The Big Update, Pt. 3: The American Reception
Welcome back, brave travelers. We're off now to the American reception. (Incidentally, we're a bit short on nice digital pics from this reception, particularly of the toasts. We have some great analogue pics, but alas, no scanner. So if any of you have any digital pictures you'd like to share, please pass them along).
The Peerless Road Church gymnasium, like you've never seen it before. Seriously, the decorating job was just spectacular. Thanks again to everyone who pitched in.
The most important element at any reception: the buffet table.
Leia and I go through the time-honored ritual of cutting the cake. (Interesting side note: Those of you from USC might spot Mr. Jay Evans, who apparently had just made his usual timely entrance, in the background.)
We followed that up with the thoroughly American tradition of smashing a piece of cake in each other's face.
Clearly, I got the worst of it. Trying to get icing out of one's beard is not terribly fun.
Now we move on to some of the beautiful people in attendance, aka our crazy friends. We begin with Mr. Jon Brock of Columbia, SC (yes ladies, he IS available) and Valerie Bogan from Indiana, two of my dearest college friends who drove a looooong way just to see me get cake smashed in my face. Thanks guys.
Leia with Amber and Leslie.
Leia with Faith and Tammy.
Leia with Christy and Geremy . . . yes, this was our reception in MY home country, and yes, Leia has way more friends than me, even there. But then again, who can blame them from being drawn to her?
Leia with Shauna, who won the prize for longest distance traveled by flying out from Utah.
And finally, Leia with Melissa (who, unlike Shauna, only had to survive the grueling trek from the other side of Cleveland).
A lovely shot of the new bride and groom with my parents, Larry and Susan Duncan, who worked very hard to give us this beautiful reception. Thanks guys, we love you.
"The cousins": Sean and Laura Weldon (my sister and brother-in-law); Sarah Murray, Leia and I, and Katie, Emily, and Abby Aukerman. Yes, they're all very cute. No guys, you cannot have their phone numbers. So back off.
Our getaway car, which, in line with a grand tradition of vehicular vandalism, had been appro- priately decorated by a few of our friends. And with that, we were off on the rest of our honeymoon... but that's another story for another day.
–John
The Big Update, Pt. 2: The Reception Dinner
The story continues!
After making our escape from the hand-shaking throngs, Leia and I hopped into our waiting Mercedes (courtesy of Mr. Tony Pastos).
We made our way to a local park, where our photo- grapher got some nice shots of the new couple in the gathering dusk.
Meanwhile, across town, a lovely banquet hall sat awaiting our arrival (not to mention the arrival of our guests, many of whom took awhile to get there, with the result that Leia and I were circling the block in our car for half an hour waiting to be told that everyone was ready for us to make our entrance).
This is our head table.
. . . and these are our heads.
Our lovely wedding cake (that no one had so much as a piece of. Apparently cake cutting is a purely ceremonial affair in Cypriot weddings).
Some of our legions of adoring fans.
A tender moment between the bride and groom, and some nice product placement for Saint Nicholas bottled water.
"Everyone raise your glass to Mr. and Mrs. Duncan."
Our first dance, to "The Way You Look Tonight" (It's subtle, but if you look closely you'll notice that there's a bit of a height difference between us.)
Sure, we looked happy at the end of the night, but by this point we were thinking, "Ok people, let's wrap it up. You don't have to go home but at least get out of here!"
We then headed for our hotel, where we had booked an African-themed suite . . . and that's where the story ends and you guys leave us alone.
Seriously, get out of here. More next time.
– John
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
Promises for the Future
Hey everyone.
We are back in Cyprus now, having completed all of our blessed nuptials and post-wedding adventures. This post is not much more than a promise that a lot of new content is coming soon. We have lots of pictures of the wedding and reception in Cyprus, the reception in America, the honeymoon in the beautiful mountains of Tennessee, and our family Fourth of July celebration to share with everyone, along with some stories and memories to make them come alive. That's all coming very soon. In the meantime, we are settling in to our friend's apartment, where we will be house-sitting for the next few weeks. We don't have internet access there, so the big update may take a few days, but it will be worth it, guaranteed. If nothing else, you have to come back to see the pictures of me with cake and icing smeared throughout my beard, of Leia scarfing down a foot-long corn dog, and of both of us dressed like mobsters from the 1920's. How's that for a tease?
Thanks and much love to all our family and friends who made the last month so wonderfully memorable and special. We miss those of you we have just left, and we can't wait to see those of you we have just returned to. You are all in our prayers and in our hearts, always.
–John
The Peerless Road Church gymnasium, like you've never seen it before. Seriously, the decorating job was just spectacular. Thanks again to everyone who pitched in.
The most important element at any reception: the buffet table.
Leia and I go through the time-honored ritual of cutting the cake. (Interesting side note: Those of you from USC might spot Mr. Jay Evans, who apparently had just made his usual timely entrance, in the background.)
We followed that up with the thoroughly American tradition of smashing a piece of cake in each other's face.
Clearly, I got the worst of it. Trying to get icing out of one's beard is not terribly fun.
Now we move on to some of the beautiful people in attendance, aka our crazy friends. We begin with Mr. Jon Brock of Columbia, SC (yes ladies, he IS available) and Valerie Bogan from Indiana, two of my dearest college friends who drove a looooong way just to see me get cake smashed in my face. Thanks guys.
Leia with Amber and Leslie.
Leia with Faith and Tammy.
Leia with Christy and Geremy . . . yes, this was our reception in MY home country, and yes, Leia has way more friends than me, even there. But then again, who can blame them from being drawn to her?
Leia with Shauna, who won the prize for longest distance traveled by flying out from Utah.
And finally, Leia with Melissa (who, unlike Shauna, only had to survive the grueling trek from the other side of Cleveland).
A lovely shot of the new bride and groom with my parents, Larry and Susan Duncan, who worked very hard to give us this beautiful reception. Thanks guys, we love you.
"The cousins": Sean and Laura Weldon (my sister and brother-in-law); Sarah Murray, Leia and I, and Katie, Emily, and Abby Aukerman. Yes, they're all very cute. No guys, you cannot have their phone numbers. So back off.
