After several hectic days and the wedding, Dabney and I drove down to Tunica. We checked at the Goldstrike, went up to our room, and promptly went to sleep. We were going to do something but we just ran out of gas. I woke up before Dabney and watched some NCAA tournament while she slept. About half an hour later Dabney woke and we went downstairs.
We both got Goldstrike cards, which was one line. Then we walked over to the buffet line which was also backed up. They had a seafood buffet that night and that was a sight to behold. They buffet featured whole lobsters and crab legs. All these people were getting two lobsters at a time and big platefuls of crab legs. After we ate we wandered around that casino and gambled a bit. The casino was busy and all the tables were open and a lot of the machines were being played. It was just crazy, there was people everywhere. It had been a long day so we decided to make it an early night.
The next day we slept in, ordered omelets from room service, and got the Jeff Bridges movie Crazy Heart. It was a great way to spend the morning. The food was really good and we both liked the movie. In Tunica they have a small strip malls with what was supposed to be outlet stores, but from what Dabney and I saw there wasn't much savings on the stuff we looked at. We went back to the room for a bit and that night drove over to Harah's and had dinner at the Paula Dean buffet. There were pictures of Paula everywhere and the food at the Paula Dean buffet was really good. If you go I highly recommend the ho cakes which is like a cross between cornbread and a pancake. After dinner we went back to Goldstike and played some video poker at the bar and had a few adult beverages. It was going to be our last night in Tunica but it had been an excellent trip.
Monday morning Dabney had to get back to Memphis for a job interview so we checked and were going to eat breakfast at Waffle House. We drove over and the Waffle House was really busy so ended up going to Paula Dean's again. By the way I am good on the buffets for awhile. We drove back to Memphis and Dabney went to her interview at a non-profit agency called Knowledge Quest. As it turned out Dabney got the job there making it a perfect ending to a perfect weekend.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
The Wedding Weekend Part 3 Sat
Saturday morning I woke up at Austin's house, got dressed, and drove home. Dabney and her Mom had gone to get their hair done so I had the house to myself to get ready. It was in that time that any kind of nerves hit me. The impact of that this was happening after all the planning and hoping that everything was going to work. I checked the internet for a few minutes, took a bath, and got dressed. Austin was supposed to be pick me up because I only wanted one car at the church. He was supposed to be there at 9:30 but had not shown up. A few minutes later Bill and Cameron showed up with the cupcakes so I rode to First Congo with him. When I got there no Austin and Ted had not talked to him either. I was getting a bit nervous when he called and said he was on his way and showed up a few minutes later.
Steve Jones was wandering around taking some pictures of us getting ready. We had decided to try and get some pictures done before the wedding started. Dabney was still getting ready so we did some shots that needed me and not her. After that we did the shots of me seeing Dabney for the first time in her wedding dress. They had me turn around and face the other way and she called me and I turned around. She looked radiant and happy and just full of joy. Steve Jones captured that moment and so far it is everyone's favorite picture. After that we took a bunch of pictures of us with various family members. By that time people were starting to show up so we knew we did not have much time left. Some of the last pictures we took were of the wedding party and the flower girls. Which considering we lost Ted during the service was a good thing. We took the last few pictures, moved off and let the people come in and get seated. Then it was showtime.
The various people walked the mothers and grandmothers in. Then Dabney's Dad Dodson walked her in. It is difficult to describe the mix of emotions I was feeling at that moment. I was overcome with all this pure emotion and I just wanted to explode. We made it through the first part of giving away the bride and readings. During one of the readings I saw Jodi, Ted's girlfriend out of the corner of my eye. next thing I know Jodi and Syd are leading Ted out of the church. We later found out he had a heart flutter and sent his body into shut down mode but seems ok now. Uncle James had a program with the service and a page out of a newspaper with some thoughts written down. It was this bizarre combination of things and other than Dabney reminding him we needed to vows he kept things straight. Dabney and I had written our vows and we wrote them separately. Oddly enough our vows were very similar. I made it through the most of mine but got a bit choked up on the last line of mine which made Dabney a bit choked up for the first part of her vows. But we both made it through our vows. We exchanged rings and we were in the home stretch. There was a couple of more prayers and we kissed. This time when we did the walk out we were married. We stayed at the church for a bit longer, took some more pictures, and then we left the church as people blew bubbles and we left out in Dabney's car to drive to the Hi Tone. It was a massive relief to be through that part because we knew the Hi Tone part would be fun.
