MikeR & SuzyB's Courtship, Planning Journal, Wedding, and Disneymoon

[MikeR]

For some reason after Mike and Suzy decided to get married most of their friends also decided to do the same, and they have gone to three weddings this year alone. At one dinner party they threw four out of five of the couples were engaged, and the fifth got engaged within three weeks. Mike and Suzy are sure that this happened just because they are so gosh darn cool that everyone wants to be like them, rather than that they happen to be in their late 20's and their friends happen to be in their late 20's / early 30's.

The first wedding they went to was for their friends Leena and Jason. It was held in Tryon Creek Park, a wonderful woods that Mike used to go to for a quasi-summer camp at when he was young.

Jason and Leena decided to have a themed wedding in the woods:

Leena and Jason getting Married:

Jason showing off his ring, or one second away from punching Mike because he takes too many pictures, you be the judge:

Mike caught the garter belt and Suzy caught the bouquet so it looked like they were going to be the next people to get married. What a shock.

Mike didn't know about the whole "put the garter belt up your Significant Other's Dress" tradition, but he took to it quite fast.

The next wedding they went to was a few months later and it was held in [mumble mumble] a beautiful scenic vista that Mike will never ever forget.

Suzy on her way to the wedding:

Andrea and Chris get married:

The Bride was glowing as always:

Mike and Suzy danced if they wanted to. They could leave their friends behind. Because if their friends can't dance then . . . :

Suzy got down and funky:

Mike got . . . something . . . maybe it could qualify as an odor, but certainly not a funk:

Mike and Suzy's finale wedding for the year (except for the small, trifling, insignificant matter of their own wedding) was their friends Greg and Laura's wedding.

Greg and Laura during their first dance:

Mike and Suzy danced yet again, it's almost as if dancing were a regular part of weddings or something:

And to top it all off, they went and saw Tony and Tina's Wedding (a dinner show) during their Vegas Vacation:

It was truly a year of weddings for Mike and Suzy, and at no point did they ever judge anyone's else's weddings and say, "Oooo . . . we should avoid that." or, "Let's steal that for our wedding." Because that would be wrong.

 

[MistressOfAllEvil]

It was truly a year of weddings for Mike and Suzy, and at no point did they ever judge anyone's else's weddings and say, "Oooo . . . we should avoid that." or, "Let's steal that for our wedding." Because that would be wrong.

Of course not!

Excellent installment. I'm really enjoying both your story and your style! Thanks for posting.

 

[mla1977]

A friend went on "Chrissy's Great Wedding Tour" a few years ago. Thankfully all of my friends are married or very single, so mine will be next probably.

 

[Lizby]

I am loving your writing! It is so entertaining

 

[kramer222]

Well, welcome! As another male from Oregon on the wedding/honeymoon Disney boards, I look forward to your posts.

We're getting married in Sept. of '08 and will be honeymooning at WDW/taking our first Disney cruise.

 

[MikeR]

Besides attending other weddings the Happy Couple had other responsibilities to do, such as cleaning out the garage. This was not an easy task that could be handled in one day, one weekend, or one week. Mike and Suzy kept paying for the largest sized garbage can the city allows, and every week without fail Mike would fill it up with junk from the garage. Slowly over time, week by week, the garage ceased to be a dimension vortex where 10 cubic meters of stuff could be placed in a 5 cubic meter area, and became merely a ridiculously full garage.

Mike's cousin Mark and his Uncle Chuck were also kind enough to come down and pick up an entire trailer full of jun--- antiques. An entire trailer full of antiques. Yea. That's the ticket.

Mike also felt compelled to remove some of the best posters that 1974 had to offer from his garage.

They craigslisted as much as they could, and over a few months sold virtually everything they wanted to sell with except for this wonderful old Oak bed frame which can comfortable sleep six and is guaranteed to survive a nuclear war - and all for only 99 dollars! If you live in the Portland Area, Act Now! Supplies are limited! These prices are so low they are crazy!

However, there was just one final step that had to be taken care of. Books. Lots of them. Many many boxes of them. And not just any books, but really cheesy self-help books from the early 1980's with titles like, "Loving Your Loving Man Who Loves A Love That is Not You" or "Stop Procrastinator and Read This Book Tomorrow."

