i keep a diary

July 03, 2004

Chris and Jen Get Married

My cousin Chris Battjer got married! I headed out to north Jersey to meet up with my fam before heading down to south Jersey for the wedding.

amy b, brett
I got into Roxbury on Friday night and took my brother and his girlfriend Amy out to a fancy dinner at TGIFridays. Awwww, yeah.
food ˆ amy b ˆ brett
jill frendak
On the way out of the restaurant, I ran into Jill Frendak, a fellow Roxbury Class of '94 graduate. She apparently reads this site every once in while, so Jill, if you see this, hi!
roxbury high school ˆ jill frendak
me
Then, back at my parents house, my brother and his girlfriend dug up my freshman year choir portrait. What's up, 1990 in the house? How much do you love my mullet complete with undershaved sides? Ouch.
tuxedo ˆ me
scott
Then later that night, I went up to Mt. Arlington to drink beers and shoot pool with Scott at the incomparable Pat's Bar. (PS - Hey Scott, that's a nice pee stain on your shorts. Hahahaha).
pats bar ˆ pool ˆ scott
brett
Saturday morning, I hopped into the car with Brett and Amy and we headed down to Medford, NJ (about 2 hours from where my parent's live) for Chris and Jen's wedding.
driving ˆ brett
steve b, uncle bruce
Here's the brother of the groom (my cousin Steve) helping the father of the groom (my uncle Bruce) with his tie.
family ˆ steve b ˆ uncle bruce
brett, dad, me, mom
After the ties were fixed, it was time for family photos out on the back deck. Here's Brett, Pappi, mom and me.
dressed up ˆ family ˆ brett ˆ dad ˆ me ˆ mom
amy b, brett
Cross-eyed Brett.
amy b ˆ brett
amy b, brett
A much nicer picture of Brett and Amy.
dressed up ˆ amy b ˆ brett
chris b, steve b, uncle bruce
Look! It's the other Battjers! Chris, Bruce and Steve. After getting suited up and noshing for a bit (ok, and having a few warm up drinks) it was time to head over to the country club where the wedding ceremony was being held.
dressed up ˆ family ˆ wedding ˆ chris b ˆ steve b ˆ uncle bruce
aunt ann, uncle walt
On to the ceremony! Sitting behind me: my great aunt and great uncle, Ann and Walt Bird.
aunt ann ˆ uncle walt
mom
And in front, Mami and Papi
mom
steve b, uncle bruce
Bruce, my Aunt Laura and Steve walking down the aisle.
aunt laura ˆ steve b ˆ uncle bruce
jennifer
Jen, the bride, coming down the aisle with her parents.
wedding ˆ jennifer
chris b, jennifer
The ceremony.
wedding ˆ chris b ˆ jennifer
chris b, jennifer
Kiss the bride!
kiss ˆ wedding ˆ chris b ˆ jennifer
chris b, jennifer
So get this: There's a day camp right next to the country club that was having a pool party and playing loud music. A few of the groomsmen walked over, told them that a wedding was about to start and asked if they'd mind turning their speakers off for the next thirty minutes. They agreed. Well, I guess the ceremony took exactly thirty minutes, because literally the very moment that Jen and Chris turned around and were introduced to the audience as "Mr. and Mrs. Chris Battjer," the music, as if on cue, kicked back in playing "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen at top volume. It was amazing.
best ˆ wedding ˆ chris b ˆ jennifer
chris b, jennifer, uncle bruce
Jen (Battjer!), Chris and Bruce.
wedding ˆ chris b ˆ jennifer ˆ uncle bruce
chris b
Chris getting ready to hug his new sister-in-law.
wedding ˆ chris b
chris b, dad, mom
Papi dishing out some loving.
hug ˆ wedding ˆ chris b ˆ dad ˆ mom
chris b, jennifer, steve b, uncle bruce
