Diary of a Mad Fabri-Holic: Mission: Accomplished!

I have just survived the longest 48 hours of my life. Well, we were in Cali for 48 hours, but when you add travel time, more like 60 or so hours. And by the time you get done reading this marathon post, you may feel like you survived those 60 hours with me!

Friday we left our house at 8 AM, Chuppah carefully packed in Princess Girl's carry-on. (Her roller suitcase is the biggest we have that can be a carry-on.) We flew to Oakland with no major issues. I didn't even have to pop a pill to make it through the flight- major victory! After a shuttle, a ride on BART, and a cab, we arrived at our stunning hotel. Oh my goodness. The hotel we had booked in, right down the street from the wedding itself, was undergoing renovation issues- including power and heat outages! So we were booked into The Claremont Resort and Spa instead. Yum. I could get used to this life. It was slightly further from the actual wedding, but well worth it. Our schedule was beyond jam packed, but I managed to squeeze in a Lavender Pedicure anyway. At 8am. The only time all weekend I had an hour to spare.

But back to the weekend. Friday, we arrived. Met up with my folks at the fancy-schmancy hotel. Checked in, had a late lunch- looking out across the Bay with a perfect view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Friday evening it was time for the rehearsal, followed by the rehearsal dinner. That's where the "longest 48 hours of my life" bit starts. The rehearsal was fine. A little chaotic, but fine. We all headed off to the rehearsal dinner at the Sequoia Lodge- did I mention the bride and groom are avid outdoors folks? SO not me. But the location was just right for them. Sadly, it was a little off the beaten path, and apparently not on most GPS systems. The dinner started at 6:30, but the father of the groom got so lost, it was 8:30 before any of the toasting, etc could start. Meanwhile, Train Boy is trying to go to sleep on the floor, and my mom, who is back on East Coast time still, is falling apart.

This was my big moment- the grand Chuppah unveiling. Many of you asked before how the bride could plan to hang it on a wall if I was keeping it a secret. The bride, my cousin, had asked me to make a Chuppah for her big day. She gave me free reign over it, and the squares-made-by-friends-and-family was a total secret. And we managed to keep that part a secret until the grand unveil! It was awesome.

I had to get up and give a little speech at the microphone- not my strong point and I probably talked too fast. The Chuppah holders pictured here are The Hubby and my dad. And that's me, looking not so hot, but hey, it was a reallly long day. The bride and groom got a little teary eyed.

Then there were speeches and slideshows and toasts, including the one that made everyone cry- digital video of my 92 year old grandma, who isn't well enough to travel, sending a fabulous toast to the couple. As soon as it was polite, we bolted to get the kids to bed. I was told that after we left, the Chuppah was hung up and everyone was admiring it, telling the stories of their squares, etc. Nifty!

The next morning I squeezed in my 8am pedicure, and then, in a fabulous treat, we entertained some guests at our hotel. Many years ago, before Train Boy was born, we had some friends in CO named Angela and Tony. They had a great daughter, Chloe, one year younger than PG. There were transplants from Berkeley, and as it turned out, Berkeley is their home. They moved back when TB was 7 days old (but not before she took these amazing photos for us)- and we hadn't seen them in person since. But we managed to have breakfast together on Saturday! And it was great. Esp as we managed to NOT destroy Angela's 2 day old camera. But we came close. (Cathi, I delivered your hug and greetings...)

We then took the kids to Chinatown for lunch and exploring- PG has recently studied Asia in first grade, and TB is learning about Chinese New Year in preschool. We stumbled upon a street festival and saw Lion acrobats and Dragon dancers. Then we had delicious Dim Sum, a first for half the group (not me.) And we bought lots of silly souvenirs to share with both schools. We raced back to our hotel to catch a nap. It didn't happen, and TB was a total wreck when it came time for the wedding. He abdicated his role as Flower Child. But he behaved during the ceremony, so, all well in the end. PG was a gorgeous Flower Child. And- this was the big moment for The Chuppah. I took a slew of photos for y'all.

Here's the Chuppah being brought down the aisle by the Chuppah Holders:

Here it is waiting for the bride and groom:

And here it is sheltering the happy couple:

I don't know if you can really tell from these, but I got the color 100% right. The quilt looked like it was made for the room, and of course, it was- but it felt great to get it so spot on! The size was great, the ties worked and the thing didn't fly off the poles and land on the bride. All was well! PHEW.

