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What about that wedding day?
October 13th, 2006 11:47 amHard to believe that an unemployed girl has been too busy to write about her wedding day, but it's true! So, without further ado, here's it is...
Date: October 1, 2006 ~ Brian & Anna Marie's wedding day
Since the wedding was not until the afternoon, we did not have to be up exceptionally early. Things in the frantic week leading up to our wedding just seemed to work out & us having a sunset flight versus the sunrise flight was one of them. Sunday morning was very chilly & we would have had to get up VERY early in order to make the 7 am flight. Part of me still can't believe that we are going to elope today. Part of me believes it completely.
In the course of trying to do little things throughout the day to keep myself from being nervous, I caught up on some email. In my inbox, dated the 29th, was an email from a friend of mine that brought tears to my eyes. This friend & I have known each other since 3rd grade (you do the math) & although we live in the same state we rarely see each other. Her note commented on this fact with sadness & suggested that we do something about it. I called her & we talked for a good long time until the ex gently reminded me that I had to get ready for my wedding!
What to wear? OMIGOSH! Guys have it so easy when it comes to what to wear. The ex picked Dockers, a yellow dress shirt & this tie he has that I adore. But what about me? I wanted to wear something special, but did not have the time or money to go out buy something new. Well, I had bought a nice short-sleeved sweater, but when I washed it, the darn thing shrank at least 2 sizes. Fortunately for me, I had gone downstairs to retrieve something for the ceremony & came across an outfit that I had forgotten about. It's an electric blue dress that I wore when I was the Maid of Honor in a wedding about 12 years ago. Thank Goddess, it still fit!
After a light lunch ~ I was afraid to eat too much with my nerves ~ we called the balloon company at 2:30 pm to check whether or not we would be flying. Since it was a beautiful day we assumed there would be no question. The ex spoke with our pilot, Liana, & she expressed concern for the wind conditions. After learning that our "plan B" location was also in Charlottesville, she asked us to drive down & check back with her in a little while. Of course, all of this had to be relayed to Claire, our marriage commissioner, as well.
On the drive down to Charlottesville, The ex & I chit-chatted while holding hands like we do as we go down the road. As we got close to C'ville, we checked in with Liana again & she felt that conditions were looking much more promising & she told us which launch site to meet them. Again, we relayed the information to Claire. We arrived at the launch site early & the ex ducked into a cigar shop :::eye roll::: before we hit the Arby's to use the restrooms. This Arby's is like no other I have seen ... it has a chandelier, carpeted dining area, classical music & bathrooms featuring tile & marble. If you are stopping at a fast food joint on your wedding day, this is the type you need visit.
After a short wait, Claire pulled in & we double checked our needed items: cameras, rings, tartan, something for our hand-fasting, etc. We went through the order of the ceremony one last time & waited for the balloon company to arrive. First on the scene was a chase person, Philip, whom I would later bestow the title of "balloon guardian angel" upon. Then came Jim, co-owner of the balloon company, with one of the balloons, shortly followed by Liana with the second balloon & another chase person. We learned that IF we could fly, they would be taking two balloons up. Upon testing wind conditions (done with small helium-filled balloons), it was decided that we needed to move to another launch site.
After piling back into our respective vehicles, we headed off to launch site number two. By now it is getting close to 5 pm & I was a little worried that it would be too late to fly. After testing wind conditions at the new site & finding that they had changed, the two pilots agreed that things were OK for a lift off! With that announcement, everything got in motion VERY fast. Balloons were unloaded & unraveled from their bags, baskets were off the trucks & set in their proper places. The ex was given a pair of gloves so that he could help set up our balloon. (Yes, they put you to work if you are willing!)
The balloons are filled with air driven by a fan, then heated, once fully inflated. Hot air balloons are the ultimate lesson in "hot air rises" by the way! As if I needed another sign about how things were progressing, the second balloon that would be flying that day had the Make-A-Wish logo on it! What a small world. I gave the folks in the second balloon a disposable camera in the hopes they would be able to get some pictures of us in our balloon. The balloon folks had taken care to make sure that we flew in the balloon with the highest clearance for the ex & when setting up the unit, put everything as high as they could for him.
Once the balloon was heated, it rose up from the ground like magic. The basket was tethered to the chase vehicle & after some last minute coordination between pilots & ground crew, Liana announced it was time to fly. Climbing into a balloon basket in a dress is not something that I would probably opt to do again, but I will tell you that I didn't even make a run in my stockings! A word about the basket ... it is really made of wicker and is amazingly small! The basket fits into the back of a pick up truck with room to spare. It holds two large propane tanks in addition to 1-5 people. The 4 of us were packed in pretty tight & I could not imagine another person with us.
