On Lori's and my 1-Day Anniversary...a blog entry before heading out to Hawaii for the honeymoon!

The wedding weekend has been a blur. The rehearsal went great and really put my mind at ease that the wedding itself would be something I could enjoy without being nervous. Carter Crenshaw, our pastor at West End Community Church, did a great job telling everyone what to do and was extremely time-efficient in getting us out of there before the rehearsal dinner.

The rehearsal dinner at the Rotunda at the Country Music Hall of Fame was a lot of fun. My parents, as well as Lori and me, had fun piecing together the details of the event months ago, and we could only hope it would go as well as it did. Unlike many other rehearsal dinners, where only the wedding party is invited, we decided to open it up to everyone invited to the wedding. 90 people showed up in Nashville a day early for it (out of 110 who RSVP'ed to attend the wedding) which was really remarkable. My mom put together a video presentation of pictures of both me and Lori that was shown on a big projector, which she spent an incredible amount of time putting together. My dad started off the toasts, and it was really awesome to see and hear various individuals from both my and Lori's past get up, walk up to the front of the Rotunda to the main microphone, and speak to us. Its the type of thing you don't forget.

I hate to mention any of these individuals specifically, since all of their remarks were so great, but two stood out to me just a little more...my Uncle Jack speaking briefly about how my grandparents, all of whom are dead, would be proud of Lori and me...and Lori's brother, James, getting up to welcome me into their family. Both abhor public speaking (including several others who spoke as well) so I am even more thankful for their facing down their fears of getting in front of the mic.

I hosted a big poker tournament at my apartment after the rehearsal dinner. Though we got started a little late (around 11:30 PM), the field of 13 was whittled down to the Winner's Table (consisting of 6 people) by 12:45, and we declared a winner around 2:30 AM or so. Jay Prather, our friend from undergrad at Vanderbilt, took home "Da Cup of Bling" - the pewter poker-themed mug with $305 in it, in honor of my apartment number! Jay bested John Hart, my long-time friend from high school, but at least John got his money back for coming in second. The rest of us weren't so lucky...

So after going to sleep around 3 AM, I woke up around 10 AM in order to get a shower and pick up Matt, John, and Jeremy. We went to Cracker Barrel out in Cool Springs for lunch before heading over to the tuxedo place to try on our tuxes. I kept mine on (since I had a bowtie, and I didn't know how to tie it! So I had to leave it on.) but the other guys took it off and decided to change back into it later. Around 2:30 PM, we headed to my place to pick up an overnight bag (since I'd be staying in the honeymoon suite that night! sweet!), John headed off to assist Amy (Steven Denny's girlfriend) since her car wasn't running right, and the rest of us headed over to Loews to hang out and kill time.

4:30 rolled around pretty quickly, and it was time to hop in the limo and head over to Benton Chapel, the place on Vanderbilt's campus where the wedding took place. After taking some pictures with the groomsmen, we all headed down to the basement to hang out and kill even more time. Fortunately, time didn't seem to stand still like it often does when I'm waiting for something important, and all of a sudden, it was 5:15 and people began to arrive for the 6:00 wedding. 5:30, 5:45, 6:00...time to go.

What would happen over the next 30 minutes or so was as grandiose and dramatic as anything I have ever seen. After processing into the chapel to the sweet music of a 4-piece ensemble, handing my mom a white rose (she looked great, of course!), and taking my place at the front of the chapel, I then got to watch all of the groomsmen and bridesmaids file in. They all looked excellent...you don't get to see your friends in tuxes every day. And then...Lori came in.

I have never seen anything so beautiful in my entire life. She just looked amazing.

The ceremony began and Carter took control. Much like he does every Sunday with his sermons, he spoke with a disarming, but very articulate, directness...with every sentence seemingly elevating the importance of what was happening. As my dad later put it, "he tied the knot tighter than I've ever seen!"

Speaking on marriage, he reminded Lori and I will be the people who won't just love each other the most, but will also hurt each other the most. Speaking to me, he challenged me to not allow my ambition to get in the way of caring for Lori, and speaking to her, he told her to be my biggest encourager, not my biggest critic. "There are already too many people vying for that role," he said.

As usual, I had trouble keeping my emotions in check, both at the rehearsal dinner and the wedding itself. So it goes.

The reception was absolutely magnificent. Hosted at Loews Vanderbilt Plaza Hotel, the event was designed by Lori and I to have a more upscale, urban feel (in contrast to the purposefully informal, Southern-style rehearsal dinner). Lori and I arrived at the reception around 7:30 (after sticking around at the chapel to take the last few wedding pictures) and were introduced by Lori's dad as "Mr. and Mrs. Bradley Metrock." That was one of several weird moments.

We then cut the first pieces of both the wedding cake and groom's cake, feeding them to one another, and then had a toast. After grabbing at least a small bit of the dinner, we meandered around the room saying hello to friends before having our first dance as a married couple. After the next dance (this time with my mom), people swarmed to the dance floor, giving me a chance to mingle more with those who came to the reception.

There's nothing more gratifying than people showing up from across the country in honor of you and your wife. Its why I put such importance on making time for other people...you never know when its going to be your turn to ask for people to show up somewhere.

My Uncle Jack (same one from the rehearsal dinner) flew in from California, temporarily halting a 5-month roadtrip from Alabama to Alaska via the West Coast. Ben and Steven had to literally fly across Nashville after completing Phase I of the CFA exam (which they arranged to take in Nashville instead of Birmingham for the wedding), arriving at 5:45 to the chapel for the 6 PM wedding. Gaurav, who had led me to believe he would be unable to attend due to his medical school boards coming up in a week or so, showed up unexpectedly at the reception, despite having his flight delayed. Carlos, and his girlfriend Jessica, flew in from St. Louis on Saturday morning to be there. Ben Stark, and his girlfriend Christy (or should I say fiancee! he proposed to her earlier this week) flew in directly from their just-concluded cruise to be there.

Countless others had similar stories, and it was nice to come back to my apartment today to find a flood of congratulatory emails as well. And I know there's several others, including my Aunt Nova (a regular reader of this blog, I know!) who would have loved to have been there, but couldn't due to health concerns.

I just have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support from all of you guys. There's just not anything more important in this world than taking care of friends and family, and showing them that you care.

What gets me even more excited is the prospect of reciprocating this generosity for friends getting married in the future. I can't wait.

Now...off to Hawaii. You never know, I might decide to just stay out there and not come back!