Me taking pictures of the wedding photographer taking pictures.
aunt laura ˆ camera ˆ wedding ˆ chris b ˆ jennifer ˆ steve b ˆ uncle bruce
I'm an artist I tell ya.
wedding
The other onlookers.
bridesmaids ˆ wedding
dad, mom
My parents at the reception anxiously awaiting the entrance of...
dad ˆ mom
chris b, jennifer
...Mr. and Mrs. Chris Battjer! (Boy, that's fun to say).
wedding ˆ chris b ˆ jennifer
chris b, jennifer
Wooooo!
wedding ˆ chris b ˆ jennifer
chris b, jennifer
The first dance.
wedding ˆ chris b ˆ jennifer
steve b
My cousing Steve (Chris' younger brother) was the best man and give what was hands down the best (sweetest, funniest and warmest) speech I've ever heard.
speech ˆ wedding ˆ steve b
Here's Jen's um, what do you call it? Best woman? Head bridesmaid? Her speech was solid too.
speech ˆ wedding
chris b, jennifer, steve b
The post-speech toast.
best ˆ wedding ˆ chris b ˆ jennifer ˆ steve b
me, mom
Me and my mom.
me ˆ mom
Dancefloor action!
dance ˆ wedding
Uh-oh! I bet I know who's getting some tonight!
dance ˆ wedding
dad, mom
And who's this handsome disco couple? (Seriously, you haven't lived until you've seen my dad do his disco hand shuffle on the dance floor. It's what happiness is made of).
dance ˆ dad ˆ mom
The Electric Slide? Oh no, they did-n't.
dance ˆ wedding
mom
Hahaha. Look at my mom excited and looking all eight years old.
dance ˆ excited ˆ wedding ˆ mom
dad, mom
They can swing dance? Who knew?
dance ˆ dad ˆ mom
steve b
Steve and his awesome girlfriend Amanda.
steve b
The wedding cake.
cake ˆ wedding
chris b, me, steve b
Me with Chris and Steve.
dressed up ˆ family ˆ chris b ˆ me ˆ steve b
brett, me
Me with Little Brother Brett.
brett ˆ me
me, uncle bruce
Me with Unclue Bruce (who's the only male member of our family that can grow an actual, honest-to-God mustache). Soooo jealous.
me ˆ uncle bruce
chris b, jennifer
Chris sneaking the garter off of Jen's leg.
chris b ˆ jennifer
chris b
Getting ready to throw it into the crowd of studly bucks.
garter ˆ wedding ˆ chris b
Airborne garter shot.
garter
One of Chris high school buddies snagged it.
garter
Hahaha. He looks like a Cambell's Soup kid getting his perv on for the first time.
garter
me
Dear Steve's Wonderful, Smart, Witty and Beautiful Girlfriend Whose Name I Can't Remember, I'm sorry I can't remember your name. I'm going to blame it on all those Pineapple & Malibus we drank together. (You may think I'm kidding, but that really is one of my favorite drinks. Scotch at an open bar leads me to only one place: ThrowUpOnYourselfville. So if you're looking to pace yourself, you can't go wrong with good ol' Pineapple & Malibus - and hey, they're delicious!) (PS - Since this entry was originally written, I've obviously remembered that her name is Amanda! Sorry, Amanda!)
me
steve b
My Pineapple partner and Steve.
guitar ˆ wedding ˆ steve b
Would you believe that the two fanciest parties I've been to in the last year both had inflatable guitars? Must be Sid and Buddy's influence on the rest of the world.
wedding
dad, mom
Easy there, Dad. I don't want you getting up to any Risky Business. Ha!
sunglasses ˆ dad ˆ mom
me
Mmmmm...cake.
me
aunt ann, mom
Aunt Ann and my mom.
aunt ann ˆ mom
The obligitory group shot!
best ˆ family ˆ wedding
chris b
Married! (Funnily enough, this is almost the same exact picture I took of my friend Chris Hannigan when he and Mandy got married). Congrats Chris and Jen!
ring ˆ wedding ˆ chris b