David and Julia's Living Book

The Wedding of Julia and David

A Chronicle of Our Wedding

Saturday, September 6, 2008: Proposal

6,000 feet over Lake Charles, Louisiana.

While flying over Lake Charles, Louisiana (at 6,000 feet), I asked Julia to marry me. In her surprise, she pushed the microphone away from her mouth, so I could not hear her reply. But I could see she was happy by the tears of joy flowing down her cheeks and her frantic gesticulations. Eventually, she pushed the wayward microphone back to her mouth and accepted my proposal. I am not sure what I would have done if she had not accepted; but then, we were at 6,000 feet above the ground.

Saturday, February 21, 2009: David's Bachelor Party

Zipping in go-karts.

My good friend (and best man) Alex organized my bachelor party. I instructed Alex not to have dancing girls popping out of cakes. So instead, he invited a few of my close friends, and we all went go-kart racing. It was fun and rather hard work racing these little karts around the indoor track. We had a warm-up run followed by a qualifying run before we began the race. I am sad to say that I lost control of my kart on the last lap and fell from second place to almost last. Alex won the race. This was as it should be since Alex had been practicing for three weeks beforehand. It sure was good to see everyone and have fun racing together. The event was followed by dinner at a Brazilian restaurant where much meat was consumed. Even though Julia finds it hard to believe, no girls popped out of any cakes.

Thanks for organizing this, Alex.

Saturday, March 7, 2009: Julia's Bachelorette Party

A very happy bachelorette.

Julia's good friend Stephanie organized her bachelorette party at a San Francisco tea room. Many of Julia's close friends attended, and numerous scones and gallons of tea were consumed. Much to Julia's pleasure, Julia's mum was there too. Julia assured me that there was no "thunder from down-under" in attendance, but I am not sure I believe her.

Thanks, Stephanie.

Wednesday, February 18 to Monday, March 23, 2009: Visiting Friends and Family

During the weeks leading up to our wedding, we had many overseas guests stay with us. Julia and I were so happy to have our friends and family reside with us during this time.

The ski team.

Andy and my brother Lawrence arrived from Australia, and we all went skiing in South Lake Tahoe. Andy surprised us all with his return to skis after years of snowboarding. Lawrence stunned us with his recovery from a damaged knee ACL, which he had hurt almost exactly one year earlier while skiing together in Japan.

Giggling girls.

Then Julia's good friend Audrey arrived from England, and we spent many happy hours going over our book with her, trying hard to benefit from her vast writing experience. After many conversations together and much wine consumption, I feel that Audrey is now my good friend too. Although we never solved the world's problems, I think we came close.

Audrey gave me a mantra to recite while writing: "What you leave out is just as important as what you put in." I will try to always keep this in mind. Thank you, Audrey.

Lovely Mary and handsome David.

Then Julia's mum, Mary, and her husband, David, arrived from England. We ate, drank, and were always very merry. This we fit in between the numerous beautiful hikes we made together on many wonderful Bay Area trails. David even took a flight with me in 51-Juliet.

Sylvia and her happy dad.

Then Julia's brother Charles arrived. We were very appreciative of his visit, as his wife had just given birth to their second child, Sylvia, days before his arrival. Thank you, Lenka, for allowing Charles to leave the family at such a precious time. And thank you, Charles, for spending your time with us.

The zonked Australians.

Then my brother John and Di arrived from Australia. They had a bumpy 20-plus-hour flight in very rough air, so they were a bit worse for wear when they finally arrived. Thanks, John and Di, for making the long journey from Australia and back.

The proud father.

They were followed in quick succession by Julia's dad, John, and his wife, Jean, from England. After many glasses of wine and vast quantities of food, all six of us grew closer together. Thank you all for spending time with Julia and me before our wedding and sharing the experience with us.

Monday, March 9, 2009: Wedding Rehearsal

The wedding gang.

We had the officiant, the bride, the groom, the best man, the bridesmaid, the flower girl, the best boy, the flower girl wrangler, and the best boy wrangler over for lunch. Then we headed for Chabot for our first and only rehearsal. Julia and I had designed the wedding on paper, and it was to be an audio-visual extravaganza. But we discovered during the rehearsal that the plan needed much modification.

Thank you to everyone for helping us with this.

Saturday, March 14, 2009: Pre-Wedding Bash

The happy couple.

Julia and I wanted a small wedding, so we were not able to invite all of our friends and loved ones. Also, several of our friends had flown in from all over the world and the country, so we wanted to make sure we could see them all before the wedding. This was the inspiration for the pre-wedding bash, which we held in a San Francisco hotel bar. Many of our friends and family were able to attend and share some time and alcohol with us.

Thank you all for attending.

Sunday, March 15, 2009: The Wedding

The mad hatter.

We had planned for months, rehearsed for hours, and fine-tuned everything we could think of—from what wine people would like to drink, to how guests without cars might get to and from the event. And here we were at the big day. Julia had spent the night before at Maeve's house, her best friend and bridesmaid. So Julia and I spent the day apart.

The lovely bride and her groom.

Julia and Maeve headed to the beauty salon while I delivered the wine to the caterer. Then Julia and Maeve arrived at Chabot at 5:00 pm. In the meantime, Alex arrived at my home, and we dressed in our tuxedos. I arrived at the event just before 6:00 pm and found everything going to plan. Alex and I greeted our guests as they arrived and shared a glass, or two, of wine.

At 6:20 pm, we left the rotunda for the planetarium, where we positioned ourselves on the stage. The officiant instructed our guests to take their seats in the planetarium, entering to the soothing sounds of Mozart. Then, the ceremony began. The music faded to silence, the top door opened, and the flower girl (dressed in a pretty black dress) and best boy (dressed in a mini version of our tuxedos) appeared. "Julia" by The Beatles played, followed by the bridesmaid, who entered in her chic black gown. The bride followed shortly after, stunning everyone with her champagne-colored gown and radiant beauty. Many an eye was moist, and my heart was full of joy.

Looking toward the stars.

As the planetarium dome transitioned from day to night, Symphony No. 3 by Mahler replaced the Beatles' ode. Under the night sky, the ceremony began, and vows were exchanged. At the moment of declaration by the officiant (that we were married), two galaxies approached, collided, and finally merged into one. Shouts of joy rang out, and everyone applauded. The wedding party left the stage under a dome filled with a moving star field.

Our guests left the planetarium to be greeted by the newlyweds and our wedding party. After drinks, food, speeches, and photographs, our guests visited the telescopes. Although no star gazing was possible due to an overcast sky, Chabot astronomers presented the wondrous optical instruments, leaving everyone with renewed knowledge of astronomy.

Julia and I would like to thank everyone who helped us make our wedding so wonderful. And we would like to thank everyone who attended in person and those who attended in spirit.

Thank you, everyone!