Memory starts to fade within a half an hour...

All is well in my world. Brian is asleep, the wedding went well (no cake disasters, etc.), and I had a really good time. No, a really good time. Research tells us that memory starts to fade within a half an hour (assuming there was a good imprint in the first place) and even that memory can be altered simply by asking a question (watch this video, please. ok, now, where did the robber put the knife after he took the lady's purse? and people respond, "he threw it in the bushes" or "he slipped it back in his pocket" when there was no knife in the video at all. How freaky is that? ). So I want to write down as much as possible about what I remember from yesterday, in case I forget. They're not in order.

1. Looking down at the patio, where guests were eating, and seeing that it looked like a European bistro. Maria and Dave were sitting outside, at a table with linens, wine glasses, and so forth, and it looked sooo lovely.
2. Holding Brian's hand when we first sat down at the front of the church, being nervous and knowing I could only get through this if he were with me and feeling the calm (or at least, calmer energy) spreading through my body.
3. Wanting people to read more slowly, sing more slowly, everything, so I would have more time to take it in.
4. Peeking through the tiny slit between the doors that Dave and John had opened so that we could see when it was our turn, and noticing how lovely the dark green aisle runner with the petals looked.
5. Getting pelted with rose petals as we left the church - meaning, some people through them up, so they would drift down over us, and someone just threw there handful of petals like a baseball at my face... it was funny. :-D
6. Dancing with Professor Siekmann.
7. The piñata. Ugliest little piñata I have ever had the misfortune of making or being associated with (but, hey, at 3 a.m. the night of the wedding, the duct tape and spray paint were the only options I had left, and I was going to have a piñata at my wedding, dammit), but it did it's job. The kids loved it.
8. Hearing the piñata song being sung overhead (dale dale dale no pierdas el tino, porque si lo pierdes pierdes el camino) and looking up to the balcony to see my hispanic contingency representin'.
9. Noticing when we got to MSB that they had taken the piñata back down because it had drizzled a little and thinking how incredibly nice that was of them.
10. Tasting the ganache from the chocolate cake. Mmmmm. And tasting the frosting from one of the other cakes that we served.
11. One of the kids showing me a pumpkin balloon that either Rob or Carlos had made.
12. Mike saying "Welcome" when he hugged me after he gave me the toast.
13. Speaking of hugs, Maloki actually leaning in to give me a hug at the end of the nite.
14. Standing with Liz, chatting, and several guys walking by, saying the men's bathroom was free. That was the only time I had to talk to her all nite, and I was only over there because of a potential garment disaster with Nen that was actually only a popped zipper.
15. Judy saying I could have the rosary brought by Grandma Budde from Ireland. I had asked to borrow it because it was green, and I wanted to walk down the aisle with a rosary (it was my "something borrowed"), but when she came down to the basement to give it to me, she said "you can keep that."
16. My aunt, sewing the hem on my mom's dress because my mom had changed her mind on the dress she was going to wear (she had two options and had chosen a much longer one that she actually had made for her, but Judy's dress was a lot shorter, so she switched to the shorter one (my sister brought it to the church), only the hem wasn't completely done or something.
17. How nice my mom and my aunt's hair looked, as well as Judy's, that my aunt had put up at the last minute because Judy had spent the morning looking for a stiptic (sp?) stick for Brian, who had cut himself shaving (he spent the night before the wedding at his mom's). They all looked beautiful.
18. My aunts saying nice things to Brian when they placed the lazos, both at the same time ( :-) ), and Chayo saying that the lazos were the bond of true love.
19. How beautifully my dressed swirled while I danced.
20. Giving my mom, Judy, Grandma, and my two aunts the flowers, after we took the flowers to the Virgin.
21. Getting tears in my eyes at the rehearsal when we were practicing taking the flowers to the Virgin and hearing people sing a first few strains of Immaculate Mary, which I will never, ever hear without thinking of my dad (which is, of course, precisely why we chose that song for that part of the ceremony). And when mom and Judy came up and gave us our single rose to take to the Virgin, during the real ceremony, they gave us each a hug, and when mom and I heard the music, we made eye contact for a brief moment and both teared up just a bit.
22. How hard it was to move with that long, long veil.
23. Tim ("Abe Tim") being one of the first people I saw through the veil as I started walking down the aisle.
24. How incredibly nice the two photographers (Jennifer and Paula) were. If their pics are half as nice as I think they are going to be, we'll be fine).
    
25. How many people said it was a wonderful ceremony, a beautiful ceremony, a gorgeous ceremony, a unique ceremony, over and over. Must have heard it 50 times.
26. Matt saying we had pretty much trumped everybody as far as Catholic weddings go, with that papal blessing and how nobody was ever going to beat that.
    
27. Jaimísimo saying how he had told one of the seminarians that we Johnsons referred to him as Jaimísimo and how I had even put "Jaimísimo" in the rehearsal program, showing everybody's parts and who was doing what.
28. Asking one of the photographers to get a pick of my lace-up back, because I had gotten a second dress, the one I wore, because I hadn't listened to my heart the first time and held out for a lace-up back like I should have in the first place.
29. How absolutely handsome John and Dave looked and hoping someone had caught a pic of Dave leaning against a pew or a wall while they were standing at some point or another talking to each other, and realizing as I'm typing this now that Mr. M was probably doing some of that leaning because of the pain he has in his foot from an injury that has been plaguing him for a while now.
    
30. How pretty Kate looked, and how sorry I was that I hadn't gotten to spend more time with Liz, Sean, Margaret, Kate, and Brian.
31. Seeing one of the young waiter guys give Margaret his card (presumably with personal contact information on it) and wanting to go say something (like, "get away from her, you lug nut"), but noticing how she seemed to appreciate it and how grown up she looked, so I didn't say anything, I just walked away.
32. Noticing how well Brian socialized with everybody.

Oh, God, there's so much more, but I need to run over to say by to Nen, 'cause she's leaving this morning. More later.