Stephanie and Eddy's Wedding Weekend

This past weekend, our friends Eddy and Stephanie got married. They had a beautiful beach wedding and everything turned out perfectly. They had a rehearsal/dinner Friday night and had the wedding ceremony on Saturday at 5pm. It was an awesome wedding and now they are already off in Aruba on their honeymoon. Their flight left Sunday morning at 7am! I'm sure they are enjoying themselves on the beach right now as I type this.

I posted pictures of both Friday's and Saturday's events right here (LINK). Take a look, but beware...there's 124 pictures!

On Friday night, we all met up at the Kayak Kafe for the rehearsal. Our friend Alan was the officiant for the wedding (he was granted 24 hours of wedding ceremony powers by the state of California). It was his chance to put it all to practice. He did a good job and everything went well, but he would still be worried until the real deal the next day. We had dinner that night at Domenico's just down the street from the ceremony location. We had lots of pizza and spaghetti and I made off with some sweet 'thank you' gifts. Check out my Mini Cooper Robot and Thundercats Season 1 on DVD!

The next day, my responsibility as Best Man was to get Eddy there on time. The alter and chair arrangements on the beach were awesome with a nice ocean backdrop. Joanne is responsible for many of these daytime pictures since I had decided to film video instead. Good work, Joanne!

The groomsmen and bridesmaids all met up at the Coast Hotel of Long Beach, near the Queen Mary. The bridesmaids stayed there the previous night and it was there that Eddy and Stephanie had their first meeting on their wedding day. I got it all on video (maybe Chang will put up some pictures). It was a very special moment for them. We took some group photos there and then loaded up all 16 of us in the Hummer Limo. It was a sweet ride and it was huge inside!

On the ride over to the wedding location, Alan put his bartending skills to work. He managed to prepare over 2 rounds of shooters for all 16 of us! (I think it was Jager Bombs and Red Headed Sluts) And it was a short drive, too!

As soon as the Hummer dropped us off at the Kayak Kafe, it was time for us to hurry up and make our entrances for the ceremony. Alan executed an amazing wedding ceremony that was personal and very professional. Great work, Alan. Eddy and Steph read each other their vows; yet it was Eddy who stumbled while reading them, bringing the audience to tear a little. They kissed and were then pronounced Mr. and Mrs. Eddy and Stephanie Viola. Congratulations!

Alan was extra happy since his work was finally complete.

Shortly after the ceremony, the bridal party headed to the beach to take some pictures just before the sun set. The scenery made for some great pictures. As groomsmen, all we had to wear were green hawaiian shirts, khakis, and flip flops. It was very relaxed.

Chang got a little jealous of all the attention Stephanie was getting from Eddy, so he made his move.





At the reception, we enjoyed some mai tais, made our entrances, and went straight to the toasts. That's where I came in. I didn't feel very prepared, but my speech went over alright. I did manage to fit in Eddy's feat of eating 27 hot dogs back in college, so I guess it went well.



And, as is the duty of the father of the bride, Stephanie's dad came up and made a very emotional speech. There was not a dry eye in the house.



Later on, it was time for the father/daughter dance as well as Steph and Eddy's first dance. Awww....

Then, it was party time!

Here's Gina, Chang, Jill, Jeff, and Joanne enjoying the party.

By the end of the night, the alcohol served some of us very well and others too well.

It was a great night and a great wedding spent with friends and family.
Thanks for the great times, Steph and Eddy. And congratulations again!