7:54pm — It is done. I am now a married man. I publicly committed my devotion to Sara Schwarz yesterday. Everything was beautiful — absolutely perfect. Everyone looked great. Sara was gorgeous. The weather was nice, the church was beautiful, the reception hall was terrific, our photographer was fantastic.
On Wednesday, I went in to work only for a couple hours. My heart was SO not into it as my mind could only dwell on what lay ahead. Chad and Clinton arrived a day early in order to take me out to dinner. I was THRILLED to see them! they got a hotel, rented a car, and drove to the house. I had to make pre-arrangements for my cousin Jasmine and her boyfriend, David to get picked up from the airport because my mother mistakenly gave them the wrong date. So, I asked Dirk to pick them up for me while the three of us went out. We first went to Chino Latinos for dinner and then to this cool little lounge in Dinkytown called the Kitty Cat Klub. It was JUST ideal. It was so wonderful to those two! It’s just a crime that I don’t keep in touch with them more often. On Thursday, I hosted a barbecue for people who were arriving for the rehearsal.
1:54pm — Although we are no longer in Minnesota, indeed, it is actually very early in the morning somewhere over the East China Sea heading to Hong Kong.
Anyway, back to the [recounting]. The barbecue once taken over by Chad and Clinton, ended up to be a fairly big hit. The volleyball net and equipment that I borrowed from Randy [Schmidt from Evergreen] were put to good use. (Were it not for the otherwise boredom experienced by Jasmine and David in setting up the net, it would not have happened.)
David Jesmer arrived first and other gradually trickled in, like the Zahn’s and Rice’s. My family finally showed up around 3:30. We had only about an hour, but it worked out fairly well. (I hope.) At 4:30, all the men shipped out to try on and pick up the tuxedos. After which we made our way finally to the rehearsal. Of course, we didn’t get started until around 6:45. All of my German relatives were there, too. Brian Doten had everyone introduce themselves, after which we stepped through the ceremony. I was very impressed with how well organized . . . .
[Aside: sitting on the floor of the Hong Kong airport — don’t know the official name of it. I hear and see Chinese everywhere — next to the restroom, waiting for my semi-sickly wife to exit. As a precaution, I am guessing, against further outbreaks of SARS, I am next to a “temperature checkpoint.” An opportunity to explore Sara’s reaction presents itself here: — Well, no big deal.]
6:45am (Hong Kong, 8/2/2004)
The rehearsal and the dinner following were a lot of fun! I was a little choked up when we recited our vows. It just wasn’t something I was expecting to do. The dinner was at the Sheraton Hotel where most everyone was staying anyway. It was a very subdued setting, pleasant, delicious buffet. Clinton was in his element for sure. Sara and I handed out gifts to our wedding party and gave a brief explanation of who they were to each of us. They (the groomsmen and ushers) each received an engraved clock and alarm that is especially useful for travel. The groomsmen’s included a pen and pencil set. We hung out for quite some time. I took Sara back to the extended stay hotel (where she moved into last week). We chatted a bit and I spent my last night on the couch as a single man.