Love and Harry Potter, the finale

At the end of Part 2, Trevor had truly surprised me with a proposal in Vegas.  Then the wedding planning began.

Trevor and I knew we didn’t want a long engagement.  We were tired of living six hours apart, and we wanted to be married as soon as possible.  We had even considered eloping in Vegas, but that was just a split-second thought.  It would have shocked our families, and we would still have been living apart until school was done for me in June.  I knew that I wanted to get married at Sand Creek Country Club in Chesterton, IN, so we needed to get that secured first.  By the time we called in late November, there were no Saturday evenings available, so we went with Friday, July 15.  Everything seemed to move quickly after the date was set.  I knew I didn't want a traditional wedding; I've never been a traditional kind of girl which is pretty ironic considering that I now play the role of June Cleaver.  So, we came up with the idea of having the wedding be like a 1950’s Prom.  And by “we”, I mean my mom and me: Trevor just wanted to know where and when to show up.  Oh, and beef brisket.  He wanted Texas beef brisket at the wedding.  I’m still puzzling over that one.  Anyhow, we decided that we wanted everyone at the wedding to have a really memorable time, so there were lots of things to plan.

The colors were pink and black with some white thrown in.  Saying “the colors are…” for a wedding always reminds me of the scene in Steel Magnolias when Julia Roberts’s character, Shelby, says her wedding colors are “Blush” and “Bashful” and her mother, played by Sally Field, retorts, “Her colors are pink and pink.”  We pretty much just stuck with pink, no fancy names for it, and black.  My dress was pink with black buttons and black trim.  The flowers, ordered from The Flower Cart in Chesterton, were different versions of pink.  Each woman attending the wedding got a pink carnation as a corsage.  Instead of a cake, we had pink frosted cupcakes from Strongbow's in Valpo.  I think I hit the beginning of the cupcake trend; yes, I’m a cupcake trendsetter.  Those cupcakes were more than delicious; they were heavenly.  Our wedding favors, scratch off lottery tickets in a nod to Vegas, were in envelopes with pink stickers that read "Lucky in Love."  Even our photographers at StudioThisIs wore pink for us.  The entire room at the club was decorated with beautiful flowers, and the ceiling was draped with gorgeous fabric.  The chairs had crisp, white covers and there were old 45 records all over the tables.  It was one of the most beautiful and just fun rooms I have ever seen.  

We had a pianist playing during the hors d’oeuvres and cocktail hour.  I was sequestered in the women’s locker room in the basement with my best friend Tiffany, and we kept sending my niece, Kate, upstairs to get us food.  Trevor got to mingle with the guests while I tried not to sweat or hyperventilate. 

Neither Trevor nor I wanted a church wedding with a long service, so we asked a friend (and father of two of my students) to act as the justice of the peace.  Our close friends and family stood up with us.  Trevor’s best man was his brother Lanson, T’s friend Rusty and my friend Mike acted as groomsmen.  Tiffany was my matron of honor (and 8 months pregnant!) and Kate was my junior bridesmaid.  Dylan, my nephew, was the ring bearer.  He carried our rings in a model pink Cadillac convertible.  My dad walked me into the room to the tune of “Love Me Tender” and down an aisle lined with pink flowers while the guests looked on from their tables.  I remember seeing Trevor waiting for me, and my heart about burst.  I had already seen him before the ceremony: we did pictures before the wedding so we wouldn’t keep the guests waiting on us to start the party.  But seeing him standing at the end of the aisle was like opening my eyes for the first time.  He looked terrified which made me smile even more.  The ceremony itself was short and sweet; seriously, I think the whole thing took three minutes, tops.  Trevor only stumbled once, and it was on the line about fidelity.  I have never let him forget that, and I probably never will.  We walked out of the room to the University of Kentucky fight song: that was one of Trevor’s surprises.  Another surprise was the big UK ice sculpture that was in the lobby.  When the entire wedding party was introduced back into the room, we walked in to the IU fight song.  That was a surprise even to me – thanks, Dad!  We had little bottles of bubbles for the kids to blow as we came into the room, but I think even the adults had fun with those as well. 

