i keep a diary

January 22, 2009

Brett and Amy's Wedding

At the end of January, Meredith and I flew down to Captiva Island (off the west coast of Florida) to attend Brett and Amy's wedding (where I was honored to be his best man!).

Thursday, January 22nd

me
Air Train to JFK (I was reading My War: Killing Time in Iraq by Colby Buzzell.)
book ˆ subway ˆ me
Southbound over NYC at night. Beautiful.
flying ˆ nyc
me, meredith
Travel buddies.
airplane ˆ us ˆ me ˆ meredith
I love The Manhattans! Kiss and Say Goo is my favorite song by them. Haha.
airplane
meredith
By the time we got in, it was after 1am. Everyone was in bed and all the stores were closed - and we were STARVING! We split a banana...
banana ˆ monkey ˆ meredith
...and then hopped in the car and drove for 30 minutes until we found a gas station that was open that had some frozen food. Mmmmm, pizza rolls!
food ˆ treats

Friday, January 23rd

We'd arrived in total darkness and when we awoke the next morning, we were overwhelmed by the beauty of the place. It was like we'd woken up in the Caribbean.
palm tree
We found our way out to the pool...
pool
kristi
...and located our relatives! My cousins, Kristi and Stacy were catching some sun...
kristi
uncle wayne
...Uncle Wayne was doing his usual.
asleep ˆ sunburn ˆ uncle wayne
brett, meredith
Meredith and the groom-to-be in the hot tub!
hot tub ˆ brett ˆ meredith
amy b, brett, grandma
At 5pm, the wedding party all met up so that we could head down to the beach together and do a quick run through of the ceremony! Here's Brett and Amy with the officiant.
wedding ˆ amy b ˆ brett ˆ grandma
dad, grandma, maija
Grandma, Maija (Amy's stepmother) and dad.
dad ˆ grandma ˆ maija
brett, me
Brett & me!
brett ˆ me
The view of the beach from Brett & Amy's porch.
beach ˆ palm tree
With everyone assembled, we headed down to the beach!
beach ˆ wedding
The beach was deserted!
beach
Hardly a soul in either direction.
beach
amy b, dad
Lee walking Amy down the beach-aisle!
beach ˆ amy b ˆ dad
amy b, lee
Ta-da!
beach ˆ rehearsal ˆ wedding ˆ amy b ˆ lee
amy b, brett
Haha.
laugh ˆ rehearsal ˆ wedding ˆ amy b ˆ brett
dad, grandma, mom, uncle tom
Uncle Tom, Grandma, Mom and Dad watching the rehearsal.
rehearsal ˆ wedding ˆ dad ˆ grandma ˆ mom ˆ uncle tom
The whole rehearsal took around a half an hour and after it was finished we sat on the porch and watched a magnificent sunset.
sunset
amy b, brett
Then it was time to head to dinner and drinks.
amy b ˆ brett
brett, chris b, meredith, steve b, uncle bruce
Brett and Meredith with the OTHER Battjer boys: Bruce, Steve and Chris.
family ˆ brett ˆ chris b ˆ meredith ˆ steve b ˆ uncle bruce
brett, chris b, dad, me, steve b, uncle bruce
ALL the Battjer boys! Me, Brett, Brian Sr, Bruce, Chris and Steve.
family ˆ brett ˆ chris b ˆ dad ˆ me ˆ steve b ˆ uncle bruce
dad, mom
My parents welcoming everyone to dinner.
rehearsal ˆ wedding ˆ dad ˆ mom
chris b, me, steve b
Me with my cousins Steve and Chris.
chris b ˆ me ˆ steve b
elyse, uncle bruce
Uncle Bruce and his girlfriend, Elyse
elyse ˆ uncle bruce
amy b, diane, meredith, sherwin, steve b
Families co-mingling!
amy b ˆ diane ˆ meredith ˆ sherwin ˆ steve b
brett, chris b, uncle bruce
Bruce, Brett and Chris.
brett ˆ chris b ˆ uncle bruce
amy b, diane, emily b
Amy with her mom, Diane and her sister, Emily.
amy b ˆ diane ˆ emily b
amy b, brett, diane, emily b, meredith
Brett and Meredith getting in on the love-fest.
hug ˆ amy b ˆ brett ˆ diane ˆ emily b ˆ meredith
The bar we were drinking in was right on the beach and our rowdy party ending up making friends with some of the locals.
strangers
me, meredith
This is the photo I took of Meredith when she bid us all a goodnight around.
us ˆ me ˆ meredith
chris b, steve b
That was the sensible choice. Chris, Steve and I decided to keep on drinking heavily and somehow ended up on the beach partying with the locals we'd met in the bar.
beach ˆ laugh ˆ strangers ˆ chris b ˆ steve b
chris b, steve b
Haha. Let's hear it for NEW FRIENDS!
beach ˆ laugh ˆ strangers ˆ chris b ˆ steve b
me
Someone tried to take a sneaky picture of my wiener while I was peeing, but I was prepared with a swift hand-block. Hahah.
drunk ˆ pee ˆ me
Oooof. The bar closed at 2am - but somehow we had bottles of vodka on the beach and we just kept on drinking. I snapped this charmer of a photo while stumbling my way back to our room at 3:30.