The wedding was wonderful. Truly wonderful. Everyone was joyous. The food was fantastic. The live music, provided by my amazing aunt and uncle- rocked. The speeches were great. The dancing was a blast. The drinks were strong. Ask me how I know... PG bonded with a not-exactly-cousin she's never met before. And chased many men around the room. We are in so much trouble someday. TB danced up a storm, and got to try on the groundhog costume. What, you've never been to a wedding with a man in a groundhog costume?

We stumbled back to our hotel after the cake- Ben and Jerry's ice cream cake. YUM. Everyone collapsed. Until 2:45 am, when the hotel had a very loud, very annoying fire alarm. Ugh. By Sunday morning, we all felt like death. Which I'm sure had nothing to do with those drinks. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Sunday morning had a brunch, back at the wedding site. The Chuppah was again hung up for viewing.

And the father of the bride took my photo with it. So, you can all see me, after 2 days with no sleep and crazy humidity hair.

Not to toot my own horn, but I got a lot of great compliments this weekend. It made all the stress about getting it done on time worthwhile. And I kept telling folks that I was just the assembly-person of this project- the squares were made by 36 other folks, Well, more- many squares represented a whole family unit...

The it was back to the airport to race home. Again, I made it with no pill. The landing was a little icky, but it was totally made-up-for when, as we were exiting the plane, the pilots came out, saw my cute kids, and let them go sit in the cockpit and pretend to fly the plane! The pilot even told me to get out my camera and go take photos- I wasn't going to ask as it seemed like such a treat already! Total highlight of the trip for TB.

All in all, a wonderful weekend. Even if it will take me 6 months to catch up on sleep. I ditched work today. I am doing some from home- love that I can dial in- and I am also just crashing. The kids slept 3 hours later than normal. They're ditching school. We're all going to rest, and face the real world tomorrow.

Plus, I have 400+ photos from this weekend to go through. If you think this post is photo heavy, just imagine how much worse it COULD be...

21 Comments

A wonderful story, and you AND the chuppah look great! Congratulations on a job well done.

Posted by: Kay | February 04, 2008 at 10:10 AM

Thank you for the wonderful story and the wonderful fotos. Those weren´t to much. I love looking on fotos.

hugs
Alex from Germany

Posted by: Alex | February 04, 2008 at 11:36 AM

All home safe and sound, the happy couple married with a lovely Chuppah. I'd consider that a VERY successful weekend! Kuddos to you! :D

Posted by: LauraJ | February 04, 2008 at 12:21 PM

The only thing more beautiful than the Chuppah is the love that was woven into it.

What an incredible gift.

Posted by: Miss Scarlett | February 04, 2008 at 12:30 PM

That is so awesome and wonderful and you are sooo talented! What an incredible gift :)

Posted by: jessica~ | February 04, 2008 at 01:06 PM

Way to go Sam!! You got it done and sounds like you had lots of fun too - all the while dealing gracefully with time zone changes/kids off schedule/flying/etc. I bet you (and bride/groom) were just thrilled with the end result of all your hard work.

Cheers!

Evelyn

Posted by: Evelyn | February 04, 2008 at 02:04 PM

Wonderful!The Chuppah is gorgeous. I'm glad you got to be there to see/hear the reception it got...you know it will be a tremendously meaningful keepsake for the Bride and Groom.

Posted by: lisa thiessen | February 04, 2008 at 02:22 PM

just wow! What a wonderful wedding and all the pampering you were able to fit in!! You have ever right to "toot your own hoot", it looked awsome!

Posted by: Toni | February 04, 2008 at 02:41 PM

Wow -- what a great weekend. So glad your work was appreciated and that you had a fantastic trip with the family. Woo Hooo!

Posted by: Angela | February 04, 2008 at 05:11 PM

Oh wow, the chuppah is amazing and was perfect looking at the ceremony. What a touching way for a bridal couple to start their lives together. Congratulations on getting all the family kudos for it. Sounds like you had a great trip! Rest up ... you've earned it! :-)

Posted by: Tami | February 04, 2008 at 05:57 PM

I knew it would be a big hit, so glad to see it in all it's glory - although not as glad as you were I'm sure :) Congratulations again - now go! sleep!

Posted by: schrodinger | February 04, 2008 at 08:27 PM