We got to the Hi Tone and Steve Jones took some pictures of us outside. We went inside and they were finishing setting up and there was already a mix of friends and family there. I got with the band to work out what time they would start. Once some people got some food, Dabney introduced the band and the Papa Top's West Coast Turn Around who we saw that fateful night at the Hi Tone a couple of years earlier started playing. Dabney and I mingled with the guests and got something to eat. The Papa Top's took a break and during that time Dabney and I fed each other a cupcake, Austin did a toast, and I thanked everybody for coming out. After their break Dabney and I danced to an Ann Murray song we picked out Can I Have This Dance. It was pretty awesome and it was wonderful dancing with her in that moment. A little bit later other people got up and danced and by that time people had started leaving. The Papa Top's said their last was this Charlie Daniel's song called In America but I knew there needed to be one more song. The infamous David Alan Coe song that has the sing along chorus. "Tell em you were Merle Haggard's bitch in prison. Tell em you think Billy Ray Cyrus is queen. Tell em you and David Alan Coe invented country music. You'll be the biggest star they've ever seen." We had the remaining 20 or 30 people singing chorus with us by the end and I knew that was perfect the ending to the party. After that people starting picking up the Hi Tone, Dabney and I went home to get ready to go to Tunica, because my Dad got us a room down there at the Goldstrike Casino. While we were getting ready they dropped some stuff off from the church and the Hi Tone, soon they left and we did too heading to Tunica, MS.
Last installment Part 4 Tunica.
Steve Jones was wandering around taking some pictures of us getting ready. We had decided to try and get some pictures done before the wedding started. Dabney was still getting ready so we did some shots that needed me and not her. After that we did the shots of me seeing Dabney for the first time in her wedding dress. They had me turn around and face the other way and she called me and I turned around. She looked radiant and happy and just full of joy. Steve Jones captured that moment and so far it is everyone's favorite picture. After that we took a bunch of pictures of us with various family members. By that time people were starting to show up so we knew we did not have much time left. Some of the last pictures we took were of the wedding party and the flower girls. Which considering we lost Ted during the service was a good thing. We took the last few pictures, moved off and let the people come in and get seated. Then it was showtime.
The various people walked the mothers and grandmothers in. Then Dabney's Dad Dodson walked her in. It is difficult to describe the mix of emotions I was feeling at that moment. I was overcome with all this pure emotion and I just wanted to explode. We made it through the first part of giving away the bride and readings. During one of the readings I saw Jodi, Ted's girlfriend out of the corner of my eye. next thing I know Jodi and Syd are leading Ted out of the church. We later found out he had a heart flutter and sent his body into shut down mode but seems ok now. Uncle James had a program with the service and a page out of a newspaper with some thoughts written down. It was this bizarre combination of things and other than Dabney reminding him we needed to vows he kept things straight. Dabney and I had written our vows and we wrote them separately. Oddly enough our vows were very similar. I made it through the most of mine but got a bit choked up on the last line of mine which made Dabney a bit choked up for the first part of her vows. But we both made it through our vows. We exchanged rings and we were in the home stretch. There was a couple of more prayers and we kissed. This time when we did the walk out we were married. We stayed at the church for a bit longer, took some more pictures, and then we left the church as people blew bubbles and we left out in Dabney's car to drive to the Hi Tone. It was a massive relief to be through that part because we knew the Hi Tone part would be fun.
We got to the Hi Tone and Steve Jones took some pictures of us outside. We went inside and they were finishing setting up and there was already a mix of friends and family there. I got with the band to work out what time they would start. Once some people got some food, Dabney introduced the band and the Papa Top's West Coast Turn Around who we saw that fateful night at the Hi Tone a couple of years earlier started playing. Dabney and I mingled with the guests and got something to eat. The Papa Top's took a break and during that time Dabney and I fed each other a cupcake, Austin did a toast, and I thanked everybody for coming out. After their break Dabney and I danced to an Ann Murray song we picked out Can I Have This Dance. It was pretty awesome and it was wonderful dancing with her in that moment. A little bit later other people got up and danced and by that time people had started leaving. The Papa Top's said their last was this Charlie Daniel's song called In America but I knew there needed to be one more song. The infamous David Alan Coe song that has the sing along chorus. "Tell em you were Merle Haggard's bitch in prison. Tell em you think Billy Ray Cyrus is queen. Tell em you and David Alan Coe invented country music. You'll be the biggest star they've ever seen." We had the remaining 20 or 30 people singing chorus with us by the end and I knew that was perfect the ending to the party. After that people starting picking up the Hi Tone, Dabney and I went home to get ready to go to Tunica, because my Dad got us a room down there at the Goldstrike Casino. While we were getting ready they dropped some stuff off from the church and the Hi Tone, soon they left and we did too heading to Tunica, MS.