Saturday, January 24th

meredith
Wedding day!
bed ˆ hotel ˆ meredith
Anyone who knows me know that I do my best work under pressure. I finished my best man speech exactly ninety minutes before the ceremony started. (Hey, that's early for me!)
chair ˆ laptop
Another perfect day.
palm tree
A little after 4pm, the wedding party met back up on the porch and we headed out to the beach just like we'd rehearsed.
palm tree ˆ wedding
brett, me
Except this time it was FOR REAL! Me with the groom!
dressed up ˆ wedding ˆ brett ˆ me
grandma, uncle tom
Tom escorting Gram.
beach ˆ wedding ˆ grandma ˆ uncle tom
Check out the clouds!
beach ˆ clouds ˆ wedding
We couldn't have ordered a more-perfect day.
beach ˆ clouds ˆ wedding
amy b, dad, lee
Here comes the bride! I managed to snap off this last photo before putting my camera away for the rest of the ceremony.
wedding ˆ amy b ˆ dad ˆ lee
brett, mom
Mom with her first married son!
beach ˆ wedding ˆ brett ˆ mom
dad
Our mustachioed father!
beach ˆ moustache ˆ photo shoot ˆ wedding ˆ dad
Nick Adams, the wedding photographer they hired, was fantastic.
beach ˆ photo shoot ˆ wedding
amy b, brett, dad, diane, lee, mom
The bride and groom with the parents: Brian & Stephanie and Lee and Diane.
beach ˆ photo shoot ˆ wedding ˆ amy b ˆ brett ˆ dad ˆ diane ˆ lee ˆ mom
amy b, brett, dad, diane, lee, maija, mom, sherwin
Adding in Sherwin and Maija!
beach ˆ wedding ˆ amy b ˆ brett ˆ dad ˆ diane ˆ lee ˆ maija ˆ mom ˆ sherwin
amy b, brett
Adorable.
beach ˆ wedding ˆ amy b ˆ brett
The sky was turning into quite the dramatic photo backdrop. I asked the photographer if he'd be willing to take some JUMPING SHOTS of the wedding party and he was more than happy to oblige.
beach ˆ sunset
Check out the awesomeness! Soooo good! (Photo by Nick Adams Photography)
best ˆ jump ˆ wedding
amy b, brett
Amy and Brett. (Photo by Nick Adams Photography)
best ˆ wedding ˆ amy b ˆ brett
amy b, brett
Congrats, you two! We're so happy for you! (Photo by Nick Adams Photography)
best ˆ wedding ˆ amy b ˆ brett
me, meredith
Me with the other future-Mrs-Battjer (getting married in 7 months! Eeep!)
beach ˆ us ˆ me ˆ meredith
Empty chairs.
beach ˆ chair
brett, me
Brett and me.
best ˆ sunset ˆ brett ˆ me
john r, meredith
After we were done getting our photos taken, I stopped off at the reception hall to grab a drink. Here's John, Mer and my cousin Stacy.
john r ˆ meredith
amy b, bethany
Then I stopped by the bridal suite where Emily and Bethany were turning Amy's wedding dress into something more "danceable."
wedding ˆ amy b ˆ bethany
We hung out on the porch to watch another picture perfect sunset...
palm tree ˆ sunset
amy b, bethany, emily b
...and then headed to the reception!
amy b ˆ bethany ˆ emily b
amy b, brett
First dance!
dance ˆ wedding ˆ amy b ˆ brett
brett, mom
Then my mom joined Brett for a dance...
dance ˆ brett ˆ mom
amy b, lee
...and Lee joined Amy.
dance ˆ amy b ˆ lee
brett, mom
Awww.
dance ˆ brett ˆ mom
Can you believe this is a photo?
palm tree ˆ sunset
It looks like something they'd airbrush on your t-shirt at the boardwalk in Wildwood, NJ.
palm tree ˆ sunset
brett
Married-guy ring shot!
gang signs ˆ ring ˆ wedding ˆ brett
bethany
Back at the reception hall, it was time for speeches! Bethany went first.
wedding ˆ bethany
emily b
Followed by Amy's sister, Emily.
wedding ˆ emily b
me
Then, as best man, I went next!