Once the business of being married was done, we got down to the business of having fun.  There was a huge buffet of a lot of different food including T’s Texas beef brisket.  I think I had a bite of three things in between speaking to everyone at all the tables.  There were very funny and heartfelt toasts from Lanson, Tiffany, my brother, Matt, and my dad.  And I accidentally might have gotten Dylan a little tipsy.  He was sitting by me, and I whispered that he could drink a sip of the champagne with the toasts.  Apparently by a sip, he thought I meant a gulp because he downed the glass in one.  I found out later that he got awfully tired and my sister-in-law took him home.  Ooops.  My bad. 

There was dancing, laughing, talking, eating, drinking, and more dancing.  The evening is a pleasant haze in my head, and I didn’t even have one drink. I know I didn’t sit down for hours; I slipped off my high heels and danced until I could barely walk.  Trevor seemed to avoid the dancing by talking to his friends about debate and basketball, but I did manage to get him on the floor a few times. We sort of swayed like kids at a middle school dance to "Overjoyed" by Stevie Wonder.  Watching my friends and family mix and talk and dance with Trevor’s friends and family felt so good and so right.   I had never been so certain about anything in my whole life. 

T and I stayed until the bitter end of the reception.  There was absolutely no way we were going to leave our own party early.  Our plan was to pack up the wedding swag, go back to the Inn at Aberdeen, and sleep.  However, as we started to drive to the inn, our plans changed.  It was after midnight, and something very exciting was happening.  Yes, we were married.  That was great and all, but the bigger news was that the sixth book in the Harry Potter book had been released, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.  I told you in part 1 that we were Harry Potter geeks, and we proved it shortly after midnight on July 16.  We veered off course, drove to the Barnes and Noble in Valpo, and walked in to get our copies of the new book.  I was still in the dress, and Trevor was still in the tux.  We actually ran into some of our wedding guests – I mean you, Jody and Bruce! - As well as some of my former students.  People were agog, to say the least.  A few of my braver students came up and said, “Miss Workman, did you, like, get married or something?”  Like, yeah, totally.  A Barnes and Noble staff member even took our picture to send to the corporate office to include in the newsletter.  Fancy pants were we!  (We actually ended up reading the book aloud to each other during the drive up to Mackinac.  I don’t know if many people read books to each other on their honeymoons, but I thought it was sweet and romantic.  And geeky.  Very geeky.)

My parents, my wonderful, patient, generous, loving parents, hosted a brunch for us the next morning.  It was fun to relive the wedding through the eyes of our family and our guests.  We opened some gifts, laughed a lot, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

It was almost surreal when the whole weekend was over.  We had a mini-honeymoon on Mackinac Island to look forward to before we moved all my stuff to Lexington, but mostly, I was worn out.  I had been going full-tilt boogie in the months since the engagement.   The last few weeks before the wedding were especially hectic.  I had to write and grade final exams, clean out my room at school, co-chair the Tri-Kappa annual fundraiser, the Taste of Valparaiso, pack up and sell my house, and come to terms with the fact that I was leaving home again.  I loved living in Valpo near my family, and it was incredibly difficult to say goodbye, but my heart had been in Lexington for months. 

So, that’s our story.  I think it’s pretty good.  I mean, it’s no Hollywood movie, but it’s as close to a real-life fairy tale as I have ever known. I married my best friend, and after six years of marriage, I still can’t get enough time with him.  Someone mentioned to me on Facebook that in part 1 of my story, I called my first marriage a mistake, and I should have looked at the positive side of it.  You’re right, Dusty.  I don’t regret anything that happened because it all led me to where I am right now.  I think back to all of the decisions that I have made in life, big and small, and I realize that each one has made me who I am.  Each one brought me closer to the life I have, to the life I love.  Where I went to college, the speech class I took, living in Indianapolis, the bars I frequented there with my friends, living in Valpo, answering an email, a chip-whittling contest, taking a chance on dating again: it all brought Trevor and I together.  It brought me my sweet, clever, dramatic daughter, Lottie, and my loving, smart, stubborn son, Dallas.  Everything I have ever done has brought me this life, and I would do it all again in a heartbeat. 

I know it’s a few days early, but happy anniversary, babe.  I love you, I love our family, and I love my life.  Thank you for all of it. 

To be continued...for many, many years to come  :)