The scariest part of the balloon ride turned out to be getting started. While a balloon is tethered to land, it is fighting the wind, not becoming one with it. As we waited for every thing to be set for our lift off, the wind made the balloon sway back & forth until I thought we would fall right out of the basket. Speaking of falling out of the basket, the basket is about waist high ... for a normal person; The ex was a bit concerned with his height, so he kept as low of a profile as he could. The other concern for the ex was being so close to the flames, he wore a hat for most of the flight to protect his head from the intense heat.
Once the tether was released, we started our ascent quickly. The ascent ~ indeed the entire flight ~ is so smooth it is incredible. As we lifted up over the trees, we had a great view of the other balloon doing the same. Liana explained to us that she would need to fly higher than normal in order to give us the needed time for the ceremony. She also reminded Claire that the ceremony would have to be interrupted by the flame bursts; if the balloon does not receive heat about every 30 seconds it starts to descend.
Once Liana gave the A-OK, Claire began the ceremony. Even though we had just a short time to work on the vows, they came out beautifully. Claire & Liana magically worked out a method by where Claire paused, Liana gave the balloon its fire & Claire continued with the ceremony. Liana did the best she could to tape the ceremony while flying the balloon. It's funny about my nervousness ... all the things I had been nervous about were just in the details, not about the commitment I was about to make. When the time came for me to say "I do" I had to say it twice because I was not sure the first one came out loud enough to be heard.
For our hand-fasting, we chose a strip of leather. For those who are not familiar, a hand-fasting is a pagan ritual that units a couple for a year & a day. To be able to incorporate this into our wedding vows, made it very special for both of us ~ the ex really liked the wording & concept, which made it even more special for me too. The other uncommon element of our ceremony was a tartan pinning. This is a Scottish tradition that we learned about 2 days prior to the ceremony. After the vows, the ex pinned a swatch of the Robertson tartan to my dress & welcomed me into his family. We had not written any script for this part but the ex's impromptu words were perfectly chosen.
After waiting for yet another blast of fire (how fitting, by the way, since I am a fire sign) the ex & I were pronounced husband & wife! Liana let us know that we had reached approximately 3,000 feet during the ceremony. Now that we could 'relax' she wanted to fly around a bit so that we could enjoy the flight. We flew by Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, fell in love with the Blue Ridge mountains all over again & marveled at the most unexpected flying companions ... butterflies! At first, I thought I was seeing things, but then kept seeing them ~ butterflies. In all, we probably saw 2 or 3 dozen fly by us. In a few cases, we watched them catch a thermal to ride so they could give their delicate wings a rest.
As the sun was sinking fast, we had to find a proper place to land. Liana was in contact with both the other balloon & Philip in the chase vehicle. Normally, the balloon that we rode in is called "Free Spirit" but it was dubbed "Celebration" for the flight in honor of our wedding. After the first few landing sites did not pan out, Liana had to get the balloon back up to around 400 feet since we were literally skimming the tree tops. The ex, of course, used the opportunity to scout for deer! Riding along at the tops of trees was a little unsettling for me, but one look back at the mountains was all I needed.
Finally Liana found a spot she thought might work for us & she started lowering the balloon down. She went over the landing procedure with us (face forward, knees bent, hold on with both hands & do NOT leave the balloon until she says so) & warned us that she might have to drop the balloon down suddenly since the cow pasture she has her eye on was not large & had some power lines to contend with. All the while, she is also in contact with Philip, guiding him to our location the best that she could.
When we came over the edge of the trees at the field, the balloon dropped to the ground fast. Due to Liana's excellent coaching, we were ready when the balloon hit the earth. The basket bounced twice before she was able to 'catch' it & make it stop. We were all impressed, but she would later admit that it was a sloppy landing & that she had to look back to make sure she had cleared the tress. Although we thought the balloon would pitch back & forth as it did before take off, it really did not do as much of that as we waited for Philip to find us. Seeing the chase vehicle pull up was a happy sight indeed. We stayed in the balloon while Philip checked with the property owners to gain the needed permission to land & load the balloon.
With permission granted (note: if the land owner comes out with children it is a good sign. Shotguns are a bad sign) we hopped out of the balloon. Getting out of the basket in a dress is no easier then getting in, but the ex was a big help. Once we were all clear, the deflation process is very fast. Again, the ex was put to work while the cows watched us. Once deflated, the balloon is put into a large bag. It's amazing to realize that this now limp fabric getting stuffed into an overgrown duffel bag just carried you through the air!
With the obligatory picture of us sitting on the bagged balloon taken, we loaded up & set off for the launch site where sparkling cider & hors d'oeuvres awaited us. Claire proposed a toast to the newlyweds & everyone joined in. Once we said our thank you's & goodbye's, the ex & I had fun decorating my Endeavor with "Just Married" all over it & the ex even drew a picture of the hot air balloon!