wedding ˆ me
I was followed by Phil, Brett's good friend from college.
wedding
meredith
Meredith hugging a baby with beautiful blue eyes.
baby ˆ meredith
dad, mom
My parents cutting some serious rug. My dad is ALL about the hustle. Yes!
best ˆ dance ˆ wedding ˆ dad ˆ mom
brett, dad
Brett & Dad (and dad's mustache!).
moustache ˆ brett ˆ dad
evie, jill d, john r
Brett and Amy's friends from DC. John, Evie and Jill.
evie ˆ jill d ˆ john r
amy b, brett, kristi, lindsey, me, meredith, stacy
Amy and Meredith with some of our cousins!
amy b ˆ brett ˆ kristi ˆ lindsey ˆ me ˆ meredith ˆ stacy
Like I mentioned earlier, the photographer that Brett and Amy hired was on-point. Not only did he take sick photos, he had a laptop setup at the reception showing off some of his choice snaps from earlier in the day.
laptop ˆ meta
Maybe this is standard wedding-photographer stuff by now, but this was the first time I had seen this done.
meta
This photo looks like a still from a the beginning of a network TV sitcom that follows Friends. Haha.
meta
amy b, brett
Cake cutting time!
cake ˆ wedding ˆ amy b ˆ brett
amy b, brett
Brett and Amy opted for the "simultaneous-cake-feed" method which drastically reduces the chance that only one person will get cake smashed into their face. It's both or none. (None, in their very civilized case). In front of the cake table were a whole bunch of older wedding photos from both our families...
cake ˆ wedding ˆ amy b ˆ brett
connie battjer, hank battjer, steve b
...and none of could get over similar Steve looks to our grandfather, Hank J. Battjer, on his wedding day.
wedding ˆ connie battjer ˆ hank battjer ˆ steve b
connie battjer, hank battjer, steve b
Hahaha. So awesome.
best ˆ doppleganger ˆ wedding ˆ connie battjer ˆ hank battjer ˆ steve b
aunt barb, aunt elaine, aunt sue, grandma, mom
My grandma, Ann, with her lovely four daughters! Elaine, Barb, Susan and Stephanie.
family ˆ aunt barb ˆ aunt elaine ˆ aunt sue ˆ grandma ˆ mom
melissa m, meredith
Meredith and Melissa.
melissa m ˆ meredith
The Chanowichs and The Littles! My parents' good friends from our neighborhood growing up. It was awesome that they all came down for the wedding.
brett, chris b, me, steve b
I call this photo "Drunk Cousins."
brett ˆ chris b ˆ me ˆ steve b
aunt ann, uncle walt
Ann and Walt Bird (my great-aunt and great-uncle).
aunt ann ˆ uncle walt
lindsey, uncle wayne
Wayne and Lindsey
lindsey ˆ uncle wayne
aunt elaine, mom, steve b, uncle bruce
Elaine, Bruce, Steve and mom.
aunt elaine ˆ mom ˆ steve b ˆ uncle bruce
brett, elyse, kristie, uncle tom
Around 10pm, the dinner portion of the evening was ending and it was time to move the party to the bar down by the beach!
brett ˆ elyse ˆ kristie ˆ uncle tom
kristie, me
Kissing cousins!
kiss ˆ kristie ˆ me
chris b, elyse, me, steve b, uncle bruce, uncle nalin
Haha. Elyse, Bruce, Chris, Steve, me and Nalin!
chris b ˆ elyse ˆ me ˆ steve b ˆ uncle bruce ˆ uncle nalin
brett, uncle bruce
Brett with Uncle Bruce.
brett ˆ uncle bruce
brett, uncle bruce
Brett with Uncle Moose!
tongue ˆ brett ˆ uncle bruce
bob, brett
Brett and Bob!
roxbury high school ˆ bob ˆ brett
amy b, aunt sue, brett, uncle nalin
The newlyweds with Nalin and Sue.
amy b ˆ aunt sue ˆ brett ˆ uncle nalin
melissa m, meredith
Around 10:30, we headed over to the bar for the after party...
melissa m ˆ meredith
