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July 10, 2003
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
I think I hear wedding bells....Oh wait, that was just the puppy playing with her toys! Today was the big day! I knew that we had so much to do to prepare still. My sister, her maid of honor, and I were all scheduled to get our hair done, I was to do Raquel's nails, the dresses had to be steamed including the veil, the cake was going to be delivered at the gardens, pictures were at 4, and the list goes on and on. Raquel and I went down to her hair dresser's shop at about 10am. She had to get a color done so I was going to do her nails while the color was sitting. It was the first time I would get to meet the hair dresser, Asi, of whom she had talked so highly about. Apparently, he used to work in Beverly Hills, on Rodeo Drive. I couldn't wait to meet him.
Since Raquel and I were a little at odds with each other, I decided that doing her nails would give us time to talk. I told her I was sorry for reacting to her and that I understood she was stressed and could we please start over?? I think she was relieved. I ended up applying a French Manicure on her gorgeous nails, which are her own, and they turned out beautiful. As Raquel was waiting for her color to sit, Asi called me to his chair. I told him that all I needed was to have my hair styled for the wedding since it had JUST been cut. He washed my hair and when I sat back down in his chair, he pulls up the back and says to me, "What in the world IS this???" I couldn't help but laughing. I told him that I was trying to grow it out a little bit and did that matter? NO!!! He cut almost all of it off but it looked so cool.....He told me that he would wait until later in the afternoon to style our hair. He even canceled all his afternoon appointments to make time for our hair. (Way cool!)
After Raquel's nails and hair color were done, we went back upstairs to the house. Her maid of honor, S., showed up with the wedding gifts from herself and her mom. Raquel had me open them since her nails were still drying. The gifts were these large, beautiful, middle-eastern looking pillows to use in her house since Raquel wanted to get rid of her couch. They were in all different colors: Red, purple, gold, navy blue, etc. I was very jealous!!! Raquel was in heaven. S. decided that it was time for some Barry White and she blasted that CD while we were all ironing dresses, steaming the wedding dress, finishing our nails, etc. Now, I have to say, even though I am not a fan of Barry White, it was quite fitting.
At 3, the girls all went back to Asi's shop to get the finishing touches on our hair. Our make-up had JUST been completed. The lady was a fabulous make-up artist and used to work for Glamour Shots. She really did a great job. Not too much, and not too little. We all looked great. Asi styled Raquel's hair very soft and full, flipping out at the ends, making sure that it looked great even underneath where the veil would be in case she wanted to take it off. S.'s hair was very long so he just blew it dry straight which still looked very nice. As for my hair, well let's just say I was shocked and Raquel was shocked. It was the most dramatic change I have ever had. Mom and dad thought I looked REALLY great!!! I was afraid that they wouldn't like it because it was so drastic. Asi said that he I looked like Trinity from the Matrix. (Hey, that's quite a compliment!!)
After our hair was done, it was time to dress the bride. I helped Raquel get her corset and garter belt on. She really didn't want anyone else in the room. I asked her if she wanted me to leave, and her firm "No!" was the only clue that I needed to stay. I remembered my own stress on my wedding day some 8 years ago. I did my best to help her relax. I wanted her to enjoy herself and not forget how much fun it is to be a bride. When she was ready, my mom came in and the two of us carefully lifted her dress over her head, trying to keep the hair and make-up in tact. We were successful, but as soon as she had that dress on, there wasn't much she could do. We helped her get into the living room to "sit" on the floor, spreading her dress all around her to keep it from getting wrinkled. Everyone that was at the house gathered around oohing and ahhing. Asi came up to get her veil on and to help with the fresh roses that would frame her veil. I could tell that with each passing moment she was stressing more and more. At this point in time, I would have likened us all to a bunch of frantic servants running around fetching ice water, a brush, make-up for touch ups, etc., since she couldn't move. It was quite funny! A few minutes to 4pm, I figured that I should slip into my dress since it was very simple and wouldn't take me long. After getting dressed, I realized that there was quite a significant rip in the dress next to the seam of the zipper. I had to undress and sew this thing up in order to get our pictures taken by 4pm. What a pain!
We arrived at the Gardens at 4:30pm and Sic and Raquel had many pictures taken together before the ceremony even started. I whipped out my camera, which had black and white film in it, to take pictures of my sister. She just looked so beautiful!!! The owner of the Gardens was so kind to us. He made sure we had fresh pitchers of ice water, lemonade, wine, or whatever we needed to keep cool. It was at least 95 that afternoon with NO humidity!!! By 5:30, the cellist and 2 violinists had shown up and were practicing, more or less just providing beautiful background music. The caterers set up tables close to where the guests were arriving and started serving complimentary wine, water, lemonade, and sodas as well as delicious hor d'oeurves. It was fabulous. After several pictures, Raquel was hot and grumpy, so we helped her up to the room that the Gardens had set aside for the bride and groom after the ceremony. They had wine and food waiting for her. Several of us sat up there with her before the ceremony began but she was never left alone, as is the tradition. It did give us some wonderful quality time together to talk before her wedding. I told her to just enjoy herself because EVERYONE was doing everything for her so there was no need to worry about anything. She began to relax more and more. Soon, it was time for us to make our way down for the ceremony to begin. The sun was just about to set and the timing was perfect.
The ceremony itself was gorgeous and I only teared up once when my mom sang the "Song of Ruth" during the signing of the Catuba, or marriage contract. (The Catuba is an original that my dad painted for Raquel and Sic. It's beautiful.) The fun was JUST about to begin. After they were pronounced husband and wife and the wineglass was broken, the couple was escorted to their "upper room" and the family was gathered to stand in the receiving line. Thankfully, my brother and I were able to get the line moving fast enough so that we could all sit down and eat.
The food was delicious, the music was great, the wine was flowing and we were all having a wonderful time!! All of Sic and Raquel's friends showed up for the wedding, including friends of my parents, and friends of mine from my high school years. There was so much catching up to do and so little time. The reception lasted until about 12:30am or so. The people at the Gardens were gracious enough to set up a small table for the bride and groom to eat after many of their guests had left. They were starved! I said my goodbyes and my brother drove myself and several others home while my parents drove the bride and groom back to their apartment to open gifts. Several friends joined us, including the maid of honor who kept track of all the gifts received. They looked like 6 year olds on a Christmas morning. (Too cute.)
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