Now, Mike and Suzy went around to various used book stores trying to sell these, and nobody wanted them - nobody. The resale market for self-help books appears to be very small. People seem to figure out that if these books had actually helped someone 20 years ago the world would be a lot better place than it is now, so the old self-help books must not work, but the news are guaranteed to - it says so right on the cover after all. (Mike's Mom listened to a lot of self-help books in the car when Mike was young. Mike is not a fan of them.)

So what could Mike and Suzy do with books that nobody wanted? It seemed like such a waste that all these trees had to give their lives to make these books which went largely unread anyways. Wait a minute. Books are made from Trees. Trees also make wood. And wood burns! Suzy got an idea! They should built a boathouse out of these books and then have it “accidentally” burn down for the insurance money! Brilliant!

Mike suggested that it might be a better idea to just go to the beach and have a fun campfire rather than risk a half dozen felonies for some hair-brained scheme. Suzy knew he was just jealous that he didn't think of it first but being the kind compassionate finance she is, she went along with his lifelong dream to burn his Mom's self-help books.

Mike and Suzy invited a lot of their friends to the beach, but apparently their is some sort of social stigma against going to a "book burning" or something. Who knew? And nobody else could go with them that weekend. Fine. More burnt carbon for Mike and Suzy then.

Believe it or not, but it took some work to start the fire, but when it got going . . .

it started to go really fast

And then the ghost of long-dead authors turned the flames purple and said, "Why do you burn our life's work, denying future humanity of our wisdom?"

Booze and Fire: Two Good Things That Go Great Together:

Mike and Suzy at their first book burning:

As the night grew long they were getting pretty tired, so Mike decided to cool the coals down with natures natural fire extinguisher. . . . a long stream of liquid was doused on the coals causing steam to arise . . . the steam did not have a pleasant smell to it. . . . it was a pee-like smell. . . . because it was pee. Mike peed on the fire. Just in case that wasn't clear.

The next day Mike and Suzy looked over their last night's adventure and encountered the ashes of lost nowledged (without the k, because Mike swears that what was in those books did not deserve to the respect that the letter K gives).

Mike and Suzy may have doomed the world to a new Dark Age because future generations will never be able to read, "A Rope of Sand: Your Marriage is Just Fine As Long as You Eat Broccoli on the Seventh Monday of Each Month!" but isn't it worth it if Mike and Suzy could park up to two whole cars in their three car garage?

 

[mla1977]

Awesome! A good ol' fashioned book burning!

 

[MikeR]

And now for something completely different:

Mike lived in Japan for a couple of years. While there he encountered many strange and bizarre foods. One day he ran into a Cthulu-like fruit that had to be his:

And six years later he encountered that same fruit at a Whole Foods Store . . .

Mike has sense looked up the name of that fruit, but he is curious if anyone else knows it by sight. Do you know what type of fruit this is?

 

[MikeR]

Mike and Suzy talked about where they wanted to go for their Honeymoon. They talked about the places they had visited and about which ones they had enjoyed and which ones they did not enjoy. And then Mike put forth a suggestion: How about Disney World?

"Really?" Suzy asked.

"Yes, really," said Mike.

Mike had gone to Disney World a bunch of times when he was a kid and twice in college, but he has not been back there since early 2001. He has a lot of fond memories of the place and as he was 22 or 23 the last time he visited the place he knows that you can have a lot of fun as an adult at Disney World. So Suzy mulled it over and said yes. It then became Mike's job to make all of the reservations and planning for the Honeymoon and he did so. He got a red-eye flight on Dec 30th and the Honeymoon Suit at the Polynesian for their first three days. After that, the Happy Couple will move to a All-Star Resort for the rest of their trip.

Mike has made the following reservations:

Dec 31: Morning Arrival via Limousine


Lunch Coral Reef Restaurant

Dinner Restaurant Marrakesh

Jan 1: Dinner Spirit of Aloha - Category 1

Jan 2: Breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table

Lunch Liberty Tree Tavern

Jan 3: Morning Dolphins in Depth

Lunch 50's Prime Time Cafe

Dinner Sci-Fi Dine in

Jan 4: Lunch Fulton's Crab House

Dinner Wolfgang Puck Dining Room (Upstairs)