Date: October 1, 2006 ~ Brian & Anna Marie's wedding day
Since the wedding was not until the afternoon, we did not have to be up exceptionally early. Things in the frantic week leading up to our wedding just seemed to work out & us having a sunset flight versus the sunrise flight was one of them. Sunday morning was very chilly & we would have had to get up VERY early in order to make the 7 am flight. Part of me still can't believe that we are going to elope today. Part of me believes it completely.
In the course of trying to do little things throughout the day to keep myself from being nervous, I caught up on some email. In my inbox, dated the 29th, was an email from a friend of mine that brought tears to my eyes. This friend & I have known each other since 3rd grade (you do the math) & although we live in the same state we rarely see each other. Her note commented on this fact with sadness & suggested that we do something about it. I called her & we talked for a good long time until the ex gently reminded me that I had to get ready for my wedding!
What to wear? OMIGOSH! Guys have it so easy when it comes to what to wear. The ex picked Dockers, a yellow dress shirt & this tie he has that I adore. But what about me? I wanted to wear something special, but did not have the time or money to go out buy something new. Well, I had bought a nice short-sleeved sweater, but when I washed it, the darn thing shrank at least 2 sizes. Fortunately for me, I had gone downstairs to retrieve something for the ceremony & came across an outfit that I had forgotten about. It's an electric blue dress that I wore when I was the Maid of Honor in a wedding about 12 years ago. Thank Goddess, it still fit!
After a light lunch ~ I was afraid to eat too much with my nerves ~ we called the balloon company at 2:30 pm to check whether or not we would be flying. Since it was a beautiful day we assumed there would be no question. The ex spoke with our pilot, Liana, & she expressed concern for the wind conditions. After learning that our "plan B" location was also in Charlottesville, she asked us to drive down & check back with her in a little while. Of course, all of this had to be relayed to Claire, our marriage commissioner, as well.
On the drive down to Charlottesville, The ex & I chit-chatted while holding hands like we do as we go down the road. As we got close to C'ville, we checked in with Liana again & she felt that conditions were looking much more promising & she told us which launch site to meet them. Again, we relayed the information to Claire. We arrived at the launch site early & the ex ducked into a cigar shop :::eye roll::: before we hit the Arby's to use the restrooms. This Arby's is like no other I have seen ... it has a chandelier, carpeted dining area, classical music & bathrooms featuring tile & marble. If you are stopping at a fast food joint on your wedding day, this is the type you need visit.
After a short wait, Claire pulled in & we double checked our needed items: cameras, rings, tartan, something for our hand-fasting, etc. We went through the order of the ceremony one last time & waited for the balloon company to arrive. First on the scene was a chase person, Philip, whom I would later bestow the title of "balloon guardian angel" upon. Then came Jim, co-owner of the balloon company, with one of the balloons, shortly followed by Liana with the second balloon & another chase person. We learned that IF we could fly, they would be taking two balloons up. Upon testing wind conditions (done with small helium-filled balloons), it was decided that we needed to move to another launch site.
After piling back into our respective vehicles, we headed off to launch site number two. By now it is getting close to 5 pm & I was a little worried that it would be too late to fly. After testing wind conditions at the new site & finding that they had changed, the two pilots agreed that things were OK for a lift off! With that announcement, everything got in motion VERY fast. Balloons were unloaded & unraveled from their bags, baskets were off the trucks & set in their proper places. The ex was given a pair of gloves so that he could help set up our balloon. (Yes, they put you to work if you are willing!)
The balloons are filled with air driven by a fan, then heated, once fully inflated. Hot air balloons are the ultimate lesson in "hot air rises" by the way! As if I needed another sign about how things were progressing, the second balloon that would be flying that day had the Make-A-Wish logo on it! What a small world. I gave the folks in the second balloon a disposable camera in the hopes they would be able to get some pictures of us in our balloon. The balloon folks had taken care to make sure that we flew in the balloon with the highest clearance for the ex & when setting up the unit, put everything as high as they could for him.
Once the balloon was heated, it rose up from the ground like magic. The basket was tethered to the chase vehicle & after some last minute coordination between pilots & ground crew, Liana announced it was time to fly. Climbing into a balloon basket in a dress is not something that I would probably opt to do again, but I will tell you that I didn't even make a run in my stockings! A word about the basket ... it is really made of wicker and is amazingly small! The basket fits into the back of a pick up truck with room to spare. It holds two large propane tanks in addition to 1-5 people. The 4 of us were packed in pretty tight & I could not imagine another person with us.
