Day 155

Its finally over! All of the 17 months of anticipation came to the end this weekend and my sister in law Jessica is now Mrs. Justin Rosenberg. I have to say this right off the bat - it has been as good of a family wedding weekend as we could have expected. First off, the weather gods were smiling on us this weekend. Last year at this time, it was in the 100's. Saturday night at the rehearsal dinner which was outside, it was in the 80's and beautiful. At the wedding ceremony, which was also outside last night, it was in the 80's again with a slight breeze and not one person complained about the heat. We were told it was much worse in Chicago yesterday, add in the humidity which we have none of out here. It was perfect. Here is a rundown on the weekend's activities:

Friday night there was a dinner at Aunt Barbara and Uncle Allen's for Jess and Justin and Leah and I left early to go to The Ocean Club, the sister fish restaurant for Mastro's steakhouse (like Gibson's and Hugo's in Chicago). Great restaurant - I enjoyed my Big Eye Tuna and Leah and my mom split Sea Bass. Saturday was the day of the rehearsal dinner. I helped out around the house and went to lunch with Scott, Lauren, and Leah at one of my go to spots out here, Islands. I buried chicken soft tacos and the best fries in the city (better than In and Out). We had to be at Troon Country Club for the rehearsal at 5:15. The rehearsal dinner was at the Fairmont Princess in Scottsdale. It was at the western theme area. We were pleasantly surprised by the venue. Other than the gravel we were standing on all night, there was plenty of room to walk around, easy bar to get drinks (beer and wine only, but one of the beers was Fat Tire - so clearly that is all I drank). Since it was a Western theme, there were quite a few people in cowboy hats and western gear - I was not among them. Pretty much nobody in our family was. Nevertheless, the evening went on and Leah and I gave what I thought was a great speech about how different we are than Jessica and Justin. Some of our classic lines were that Justin was a Park Synagogue, Conservative Jew and I have been told I am Jewish by circumcision only. Justin is Tom Petty and Bob Dylan and I am 2Pac and Ice Cube. Jessica is an addicted shopper who will spend whatever if she likes it enough, while Leah won't buy anything unless it is on sale. Jessica is cheesy and emotional, and Leah refuses to hug anyone unless their name is Todd. We ended our speech as Leah said as much as different as they are, they both came full circle and married men from their parents hometown. I said that as different as Justin and I are, we were both lucky enough to fall in love with the Robuck girls. Then we gave them our present, which was their wedding reflections DVD which everyone absolutely loved. I promised Justin I wouldn't mention that he sang "It had to be you" to Jessica in front of everyone. I also told him I will be making fun of him about it the rest of his life.

The wedding day was as long of a day as I can remember. I woke up at 7 am and saw Jessica and heard the squeak of "I'm getting married today!" The girls left the house around 8:45 am. It was a beautiful morning so I took a long walk through the mountains, just me and my ipod and did some reflecting. I spent the morning with my friends Jules and Andrew lounging at their pool in there new house (riiiiiiiight) and grabbed some lunch before coming back to the house and getting ready for the wedding. Max, Scott, and I headed over to Troon for pictures. Jessica looked absolutely stunning. She truly was a beautiful bride. As much as this sounds biased, you all should have seen Leah. Other than her wedding day, I cannot remember a day when I thought she looked better. The hair, makeup, the dress, the whole thing.

The ceremony was great. Max's sister, Laurel, performed the ceremony and made it fun, personal, and short. The cocktail hour was solid - pigs in a blanket, lamb chops, brie cups, and lots of drinks. Rafal set the over/under at Grey Goose and Soda's for me at 6 - as they say "it went way over." The room where the reception was really was beautiful. I'm not one to comment on centerpieces, but they were very sharp. Max gave a great speech, very heartfelt. Leah also gave a great speech - she did a great job considering all of the cocktails. But I must give credit to Jessica on her speech. It was so her. Very well spoken and very thoughtful. She said the nicest things about our family and I came away very impressed. Justin's speech was great as well. The Hora was next and a funny thing happened. At our wedding, Max and Stacey disappeared. This time around, they tried it again, only Stacey decided to go for it, while Max was nowhere to be found. Nobody sat in the chair next to Stacey, so I decided to myself she can't go up alone. So it was the two of us. It was so much fun. The rest of the night we ate, drank, and danced a ton with Jessica and her friends. It truly was a night I will never forget.

A few final thoughts: I was so honored and proud to be a part of this occasion. I have always appreciated our family, but this trip, moreso than any other, made me really appreciate how good I have it. My in laws are the best. So funny, so sweet, and so thoughtful. Everytime we are together, I feel like we just laugh and laugh. Scott and Lauren are the best. Scott truly is my little brother and we have such a good time together. The kid just cracks me up just by looking in my direction sometimes. This weekend I saw a side of Justin I knew existed, but I wish he would show us more. Because he studies so much and is so busy, we don't get to see the fun and laid back side he has. I was so glad he let loose all weekend - you could really see why Jessica is so in love with him. You could see how happy he was to be married to Jessica and how much he really appreciated this weekend. And as for Jessica - I told her this in a letter I wrote to her on her wedding day, but I truly feel like she is my sister. I've never had one, but she is it. She is beautiful inside and out, fiercely loyal to her friends and family, and I couldn't be any more proud to have her in my life. I know just from being with her all weekend that this was the wedding of her dreams and she couldn't be any happier with how it turned out. I've said it once and I will say it again - I am beyond lucky to have married into the Robuck family. I'd like to officially welcome Justin in. Hopefully soon, Lauren will be next!

quick shout out to MD who is still late night at work after the Pistons loss to the Heat....what up Deez.

Song of the Day: "For Once in my Life" By Stevie Wonder