Deep Breaths

The Big Update, Pt. 1: The Wedding

June 17, 2006 is a day I will remember for the rest of my life. (And if I don't make a special point to remember it every June 17, I will really be in the doghouse.) Our wedding day was truly beautiful, and after suffering through an incredibly stressful week of preparations leading up to it, Leia and I were both pretty calm and relaxed on the day itself. Our friends and family members truly made it special with their kindness, generosity, hard work, and warm wishes. Below are a few pictorial highlights, along with insightful commentary:

My gorgeous and stunning bride being accomp- anied down the aisle by her father, Michael, who's not so bad himself.

Finally, after a long, slow entrance (or maybe it just seemed that way from the perspective of the anxious groom), she reaches me and I beam.


Leia's uncle Tony delivered the sermon . . .




and Michael presided over the formal vows. . .





. . . but we were mostly just paying attention to each other.




Next, we exchanged our own personal vows . . .










. . . along with the bling. . .




. . . and then sealed the whole thing with a kiss.





For our unity ritual, we decided to forego the traditonal candle thing . . .





. . . and instead poured together two vessels of colored water . . .




. . . so that they formed a new color in the larger vessel. Pretty cool, no?




We left the church in a shower of petals . . .




. . . and made our way to the back garden for some quick photo ops. Here's Leia with her cousins Christiana, Lizi (her maid of honor), and Siana . . .


. . . and me with Eric (Christ- iana's fiancee), Tele (Leia's brother and my best man), and Leia's cousin Ryan.


And finally, here we are with our new combined family: Michael and Soula Charalam- bous, John and Leia Duncan, Susan and Larry Duncan. At this point, the six of us proceeded to shake about 600 hands (and kiss 1200 cheeks) before leaving the church grounds to head for the slightly more intimate family-and-friends dinner. . . but that's a story for another post. Stay tuned!


–John

posted by John and Leia @ 7:58 AM