I love weddings! I love the celebration and pageantry and I’m a sucker for them. Julie and Jeff’s wedding was worth coming out for (and the tour of SF is still to come as a bonus!).

The wedding was only a few minutes’ drive from the hotel, so we were there in plenty of time. It was at a restaurant/club house/senior center/activity palace for a retirement community, and it was beautiful. It was an outdoor ceremony; apparently Sacramento’s weather is reliable, and it was a wonderful summer day – sunny and warm (in the 80s). The reception was in a ballroom in the clubhouse.

Jeff looked very nice in his tux, and Julie was beautiful in her dress. I have never seen a bride that looked anything but gorgeous – they just beam and smile. Wonderful.

There were a few Julie moments during the ceremony, and I would have been sad if there had not been. During her vows, the minister said, “Jeff,…” which sounded as if he was now addressing Jeff. It turns out that it was still part of Julie’s vow, and when she realized it, she burst out with a laugh and apologized to the guests – not necessary, but funny. Mer and I had a similar issue during our vows (almost ten years ago!) – it is easy to think the minister has switched to the other person.

When Jeff’s time came to place the ring on Julie’s finger and say his vows, he was intent on repeating the vows and was looking at the minister. Julie quietly but audibly indicated that Jeff should “look at me.” Another grand moment.

I think that is why I love weddings so much – they always have moments that show the personality of the people involved, which is great since I usually know at least one of the people involved if I am at the wedding.

The reception was a very nice meal (potatoes, chicken, beef, and tortellini), and Mer and I got to sit with some of Julie’s college friends and current colleagues. It was nice to finally meet some of the people Julie mentions.

Julie and Jeff ate, cut the cake (yum!), and then danced together. They are a great-looking couple. Then Julie and her dad danced, and Jeff danced dances with his step-mom and mother. Then Julie kicked things off with “Footloose” and the music stayed peppy for some time. Mer and I did manage to dance two slow dances together, and had much fun watching Julie lead a train around the floor.

We left just before things were to wind down (we left about 2:30). We drove back to San Francisco with only one wrong turn (my fault), and we returned the car to the airport. On the way we got to drive over the Bay Bridge, which is huge, so we’ve now been over two of the major bridges in the area. Once we took care of the car, we jumped on BART, the SF area transit.

BART is okay. It is clean, and very fast. The stations are spaced a ways apart, so you feel like you make good progress. It is both a subway (at times) and an elevated train (at times) – the area really is hilly! The downside to the BART is they charge based on distance – I prefer the Chicago style of one-size-fits-all for fares, but the pay-for-distance makes sense. It cost us about $5.50 to go from the airport to downtown.

Once downtown, we made our way to the street, where I noticed that my secure-in-his-manhood Jordache backpack that I borrowed from Mom ten years ago had split a seam. That is sad – it has been all over the world with me.

Our walk to the hotel was only five blocks, but I was glad to get there. The sidewalks seem fairly crowded when you are hauling luggage. The last block was on a hill that is probably 35-40 degrees. Yikes!

Our hotel feels very European. It is very narrow, and several floors high. It is run by a French couple, so the decor is French.

We saw cable cars, but did not ride one yet. I am suspicious of them – they seem crowded and slow (they get stuck in traffic and have a speed of 9 mph when moving). I’m not sure how you pay on them – maybe it is the honor system, because people sure seem to jump on and off all over.

I thought we were going to have a great theater experience tonight – there was a one-man “romp” through all of Shakespeare’s work playing at a theater only a few blocks away. We got to the theater with time to spare only to discover that I’d misread the dates and that it starts next weekend. Sigh. Still, we got to see some street performers, and got to see all kinds of people that you don’t run into in Cuyahoga Falls (race, language, dress, and so on).

I might pop out to one of the many diners I saw tonight to get a light meal and a shake, I think we are going to have much fun here – out hotel is in Nob Hill, right in the middle of the city.