The scariest part of the balloon ride turned out to be getting started. While a balloon is tethered to land, it is fighting the wind, not becoming one with it. As we waited for every thing to be set for our lift off, the wind made the balloon sway back & forth until I thought we would fall right out of the basket. Speaking of falling out of the basket, the basket is about waist high ... for a normal person; The ex was a bit concerned with his height, so he kept as low of a profile as he could. The other concern for the ex was being so close to the flames, he wore a hat for most of the flight to protect his head from the intense heat.
Once the tether was released, we started our ascent quickly. The ascent ~ indeed the entire flight ~ is so smooth it is incredible. As we lifted up over the trees, we had a great view of the other balloon doing the same. Liana explained to us that she would need to fly higher than normal in order to give us the needed time for the ceremony. She also reminded Claire that the ceremony would have to be interrupted by the flame bursts; if the balloon does not receive heat about every 30 seconds it starts to descend.
Once Liana gave the A-OK, Claire began the ceremony. Even though we had just a short time to work on the vows, they came out beautifully. Claire & Liana magically worked out a method by where Claire paused, Liana gave the balloon its fire & Claire continued with the ceremony. Liana did the best she could to tape the ceremony while flying the balloon. It's funny about my nervousness ... all the things I had been nervous about were just in the details, not about the commitment I was about to make. When the time came for me to say "I do" I had to say it twice because I was not sure the first one came out loud enough to be heard.
For our hand-fasting, we chose a strip of leather. For those who are not familiar, a hand-fasting is a pagan ritual that units a couple for a year & a day. To be able to incorporate this into our wedding vows, made it very special for both of us ~ the ex really liked the wording & concept, which made it even more special for me too. The other uncommon element of our ceremony was a tartan pinning. This is a Scottish tradition that we learned about 2 days prior to the ceremony. After the vows, the ex pinned a swatch of the Robertson tartan to my dress & welcomed me into his family. We had not written any script for this part but the ex's impromptu words were perfectly chosen.
After waiting for yet another blast of fire (how fitting, by the way, since I am a fire sign) the ex & I were pronounced husband & wife! Liana let us know that we had reached approximately 3,000 feet during the ceremony. Now that we could 'relax' she wanted to fly around a bit so that we could enjoy the flight. We flew by Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, fell in love with the Blue Ridge mountains all over again & marveled at the most unexpected flying companions ... butterflies! At first, I thought I was seeing things, but then kept seeing them ~ butterflies. In all, we probably saw 2 or 3 dozen fly by us. In a few cases, we watched them catch a thermal to ride so they could give their delicate wings a rest.
As the sun was sinking fast, we had to find a proper place to land. Liana was in contact with both the other balloon & Philip in the chase vehicle. Normally, the balloon that we rode in is called "Free Spirit" but it was dubbed "Celebration" for the flight in honor of our wedding. After the first few landing sites did not pan out, Liana had to get the balloon back up to around 400 feet since we were literally skimming the tree tops. The ex, of course, used the opportunity to scout for deer! Riding along at the tops of trees was a little unsettling for me, but one look back at the mountains was all I needed.
Finally Liana found a spot she thought might work for us & she started lowering the balloon down. She went over the landing procedure with us (face forward, knees bent, hold on with both hands & do NOT leave the balloon until she says so) & warned us that she might have to drop the balloon down suddenly since the cow pasture she has her eye on was not large & had some power lines to contend with. All the while, she is also in contact with Philip, guiding him to our location the best that she could.
When we came over the edge of the trees at the field, the balloon dropped to the ground fast. Due to Liana's excellent coaching, we were ready when the balloon hit the earth. The basket bounced twice before she was able to 'catch' it & make it stop. We were all impressed, but she would later admit that it was a sloppy landing & that she had to look back to make sure she had cleared the tress. Although we thought the balloon would pitch back & forth as it did before take off, it really did not do as much of that as we waited for Philip to find us. Seeing the chase vehicle pull up was a happy sight indeed. We stayed in the balloon while Philip checked with the property owners to gain the needed permission to land & load the balloon.
With permission granted (note: if the land owner comes out with children it is a good sign. Shotguns are a bad sign) we hopped out of the balloon. Getting out of the basket in a dress is no easier then getting in, but the ex was a big help. Once we were all clear, the deflation process is very fast. Again, the ex was put to work while the cows watched us. Once deflated, the balloon is put into a large bag. It's amazing to realize that this now limp fabric getting stuffed into an overgrown duffel bag just carried you through the air!
With the obligatory picture of us sitting on the bagged balloon taken, we loaded up & set off for the launch site where sparkling cider & hors d'oeuvres awaited us. Claire proposed a toast to the newlyweds & everyone joined in. Once we said our thank you's & goodbye's, the ex & I had fun decorating my Endeavor with "Just Married" all over it & the ex even drew a picture of the hot air balloon!
