a perfect day

so, kim and i got married on saturday. if you were there, you know the day was about as great as it could be, with nice sunshine and a breeze to keep things from getting too hot. people ate food and played park games (thanks to everyone for bringing games--especially dave, who lugged his cornhole game a whole 88 steps from his car to the park (he counted and reported how much effort it took, so i know)) and generally everyone seemed to get used to the idea of a wedding as kim and i had envisioned it, and relaxed, and ultimately enjoyed themselves. at least, the people who told kim and me afterwards what they thought of the ceremony all indicated that they thought it was a success. i guess probably most people don't go around telling the bride or groom they think their wedding is terrible while it's happening, but i'm definitely willing to take this as a positive sign. personally, i thought the thing was a smashing success, and if you didn't come you really missed out on something special. (likewise, though, i suppose the groom doesn't go around saying he thinks his wedding was a failure afterwards. but you should take this as a positive sign, too.)

although we started off designing as simple an affair as we could get away with, this wedding couldn't have happened without a whole host of talented, free labor friends. what follows is unfortunately not a complete list...

first of all, thanks to nellie chan for being the wedding coordinator, at times from as many as 5 time zones away, and for arriving at the scene calmly and coolly and making everything work. (the decorations! the food! the site! and patience and enthusiasm and panache and etc etc etc)

likewise to the entire roth family, who showed up early and moved boxes and foods and peoples around and were very understanding and cooperative in helping us make the thing we wanted to make, even if it wasn't exactly what they wanted to make.

and to the howe family for the meal the night before, for bringing friends and family together and creating such a warm environment in which everyone could meet. that was also exactly what we were hoping for, and we were so delighted with the opportunity to see our friends mix.

to our crack team of photographers, jonathon miano, ryan clarke, and michael chan, for their flexibility, patience, and understanding, and for (probably) taking really great shots. the shot above is courtesy of michael.

to all our friends who helped out the days before or the day of to make either the meal or the wedding or both work so well. slicing vegetables, cleaning fruits, organizing, arranging, carrying, cooking...and all with such great smiles and humor. this couldn't have happened without you!

we mentioned some specifics of the ceremony to carlos and janeil a couple weeks ago, and that was how we realized that we had failed to actually ask them to officiate the wedding. but they took it all in stride, and worked very patiently to discover with us what kind of ceremony we wanted, and put up with being forced into last minute preparations and then made it all come together so well. thanks you guys!

and finally, to everyone who came and participated, and helped us make the day the kind of day we wanted. we had a blast, and we hope you did too!