Evening Cirque Du Soleill

Jan 5: Breakfast Boma . . . Flavors of Africa

Evening Carriage Ride at Fort Wilderness

Dinner Hoop Dee Doo - Category 1

Jan 6: Lunch - Princess Storybook Dining Restaurant Akershus

Evening - Grand Floridian Spa 80 minute couples massage

Jan 7: Morning - Keys to the Kingdom Tour

Dinner - Victoria and Albert's Chef's Table

Jan 8: Early morning: Craig Carroll's Surfing School

Dinner - Boma Flavors of Africa

Jan 9: Lunch - Dining with and Imaginner

Late Afternoon - Golf

Jan 10: Morning - Wild by Design

Dinner - Jiko the Cooking Place

Jan 11: Lunch - Chefs de France

Early Evening - Leave



Now, Mike made a lot of restaurant reservations because he was a little worried that the Holiday crowds would make good dining difficult. He is perfectly prepared to ditch any reservation (except for the the Chef's Table - that took him many a day of waking up at 3:58 AM to get) if the couple is busy having fun and doesn't want to tromp all over to make the reservation and would just rather eat pizza or whatever.

Mike is curious what everyone thinks of his reservations. Is there something he should ditch? Something he should should add? Thoughts? Comments?

 

[mla1977]

I think the reservations look great. It does seem to be a lot of table service, but since you are willing to ditch some of them, you should be okay with it. Make sure to call an cancel if you aren't going to go to one of them. (Just to free up the table for other disneymooners!)

 

[MikeR]

Mike and Suzy talked about where they wanted their wedding to be and went back and forth a couple of times, but finally decided that they would have both the ceremony and the reception at the same place. They have a lot of out of towners coming in for the wedding and winter in Oregon is often not very pleasant so it's best to make it easy on everyone. That involved a changeover after the ceremony because Suzy does not want people to be sitting at their tables while they are having their wedding, but they worked that out with the caterers.

The hall

Big fireplace that will be roaring come the wedding:

Kitchen:

Typical tables:

The deck which probably won't be functioning come winter:

Comfy chairs which we are not allowed to move:

Beams. Who doesn't like beams?:

Outside waiting area:

 

[caryndisneydiva]

i really like your wedding location! the fireplace is wonderful, it'll make your room feel so warm!

your disney schedule is packed! i'm glad you have the massage in there! i think that your ressies look fine, it's nice to have the option for a sit down, since ddp came about, that option has been more difficult for us dis'ers...

 

[tigger536]

Can't wait to hear the rest! Love your writing style! Congratulations!

 

[MikeR]

As the wedding became closer and closer, Mike realized that there was something he had to do. He went to his honeymoon destination 6 years before, and during that trip he had a really bad allergy problem, which in retrospect was probably a sinus infection. He has fond memories of that trip, but being sick during it was no fun at all. This time he wanted to be able to drink around the world, without seriously paying for it the next day (above and beyond what a normal person would pay, anyways).

So, Mike had to get the first (non-dental) surgery of his life. He had a bunch of really big benign polyps in his sinus canals - what that boils down to is that he couldn't really breath through his nose at all (and you would be amazed at how much being able to breath freely effects everything else), lost much of his sense of smell and taste, his sleep was sometimes disrupted by sleep apnea, and he was plagued by constant sinus infection. Nothing life-threatening, but very draining.

It was really weird for him in one regard: when he got his wisdom teeth removed he clearly remembers them putting the mask over his face and having him count back from one hundred. He got to 99 and was then out and woke up at the end of the surgery.

Not this time though. Mike remembers waiting in the waiting room to get pulled into the surgery room, and then someone saying it was time to go and then . . . nothing. There is just a whole in his mind. It couldn't have been very long, only a few minutes of consciousness, but those memories were just wiped out by whatever anesthesia they gave Mike. That was just weird for Mike. He felt like there was a hole in his Mind. Perhaps he learned some secret government conspiracy during those minutes and they mind-whiped him because of it. Or perhaps he just reads too much sci-fi.

The surgery itself was nothing too serious, and he is really glad he got it over with and there were no big complications, but it did require a week of rest and recuperation.


Before

After

Mike gained some weight while he was on his back, and then some more in the weeks that followed when he wasn't up for much exercise, but now almost two months later Mike has begun to lose some of that weight and is in crunch mode because he only has three weeks left until he wedding to reach his goal weight. He's pretty sure that he can do it though.

