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Getting Hitched: Those 2 Hours Before the Ceremony

Everything that looks effortless in fact takes a TON of work. This wedding was no exception.  It’s amazing how much time, money, and effort went into what could be called relatively small in size and attendance – you’d think it’s just book a place and it’s done.  HA!  HARDLY.  The invitation start time was 6pm on April 30, with an expectation that the actual ceremony will start around 6:30pm.  Of course you don’t put THAT on the invitation as then people won’t show up until then.

Anyway, the Oviatt only allowed people into the venue, even those who were setting things up, at 4pm.  So we had 2 hours to do whatever it was we needed to do before guests started arriving at 6pm.  Boy howdy, were those 2 hours packed.

Larry & I left from the Hotel Wilshire around 3pm to try to get through LA traffic – and driving on the I-10 east on a Saturday guaran-fuckin-tees you’ll be in traffic.  Our initial plan had been to Uber there so we didn’t have to worry about cars, but we had so much of the centerpiece stuff and other signage in Larry’s car and we tossed our initial idea of moving everything into some random Uber out the window once I started realizing that was taking a risk.  So we drove.  Of course, we hadn’t thought about making the valet available until 5:30pm, so oops, wedding party, you’re gonna need to park yo’selves!  Luckily there was an empty parking lot conveniently directly across the street from the Oviatt and that’s where pretty much everyone in the wedding party, as well as our wedding coordinator, parked.  Sveta had actually gotten there a bit early and told us that the curb area in front of the Oviatt wasn’t even clear – there was construction equipment blocking it.  I MIGHT HAVE HAD A SLIGHT MELTDOWN?  Happily, when we arrived there, we saw that equipment, but it was in the process of getting carted away.  WHEW.

Happy things we noticed while arriving – the entire wedding party was there and on time!  Also, the alcohol vendor was already there and unloading the boxes!  SWEET – people will be able to drink!!!  Sure enough, right at 4pm, they started letting us up.  Nicki then gets there and we see the chuppah’s pieces for the first time, and I know I was a little overwhelmed at first to see the giant posts/tree trunks, along with all the cement bases she decided on getting.  Wisely, she realized having the wedding party hold these massive trunks up was NOT gonna work.

During the course of that first hour, we schlepped all the signage and chuppah stuff up, along with our suits as we did not wear them there knowing we’d have to likely get dirty.  But the photographers arrived and they’re like, you need to get dressed and we want to document that too!  Ohhhh-kay!?  So we started getting dressed, started taking some pictures, and then our amazing cantor and officiant, Kerith, arrived and before we knew it, it was time to sign some legal documents.  Shockingly – Larry & I were married long before all you guys saw us in that ceremony as we signed the paperwork at 5pm or so!

4pm – 5pm on April 30, 2016 @ the Oviatt Penthouse

Some family started arriving in the 5-6 pm hour too, and luckily the Oviatt has plenty of places for people to wander around in.  All the parents were there so it was then time to sign the Ketubah with parents and the cantor.  That was quite an amazing and emotional bit of ceremony that not everyone got to see – I’m so glad we did that.  We’ll post a picture of the Ketubah eventually as it is quite beautiful to see.  (sidenote:  The photographers just sent us today the link to all the official wedding pictures they took – we’re waiting to look at them just a little bit longer….but I know they probably took some great photos of this occasion.)

5pm – 6pm on April 30, 2016

We were getting down to the wire and happily Nicki was able to knock out the amazing ketubah in enough time for us to do a dress rehearsal of the ceremony entrance.  I had already written out the musical cues when each wedding party member would enter the ceremony accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s ridiculously awesome and perfect ABBA medley of “Waterloo”, “Fernando,” and “Dancing Queen.”  So great.  The first run-through was a bit messy as we really hadn’t figured out who would go on what side, and then we wanted to balance the dress colors between the sides.  Happily, our second time doing it went perfect, and was the baseline for getting out the door for the real thing.

And of course, it must be said that this day went as smoothly as it did not just because of Larry and/or me, but DEFINITELY because of our tireless wedding coordinator, Marie.  She brought her husband, Nick, along with her to help out with the technical stuff, as well as just a second set of hands, and they took care of absolutely everything related to the vendors and making the ceremony go off without a hitch.  SO MANY THANKS TO HER.

Alright, that’s it for now – the next post, we’ll be talking about the ceremony!!!

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