’s Secret.  The sweatshirt even has an diamond ring attached to the zipper, something I did not notice when I ordered it.  I was sneaky about this gift – I sent the order to Heather’s address in Oceanside so I wouldn’t have to worry about flying with it.  After we were done eating and visiting, the party broke up, and it was time to go back to the hotel to get some beauty rest.