tom's wedding

So the actual wedding was nice. I am not used to non-LDS weddings so I felt al little out of it. But with friends around and a good looking date, I was fine.

Tom and Courtney got married in a large church with a beautiful stained glass window. The ceremony was short. I later found out that as the priest was up there giving the rediculous speech (in which he kept on referring to Tom as a "First Rescuer" which is not even a real term) Tom whispered to him "you need to hurry this up."

See, despite the big smile on his face and and the joy he felt getting married, Tom was sick. He had the flu. He threw up before the wedding and while the preacher was talking, the bright lights beating down on the couple made Tom super nauseous. Luckily he made it through the ceremony and out the the awaiting engine.

They had a classic Seagrave engine to pick them up outside the church and take them away. It was classy for a firefighter like Tom. While the couple was taking pictures, the guests headed to Tom's parents house in Hamilton for drinks and appetizers before the reception.

It was surprisingly cold. The boys made fun of us for having no forethought in our dress, but were still kind enough to give us their jackets. Still chilly we huddled together on a bench for warmth.

Allow me to put a face to the names of a few of my coworkers.

Top left: Joe, one of my favorite people. He is super smart and my favorite person to be stuck on the Medic Unit with.

Top right: Dave (aka: Sulli) and his wife. He is a big goofball, a little overly sensitive but a good guy and aspires to be a good EMS provider.

Bottom left: Joel and his girlfriend. He took Tom's spot when Tom was traded to the other shift and he is trying hard to be a good leader to us.

Bottom right: Dave and his wife. He is the other paramedic on the shift with me. He is not my favorite person because he is really selfish and thinks he knows everything.

Last but not least: Me and my date Rob. He is just a friend. Really. Because if I was actually dating someone that good looking I would be shouting it from the rooftops. And this picture doesn't even do him justice. He volunteers at the station north of us, that is how I met him. He is a good guy-friend to have and now my perma-date to all fire department events.

The reception was in a gianormeous tent set up in Tom's parents backyard. It held 250 people and a dance floor. They had chandeliers hanging up it the tent! It was cool.

We got put at a table with Steph & Billy and Joe & Christina and some others. It was a good table. We did not set the place on fire (picture on left). And the food was a little, okay a lot, slow getting to us so Joe decided to sustain our table by pulling an apple out of the centerpiece and cutting it up to share with the group (picture on right). It was a good time for all.

A few of Manassas Park's finest: Rob (Our shift idiot. He is hilarious and dumb, but he is great to have with you on a fire or a code.), Tom (the groom), Marc (aka: Wis. He is my favorite paramedic. He is from a normal city, not the sticks, and is about the only one in the department that thinks the way I do.), Joel, and Me.

This is what happens to Wis when he drinks too much. I could not get a picture with just Tom to save my life.

Billy is friends with Tom and Joe. Steph asked them if they knew any good guys she could date and they gave her Billy. I ask if they have any good guys I can date and they say "um, you are a little bit harder" and then try to follow it up by "we are more picky about your guy" to get out of the ditch and then something about not knowing any Mormons. Lame.

Steph is awesome. She has been my steady date to fire department events previous to tonight. She puts up with the boys, she may actually like hanging out with them, they may actually like her more than they like me. May. It was nice to have her there that night to help me with the cake and to hang out with.

And here is the finished cake. Not as many flowers as I had thought but I guess it works. After dinner there were the toasts and a slideshow, then the couples dances and cutting of the cake. After that there was group dancing and fireworks! Fun times.

Rob headed out before I did, the poor guy was sick and had to volunteer the next morning. I left the reception and headed to a Marriott. It was fantastic. I got into the hotel room, dropped my stuff, jumped onto the bed, relaxed back into the soft folds of the blankets and comfort of the miracle that is the Marriott bed. And there I laid. No more cake to stress about. No more outfit to pick out. No more worries to think about. It was over. And I was in a Marriott bed. All was right with the world for the next 10 hours.