chris b, meredith, steve b
...but we ended up hanging out drinking on the porch...
drunk ˆ the bird ˆ chris b ˆ meredith ˆ steve b
...which led to a huge impromptu party sesh on the beach!
beach ˆ best ˆ group ˆ party ˆ wedding
Yes!
beach ˆ group ˆ metal ˆ party ˆ wedding
bob, brett, chris b
Bonus points to Melissa (all the way on the left) who looks as if she's in the midst of "making it clap."
make it clap ˆ bob ˆ brett ˆ chris b
brett, chris b, john r, me, melissa m, meredith, steve b
I handed the camera off and managed to sneak into one of the group shots.
brett ˆ chris b ˆ john r ˆ me ˆ melissa m ˆ meredith ˆ steve b
chris b, sid
Sid and Chris.
hang ten ˆ chris b ˆ sid
melissa m, meredith
Shoes off!
beach ˆ dance ˆ shoes ˆ melissa m ˆ meredith
brett, melissa m, meredith
Sandy dance party.
beach ˆ dance ˆ laugh ˆ shoes ˆ brett ˆ melissa m ˆ meredith
bob, sid
Sid and Bob.
lick ˆ sunburn ˆ tongue ˆ bob ˆ sid
bob, brett, melissa m, meredith, phil, steve b
Jump shot!
beach ˆ jump ˆ bob ˆ brett ˆ melissa m ˆ meredith ˆ phil ˆ steve b
bob, brett, melissa m, meredith, phil, steve b
Once more with Bob falling down!
beach ˆ best ˆ jump ˆ ouch ˆ bob ˆ brett ˆ melissa m ˆ meredith ˆ phil ˆ steve b
bob, chris b, john r, steve b
New buds.
sunburn ˆ bob ˆ chris b ˆ john r ˆ steve b
me, meredith
Smooch.
kiss ˆ us ˆ me ˆ meredith
bob, dad, john r, me, melissa m, meredith, steve b
A little before midnight, the beach party-crew...
bob ˆ dad ˆ john r ˆ me ˆ melissa m ˆ meredith ˆ steve b
amy b, brett
...headed back to the bar for the big dance party that was going on.
crowd ˆ party ˆ wedding ˆ amy b ˆ brett
bob, brett
Bob commandeered the mic...
band ˆ guitar ˆ bob ˆ brett
bob, brett
...for a duet with Brett. (Anyone remember the song?)
duet ˆ wedding ˆ bob ˆ brett
john w, lindsey
Lindsey and John.
john w ˆ lindsey
The band was really fun.
band
amy b, kristie, melissa m, meredith
Melissa and Amy cutting it up.
dance ˆ metal ˆ amy b ˆ kristie ˆ melissa m ˆ meredith
meredith
Party soldier.
best ˆ dance ˆ meredith
amy b, brett, melissa m, sean t
Melissa, Amy, Brett and Sean (sorry this is the only photo I have of you for some reason, Talty!)
amy b ˆ brett ˆ melissa m ˆ sean t
dad
My dad's mustache brings all the gals to the yard.
dad
bob, meredith
Meredith told Bob that she wanted to punch him in the face and Bob shrugged and said "Go ahead then. Punch me in the face. Hard. Do it." Meredith was happy to oblige (and I was happy to snap this picture just BEFORE impact was made). The look on her face is awesome. "I know I shouldn't be doing this BUT..."
best ˆ punch ˆ sunburn ˆ bob ˆ meredith
melissa m, meredith
Melissa and Mer.
melissa m ˆ meredith
me, meredith
Monkeys.
kiss ˆ us ˆ me ˆ meredith
1am and the dance party was still going strong.
dance ˆ party ˆ wedding
amy b, brett
Congrats, Brett & Amy! We're so happy for you two. Thanks for having us all down. We had an amazing time!
wedding ˆ amy b ˆ brett

3 comments

  • mikefebruary 12, 2011

    Wow that was an awesome post, At some point whole families only gather for weddings or funerals. God bless your family for gathering for a fantastic wedding.

  • aunt barbfebruary 12, 2011

    Great job, Brian. It was so nice to look back and remember the good time we all had.
    Aunt Barb

  • don kmarch 7, 2011

    I have never seen a wedding photo as great as the jumping wedding party!