Surprise Bridal Shower
On April 29 after church, John took me to the mall for an unusual three hours.
This is a guy who has a hard time remaining in a store with no clear mission for more than three minutes. I had no clue why.
As we pulled up to the house, I noted several strange cars parked out front. I absently wondered if something was going on at the Zwolinskis’ next door. However, my suspicions immediately arose when I noticed John trying to hide a grin as he liberated our new video camera from the trunk. He had that thing on his shoulder in seconds flat as we approached the front door.
Sure enough, as I ascended the stairs in my jeans and sweatshirt (hardly “shower wear”) there was a chorus of “SURPRISE!”
Speechless, I was beaming from head to toe. All my women relatives and friends were gathered to throw me a bridal shower! I didn’t know whom to hug first. It was a flurry of happy greetings and laughter. I was absolutely floored, and completely surprised! Well done, Mona, John, and family!
“Good Life” by Inner City
The decorations were awesome, and I heard my brother had a lot to do with that. Grande Pizzarama catered the affair with delicious Italian food. Everything looked wonderful, and there was an adorable “wishing well” in the corner packed with loads of little gifts in front of the big gift pile.
The guys disappeared for a few hours as pictures snapped, video rolled, presents were opened and tummies were filled.
It was a wonderful afternoon replete with VERY interesting lotions, skimpy skivvies that wouldn’t preserve a mouse’s modesty, and the usual host of practical toasters and towels and the like. I posed with my loot and got a lot of laughs.
As the calendar turned to May, we knew this was the long-awaited backstretch. They threw me a fun shower at the office, with goodies and balloons and some presents.
John and crew had the typical bachelor party, complete with strip club and too many tequila shots. They hit the Chi-Chi’s Cantina, then Virgo’s “gentlemen’s club” on 130. He came back smashed that night thanks to too many tequila shots (courtesy of my cousin John S), and slept it off downstairs at Dad’s house.
Bachelorette Bash
My bridesmaids and I went out one Friday for my bachelorette party, dressed and determined not to make reference to the “J word.” We hit Wurlitzer’s, a wild and funky doo-wop joint in the New Brunswick area where the servers bopped on the counters.
I slammed 5 Bay Breezes straight up and two guys tried to sidle up to me on the dance floor. It was such a fun time.
My favorite thing about Wurlitzer’s was the back-end of the ’59 Cadillac in the entry area. We ended up at an all-night diner around 3 AM and I hauled my keister into bed early the next morning … fortunately, these things occur once in a lifetime.
A coworker of mine, Kim, suggested we take some dance lessons where she worked part-time, at the Arthur Murray studio in Highland Park. We picked up the rumba box step for our first dance, the decidedly Latin-sounding And I Love Her by the Beatles.
“Pray” by MC Hammer
I finalized the music listing for the band, submitting a tape of the three “first dances” for us, (Beatles); Dad and me, Theme From a Summer Place (Percy Faith); and John and his mom, Moonlight Serenade (Glenn Miller).
I addressed the envelopes in script, folded and packed the invitations, and John made a trip to the post office. Soon, the responses began pouring in. I then drafted a seating chart and wrote out all the place cards. John’s mother planned the rehearsal dinner, and I provided names and addresses for the invitees.
John’s Temporary Bachelor Pad
June 2 was a rush-rush-hustle-bust-ass of a day during which furniture was delivered to the Fresh Ponds Village apartment. We moved John out of his room at the Mallory house, and schlepped the entire bridal shower gift pile from Dad’s as well. Our friend Jim assisted with his godsend of a pickup truck.
We worked feverishly well into the evening, cleaning, assembling, shopping for food staples and getting our future home settled. I returned to Dad’s house completely wired, but breathless and giddy.
For three weeks, John would have his own place. During his first night in the apartment, a ferocious storm passed through (a rather wacky welcome wagon) and he later said he wished I were beside him. Though I did not spend the night in the following days and weeks, I would drive there after work each day.
We would have dinner together, take walks, and snuggle in the evening hours, but I’d head back to Dad’s to sleep. The remaining weeks were a blur of joy and anticipation, loaded with last minute fine-tuning on the planning process.
The week before June 23 began warm and sunny and I realized I wouldn’t be waking up in my room at Dad’s house for much longer! That week, I submitted the final head count and seating chart to the Renaissance. We met with the Maitre’d concerning layout of the ballroom and planned the Cocktail Hour for the hotel nightclub, Illusions.
Popular music from this time include Madonna’s Vogue, MC Hammer’s Pray and U Can’t Touch This, Can’t Stop (One World 12″ mix) by After 7, Bust-a-Move by Young MC, and The Power by Snap.
“Dirty Cash” by Stevie V
The Day Before
I took Friday June 22 off, and we drove up to my office to pick up my check. I was so pumped that I couldn’t even fill out my time card! Everyone thought that was hilarious. A colleague named Laura filled it out for me and all sent me on my way with good wishes.
The rest of the afternoon was filled with errands. We picked up our boarding passes for the cruise ship at Liberty Travel, and got copies of our birth certificates for Customs.
We got traveler’s cheques at AAA for the honeymoon, and John called the airline to make final confirmations. We packed for a week on the Mexican Riviera and the high seas, including a few of those risqué shower items.
That afternoon, John’s relatives from western Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. rolled into town, and he went to the Holiday Inn at Exit 8A to meet them. They were all at our apartment by 4, and raved about how adorable it was, and we got ready for the rehearsal and dinner.
Following the run-through at church, everyone was at Arbijon’s, the restaurant at the Sheraton in East Brunswick for the dinner. Since it was Dad’s birthday, we sang to him at dessert and he got to blow out a candle.
This was also prime time for the families to formally meet. The food was delicious, and there were toasts to John and me. It was good to see the two families finally make acquaintance, and everyone got along swimmingly.
That night, Dad helped me move every last stitch of clothing over to the apartment. It was a balmy evening and the windows were open, and the croaks of the bullfrogs drifted in from the pond.
I cracked up when I heard Dad’s impression of the bullfrogs’ evening song. The apartment was neat, filled with all creature comforts, waiting for the new couple.
It was the final night we would be single, and we went to bed in our respective residences with dreams and hopes about what tomorrow would bring. It would also be the last time I would fall asleep under Dad’s roof.
My bedroom, now devoid of clothes and other necessities, would see a flurry of activity the next day. I drifted off with not a hint of nervousness or cold feet, my conscious mind fading as the night melted into the dawn of the best day of my life.