 

[Mermaid_Ariel]

I do hope Mike feels better!!

And I just wanted to say that you guys are the cutest ever!!!

 

[MistressOfAllEvil]

Glad your recovering Mike! I hope the you feel the surgery was worth it (I'm sure it was!!)

This isn't nearly on the same level, but I wore glasses and contacts for my whole life and after I was getting increasingly frustrated with the whole situation. After getting engaged in May, I finally looked into and ended up getting LASIK surgery. It's amazing! But it's also funny looking back on how long we put up with inconvienent situations and then how quickly we forget after we correct them. Every few weeks (since August) I remember what it was like to not be able to see and I'm so thankful that now I can!!

I used to work with an older, grandmother type woman who needed hip replacement sugery (we worked at starbucks and she was on her feet the whole time.) She kept putting it off, but after she finally had the surgery, she couldn't figure out why she had waited so long. It was such a new lease on life for her.

So, we're three weeks out from your wedding... can't wait to read more about everything!! Don't worry about the weight... you'll be handsom for your bride regardless. A safe and healthy recover and weight loss is the best thing you can do for yourself and Suzy!!!

 

[caryndisneydiva]

oh mike! i'm sorry you had to have surgery! i put off a surgery as well, but i swear, my life is so much better than it was before!!! it's possible that both you and wendy have just inspired me to get lasik...

you'll look fantastic for your wedding in 3 weeks!!!

 

[MikeR]

Thanks,

I definitly feel that the surgery was worth it, it has probably been a decade since I have felt this _consistently_ good day after day without any real sinus problems. It's great. Really makes me thankful for life.

I actually also ended up getting lasik eye surgery this year too. I don't have any pictures of it, but you may notice that the pictures I've posted that are from early in the year had me wearing glasses while those for most of this year have been glasses-free.

I love not having to worry about my glasses anymore. It's so liberating! I can just go off and play sports without any worry or inconvenience like not being able to see where the ball is.

I'm really happy that I was able to knock-off two health annoyances this year.

I'm pretty much fully recovered from the surgery now, except for the weight I gained and the muscles I lost (it's a lot easier to lose muscles than it is to build them, I can tell you that). It's not so much that I'm worried about the weight (it wasn't that much) it's just that it's something I'll feel better about myself if I accomplish before the wedding. I want to be getting married while I'm in better shape than I've ever been in my adult life. There is something about being able to say that I did that which just makes me feel really good.


If anyone is interested in the details I'm 5'9" and weight 161lbs right now. I have a 19% body fat. About two years ago I was in the 190's and my body fat % is unknown but it had to be in the obese category.

--

http://www.healthchecksystems.com/bodyfat.htm

General Body Fat Percentage Categories
Classification Women (% fat) Men (% fat)
Essential Fat 10-12% 2-4%
Athletes 14-20% 6-13%
Fitness 21-24% 14-17%
Acceptable 25-31% 18-25%
Obese 32% plus 25% plus
*American Council on Exercise

--

So right now I'm on the (good) low side of "Acceptable" for men, body fat wise, but I was "Fit" before the surgery and I'd kind of like to be back there by the wedding. Health-wise, the most I should try to lose is around 2 pounds a week, so best case has me at 155 by the wedding, which is lower than I was before the surgery.

My ultimate goal is to get my body fat down to the 11 - 13% range, but that's a 2008 goal.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[caryndisneydiva]

ok, not to hijack the thread with medical question...i have a question for you lasik survivors...was it expensive? what was the recovery time? were you instantly able to see? i am BLIND. like, seriously. i can't even get contacts that i'm legally allowed to drive with because they don't correct my vision enough...

 

[MikeR]

> was it expensive?

Yes, a good Lasik surgery will cost thousands of dollars.

> what was the recovery time?

About a day with really bad vision, followed by a week of improving eyesight, and then a full month for it to really permanently set. It varies from person to person though.

> were you instantly able to see?

If you want to call a "week" instantly, yea. I had to wear glasses for everything from driving to playing sports, now I drive, play sports, and even read without any glasses at all. I really like it and am glad I got it done.

You'll want to talk with a doctor though. Some people aren't good candidates. Lots of lasik clinics offer free tests to get you into the door (nothing wrong with that, just be aware that they'll try to sell you on the surgery at _their_ place).

Cheers,
Mike