Post-Wedding Peace of Mind

At least one person liked the wedding well enuf to blog about it under the title "Geek Weddings Are Best". That's exactly the effect we were shooting for.

On a related note, photos are starting to arrive, and we're posting them under the "Photo Album" tab on this blog. Thanks to all contributors.

Pre-Wedding Peace of Mind

So, tomoro's the big day, and the question naturally arises: "Are you nervous?"

We'll let Don Knotts answer that one for us.

Weather Forecast

We had hoped that scheduling the wedding for May 22 would let us hold it outside, but it's Wisconsin, after all, and there was always a chance that it would be miserable weather. But it looks as if the odds being always in our favor worked out OK:

Alternative Seating

If the prospect of bringing your own portable chairs or blankets seems daunting or unduly inconvenient, there is an alternative available. There are picnic tables in the park shelter that can be dragged nearer to the proceedings (which will be on the adjacent grass) that provide seating for 6 adults or 8 kids. But be forewarned: those suckers are heavy, and you have to put them back where you found them afterward.

Beautiful Music

You may recall that we've warned elsewhere on this blog that parking is likely to be tight at Brittingham Park, so you should consider meeting friends at Wright Middle School and carpooling from there. You probably also figured out for yourself that, even so, it would be good to arrive early at the park to get a good spot. We've even advised some of you with mobility problems that you really should contact the Wisconsin DoT to get a handicapped-parking tag.

All of that is still true, but here's a positive incentive to arrive early: the preludes will be some of the most exquisite music on the planet.

Beverages

These beverages will be available for your delectation at the reception:

• Coke products (12-ounce bottles)
• Coke
• Diet Coke
• 7-Up products (500 mL [16.9-ounce] bottles)
• 7-Up
• Diet 7-Up
• Sunkist orange
• Diet Sunkist orange
• Diet Canada Dry ginger ale
• bottled water
• Chippewa Springs (10-ounce bottles)
• Crystal Geyser (8-ounce bottles)
• Organic Valley UHT milk (200 mL [6.75-ounce] bottles)
• 1% white
• 1% chocolate

Grrrr, Bad Tech. Bad! No Doggie Treats for You!

So this morning we had scheduled a conference call with the good people who've agreed to take part in our wedding ceremony, and we had notified all of them of the number to call, the codes to punch in, the time (10 AM), etc. But, of course, all of this presumes that somebody (that would be us) had called in first using conference-administrator privileges to open the conference. And it worked exactly that way when we tested it out a couple of times last week, so we figured we were good for today. That is, right up until 9:55, when we tried to do it for real, at which point it didn't work at all. A frantic call to the service informed us that they had lost all track of the fact that Abigail was an authorized customer who had just paid her subscription fee last week.

For future reference, the company that bunged up our planned call is InterCall OnLine. They do not offer customer service or tech support on weekends. We now officially hate them.

Dang. Technology is supposed to just WORK, dammit!

Reception Menu

As we've mentioned, our reception will be catered by Swagat Indian Restaurant. We've nailed down the menu:

• Appetizers (samosa = dumpling; pakora = fritter)
  • vegetable samosa
  • vegetable pakora
  • shrimp pakora
  • chicken pakora
• Breads
• garlic naan
• onion kulcha
• chicken naan
• Entrees*
• chicken tikka masala (cubed chicken, Tandoori-baked, in creamy tomato sauce)
• paneer jalfrazie (cottage cheese cooked w/vegetables)
• Desserts
• kheer (rice pudding)
• caramel cream (Indian version of flan)

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*Each of these will be prepared mild. At the end of the serving line, there will be spices and flavorings for those who prefer their food hotter.

Viewer Discretion Advised

Yes, we are getting seriously married, but that doesn’t mean we’re getting married seriously. We’re going to have some fun with the wedding ceremony, and some of it will be risque. Nothing R-rated, but there will be, shall we say, adult themes popping up. Those who might be abashed being present for such things may wish to avail themselves of the playground, about a block away across the soccer field. (See map.) Alternatively, feel free to skip the wedding entirely and just meet us at the reception afterwards. The reception will be strictly G-rated!

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email either of us.

Getting the Piece of Paper

Ever wonder what a marriage license looks like these days? Here's ours (as yet unwitnessed, unofficiated, and unnotarized; click to enlarge):

You wouldn't believe the hoops that the Dane County Clerk's office makes you jump thru to get one of these. It's not just the 120 bux (cash only, no checks, credit cards, PayPal, etc.), you have to both apply together and in person; have lined up a date, place, time, and officiant for the ceremony; provide photo ID and Social Security number; prove that you've lived at your current address for at least 30 days; and produce a government-inspected, -signed, -sealed, and -certified copy of a birth certificate of somebody with your name. And more.

Anyone who thinks that "marriage is a sacred institution ordained by God" must never have had to do this trained-monkey act, because there's nothing sacred about it.

Got Mobility Problems?

If you anticipate difficulty in walking to the part of the park where the ceremony will take place, let me encourage you to contact the Wisconsin Department of Transportation about obtaining a disabled-parking tag to hang on the mirror of your car. Are you eligible for such a tag? Could be. The DOT website says:

By legal definition, [eligibility] includes any person who:
 • Cannot walk 200 feet or more without stopping to rest.

As you’ll be able to see from our map, there are a lot of handicapped spaces very close to the park shelter, so there’s no need to park far away or to go thru lots of gyrations and extra work just to get a decent parking place.