Last installment Part 4 Tunica.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
The Wedding Weekend Part 2 Fri
Friday was a crazy day because there was a lot of moving parts and people in different places. They day started with Dabney and Polly going off to get their nails and toes done. While they did that Polly's friend Karen and Stacy did some decorating for the Hi Tone. The projects did not take as long as Dabney thought they would and Karen ended up going to the nail place and Stacy went to her place to let her dog out. Polly's husband Greg had been helping Bill with a project that did not take long so he came back to our house and ended up watching some basketball with him. Dabney, Polly, and Karen got back and they left again. A little bit later my Mom showed up. She had a left Birmingham that morning and had come straight to our house. We had lunch with her and then Mom and I went to get our hair cut at Dabble's. When I got back from that Dabney, Katie, and Stacy were doing a makeup trial with the Mary Kay lady that would be doing the makeup for the girls the next day. After that we took some stuff for the Hi Tone and after that Dabney went to the church and I got ready for the Running Gag show, then went to the church for the rehearsal.
The rehearsal was for the wedding party, people doing readings, and the parents that would be seated at the beginning of the service. It also gave the remaining people like the Dads, my sister Jacquie and Dabney's grandmothers a chance to meet. We went through the entrance a couple of times, the readings and what would happen in the service. Dabney's Uncle James ran the rehearsal and got testy a couple of times when people got a bit too silly. However I think it was good because the next day everything went very smoothly. About halfway through the guy was going to play the piano for the service showed up. neither one of us had heard him play and had no idea if he could. I think Dabney and I both were very relieved to find he could not only play but play well. The rehearsal was very exciting because it was the first we saw all the moving parts in action and you got the feeling hey we are really doing this. The most exciting part was when we did the leaving the alter part and walking out. We knew when that happened on Saturday that we would be married. After the rehearsal I went to warm up with Running Gag and most everybody else went to Central BBQ.
Several of the people that went to the rehearsal went to the Running Gag show. My Dad, Sharron, my sister Jacquie and her boyfriend Dan had never seen me perform improv before. So I found that to be pretty exciting. It was for the most part a regular Running Gag show. We had part that dealt with the wedding. We played a game called Slide Show where the idea of going on vacation and taking pictures on the trip. There were two guys talking about the trip while Dabney and I posed with the rest of the Running Gag guys. The guys would turn around we would freeze and they would make up something about what we were doing. The show went well and after that everybody went home. I was spending the night with Austin so I went with him to the Mini Van show at the Hi Tone.
Ted, Austin, Syd and I were at the Hi Tone. the show was pretty uneventful. I got something to eat and watched Scott Banbury get thrown out of for being a jerk. We hung out for a bit and Jonathan the owner of the Hi Tone bought me shot. It was odd being the Hi-Tone the night before knowing there would be a different vibe and different crowd in there about 12 hours from that time. Close one o clock I hit the wall and told Austin I needed to go to bed and said that was fine and we went to his house. He blew up an air mattress for me and we chatted a bit. After that we called it a night.
Once again it was a busy productive day. Next the big day is here.
The rehearsal was for the wedding party, people doing readings, and the parents that would be seated at the beginning of the service. It also gave the remaining people like the Dads, my sister Jacquie and Dabney's grandmothers a chance to meet. We went through the entrance a couple of times, the readings and what would happen in the service. Dabney's Uncle James ran the rehearsal and got testy a couple of times when people got a bit too silly. However I think it was good because the next day everything went very smoothly. About halfway through the guy was going to play the piano for the service showed up. neither one of us had heard him play and had no idea if he could. I think Dabney and I both were very relieved to find he could not only play but play well. The rehearsal was very exciting because it was the first we saw all the moving parts in action and you got the feeling hey we are really doing this. The most exciting part was when we did the leaving the alter part and walking out. We knew when that happened on Saturday that we would be married. After the rehearsal I went to warm up with Running Gag and most everybody else went to Central BBQ.
Several of the people that went to the rehearsal went to the Running Gag show. My Dad, Sharron, my sister Jacquie and her boyfriend Dan had never seen me perform improv before. So I found that to be pretty exciting. It was for the most part a regular Running Gag show. We had part that dealt with the wedding. We played a game called Slide Show where the idea of going on vacation and taking pictures on the trip. There were two guys talking about the trip while Dabney and I posed with the rest of the Running Gag guys. The guys would turn around we would freeze and they would make up something about what we were doing. The show went well and after that everybody went home. I was spending the night with Austin so I went with him to the Mini Van show at the Hi Tone.
Ted, Austin, Syd and I were at the Hi Tone. the show was pretty uneventful. I got something to eat and watched Scott Banbury get thrown out of for being a jerk. We hung out for a bit and Jonathan the owner of the Hi Tone bought me shot. It was odd being the Hi-Tone the night before knowing there would be a different vibe and different crowd in there about 12 hours from that time. Close one o clock I hit the wall and told Austin I needed to go to bed and said that was fine and we went to his house. He blew up an air mattress for me and we chatted a bit. After that we called it a night.
