Wedding Party

Well, hello everyone!  Today was the day for the long-awaited wedding party.  It had been relatively relaxing up until this day, but all of the things that stress me out met me head on today.  My first stressor is being in front of a camera.  It doesn't matter how many times someone calls me handsome or cute (na rak), I have always been and probably always will be self-conscious to the hilt.  I am also not a huge fan of getting in front of crowds to talk about personal feelings (despite the fact, that my gratitude to the wonderful people here in Thailand is huge).  A third stressor has to do with having my back to people in a large, crowded room.  I don't exactly know why this is a problem for me, but it is a bit.  However, this was a special occasion, and I am happy that we made it through without any casualties.

My bride was and still is very beautiful from the inside out.  She has my heart and I love her family already (although, all of them at once is admittedly a bit overwhelming).  I look forward, of course, to learning more Thai so I can have a reasonable conversation with more of the family members, but I also look forward to sharing more of the good parts of U.S. culture with them.  I was also pleased with how well Caleb handled today.  He didn't even complain too much when I called him at 5:30 am for him to get ready for the duties of wielding my camera for a few hours.  He was definitely relieved when we had an hour or so break after the ceremony part of the morning was over. 

The weather today was good enough for Noi and I to go out and take some pictures outdoors, which was good.  The photographer certainly took some nice pictures of us, but we paid $5000 baht for 5 pictures (i.e. about $33 or so per picture) out of the thousands that he took.  Fortunately, we also get the benefit of all the pictures people are posting on Facebook and the many pictures stored on my computer.  It will certainly be interesting taking the huge photo of us over to the U.S.  It will need its own suitcase (or we'll just have to ship it).  That photo made me wish I had bought a blue suit instead of a tan suit, but it's okay, as I don't wear suits that often anyway (don't get any ideas that you will see me in a suit again anytime soon.)

It is still sinking in that the marriage is official and that my beautiful bride will eventually be able to come home with me to the U.S. where we can share our days together.  It's a bit surreal (with a bit of language shock thrown in).  I know that we will have our share of challenges to face and bridges to cross as we learn about each other's cultures and languages.  However, that's half of the fun.  I have a whole new set of family members now to visit, which means a lot more photo ops in my future...hehe.  I'm only partially joking, of course...Every place I go, my camera goes too...it's just a part of who I am. 

Well, I think I will close this for now.  I need to select some pictures to add to the mix...I look forward to seeing many of you when I return to the U.S.  Caleb and I still have a week here before we fly home and will spend a few days at the beach (more photos to come, of course).  I have mixed feelings about leaving Thailand this time, but I look forward to my return to the land of Smiles.