Once again it was a busy productive day. Next the big day is here.
The Wedding Weekend Part 1 Wed/Thur
While this all still fresh in my memory, I wanted to jot down a few notes about the weekend Dabney and I got married. For me the weekend began when Dabney got off work Wednesday night. I had been off that day but did not do much wedding related that day. I met Dabney out the Hilton to meet my Dad. Up until that time my Dad and Dabney had not met. We had tried a few times, but something came up. My Dad and stepmother Sharron were waiting for us in the lobby of the hotel. We got the initial meeting out of the way and chatted a bit in the lobby bar. We went over what was going to happen over the weekend. After that we all got in my Dad's car and we went to the Belmont Grill to have dinner. Dad and Sharron really liked the Belmont, it is a good place to take out of town guests that want a little local Memphis flavor.
After that we went home because we knew Thursday was going to be a long day. It was at that point Dabney realized she could not find her Social Security card. That meant in addition to going downtown we would have to go to the Social Security Office. We got up early and heading to Social Security. We got there at 8:30 but the office did not open until 9. I went to Chick Fil A to get a biscuit and by the time I got back the office was open. Dabney was one of the first people waited on. She got the paper she needed meaning one government office down and one to go.
Next we had to go downtown to get our marriage license. Our luck held because that there was not a long wait at that office either. The man took our information and our money and made us sign the big book. There was this huge book that people getting married had to sign. I am not sure how old the book was but they had a line for the male to sign but there was no place for a female to sign. We joked that was pretty funny "Don't you worry little lady the menfolk will take care of everything." Anyway we both signed the book and got our marriage license. that meant we were one step closer to getting married.
The next thing was a group lunch at the Hi Tone. It would Dabney's Mom and my Dad a chance to meet. The lunch was supposed to be a chance for people to get together and talk about what would happen during the Hi Tone reception. The lunch was productive and everyone like the Hi Tone's food. The meeting of the parents went well and during lunch Jack and Polly got a good chance to talk.
The only other activity Thursday night was a combined birthday for Sharron and Polly at Saigon Le. Thursday was Polly's birthday and Tuesday had been Sharron's. Saigon Le is one of Polly's favorite restaurants and features a nice mix of Vietnamese and Chinese food. We got some of the lettuce wrapped egg rolls that Polly always ordered when we go there. Dinner went well and everyone had a good time. Dad and Sharron picked us up for dinner so they could see could see our house. After dinner we showed where First Congo Church (wedding location) and CBU (Running Gag Improv location) was so they would know where to go. After that we went and after a long day felt like we got a lot accomplished. We settled in for the night because we knew Friday was going to be a long day.
Part 2 Friday.
After that we went home because we knew Thursday was going to be a long day. It was at that point Dabney realized she could not find her Social Security card. That meant in addition to going downtown we would have to go to the Social Security Office. We got up early and heading to Social Security. We got there at 8:30 but the office did not open until 9. I went to Chick Fil A to get a biscuit and by the time I got back the office was open. Dabney was one of the first people waited on. She got the paper she needed meaning one government office down and one to go.
Next we had to go downtown to get our marriage license. Our luck held because that there was not a long wait at that office either. The man took our information and our money and made us sign the big book. There was this huge book that people getting married had to sign. I am not sure how old the book was but they had a line for the male to sign but there was no place for a female to sign. We joked that was pretty funny "Don't you worry little lady the menfolk will take care of everything." Anyway we both signed the book and got our marriage license. that meant we were one step closer to getting married.
The next thing was a group lunch at the Hi Tone. It would Dabney's Mom and my Dad a chance to meet. The lunch was supposed to be a chance for people to get together and talk about what would happen during the Hi Tone reception. The lunch was productive and everyone like the Hi Tone's food. The meeting of the parents went well and during lunch Jack and Polly got a good chance to talk.
The only other activity Thursday night was a combined birthday for Sharron and Polly at Saigon Le. Thursday was Polly's birthday and Tuesday had been Sharron's. Saigon Le is one of Polly's favorite restaurants and features a nice mix of Vietnamese and Chinese food. We got some of the lettuce wrapped egg rolls that Polly always ordered when we go there. Dinner went well and everyone had a good time. Dad and Sharron picked us up for dinner so they could see could see our house. After dinner we showed where First Congo Church (wedding location) and CBU (Running Gag Improv location) was so they would know where to go. After that we went and after a long day felt like we got a lot accomplished. We settled in for the night because we knew Friday was going to be a long day.
Part 2 Friday.
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