THE RECEPTION
After a nice cocktail hour, the wedding guests made their way back to poolside where the dinner tables were set up with lovely linens, flowers, candles and scrolls (thank you notes from Nicole & John with donations made to the American Cancer Society in memory of loved ones lost to cancer).
The bridal party was introduced by the DJ, and the bride & groom shared their first dance to their wedding song "God Blessed the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts. The bride danced with her dad to "Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion and the groom danced with his mother to "She's Got a Way About Her" by Billy Joel. Unfortunately, the drizzle returned during the dancing ...
We made our way to our seats and I was in the middle of getting a glass of wine poured for me - when the sky decided to open up again as Hurricane Neary blew in off the ocean. Guests dashed for the nearest shelter. Those who broke to the left got first dibs on the buffet table and those who broke right ended up in the Tiki Hut (and three sheets to the wind after drinking on an empty stomach).
Regardless of the great flood, the DJ introduced the Best Man and Matron of Honor and asked them to deliver their toasts to the crowd huddled under the thatched roof.
THE BEST MAN'S SPEECH
Written & delivered by Dennis Neary for his big brother John and new sister-in-law, Nicole.
First I’d like to start off by thanking the Bridesmaids and the Maid of Honor for watching over the beautiful bride today, my cousin Chris for all of his help, of course my brother (for believing that I was responsible enough to take on the role of the best man) and his bride Nicki, who is already like a sister to me. I’d also like to thank everyone else for making it out here to beautiful South Beach, Miami.
Anyway, I’d like to talk a little bit about my brother John first, to let you know who he is through the eyes of his little brother. John was always the outgoing one, always the star of the play, and involved in everything; everybody seemed to know him wherever he went. I remember this from the days when he used to look out for me. Being his younger brother saved me from hazing during band camp… band camp. It also made it easier to ease my way into high school being known as “little Neary”… the younger brother of “Johnny Smooth”. Interesting side note, not only did he get his nickname from his general attitude but he was also a well established and well respected back up dancer for D.J. Topps Entertainment. They did a lot of weddings, much like this one. Take note that there’s no M.C. tonight. That’s because John didn’t want people to see how masterfully he executed the chicken dance or how he knew the electric slide like the back of his hand. If we’re lucky tonight though, we may get a glimpse of the legendary “Johnny Smooth” but we’ll see. Anyway, John always had this uncanny charisma. It was his businessman-type personality that always prompted my Dad to jokingly say, “Go into sales John”… and well, he did.
So you may be asking yourselves, what could tame a firebrand such as this? Well, it would take someone with certain qualities. Qualities like kindness, generosity, modesty, a good sense of humor, selflessness, warmth… qualities that John himself lacks. I’m kidding, but of course you know I’m talking about Nicki. The story of John and Nicki began where all romantic love stories begin… in a bar on Long Island. From what I understand, neither of them were actually looking to meet anyone at the time but John’s friend Les had inadvertently introduced them. They ultimately had hit it off and started dating. Eventually the time came for Nicki to finally meet the family. It was tough at first for her since she knew she would be subjected to my Dad’s teasing. Every time he would ask her, “So Nicki, what do you see in this guy?” she would just slink away in her chair, turn red and cover her face. Throughout the past few years though, she’s slowly learned how to dish it back and in a sense had earned her way into the Neary clan, although of course we all still loved her from the beginning anyway.
All joking aside… whatever they do see in each other, it’s evident that they’re willing to make the necessary compromises to make it work. For a time, Nicki was willing to deal with a violent house cat during Sunday football and John was able to stomach the occasional breakfast of chocolate and lollipops. Now a relationship that strong was simply destined for matrimony.
I remember when John had first told me about his plans to propose to Nicki. He had an intricate plan as to how he would get her to unknowingly go to the right place at the right time and if all went according to plan, he’d convince her to go the pub where everyone was waiting to surprise her. Well the day finally came for John to carry out his plan. I remember how nervous he was, which was weird because usually “Johnny Smooth” always had it together. Anyway, his plan was to surprise Nicki at the hotel room where the whole idea was to have her see the words “Marry Me” written out in rose pedals on the bed, at which point he would get down on one knee and present the ring while asking for her hand in marriage. John was so afraid that something would go wrong… he was wondering “what if I can’t convince her to go back to the hotel on time,” or “what if the cleaning lady cleans up all of the rose pedals before we get there.” Well sure enough when they arrived, there were the words “marry me” still written out in rose pedals on the bed… right next to the word “Yes” written out in cleaning supplies… I’m kidding. So after John gently let the cleaning lady down, he got on one knee to propose to Nicki. At this point he was so nervous that he was fumbling with the ring, barely able to find the words. Nicki, after having spent the entire day thinking that he was going to break up with her on account of how weird he’d been acting, could only initially react by asking him, “… are you kidding?” Eventually she said ‘yes’ and as planned, we all gave her a big surprise at the party afterwards.
So as a result, here we are today. On that note, I would like to finally make the official toast to the Bride and Groom. I figured in honor of Nicki taking an Irish name, I’d end this speech with an old Irish wedding toast. So if everyone would please raise their glasses…
“Here’s to health, peace and prosperity. May the flower of love never be nipped by the frost of disappointment, nor the shadow of grief fall among your family and friends.”
…Cheers!
Anyway, I’d like to talk a little bit about my brother John first, to let you know who he is through the eyes of his little brother. John was always the outgoing one, always the star of the play, and involved in everything; everybody seemed to know him wherever he went. I remember this from the days when he used to look out for me. Being his younger brother saved me from hazing during band camp… band camp. It also made it easier to ease my way into high school being known as “little Neary”… the younger brother of “Johnny Smooth”. Interesting side note, not only did he get his nickname from his general attitude but he was also a well established and well respected back up dancer for D.J. Topps Entertainment. They did a lot of weddings, much like this one. Take note that there’s no M.C. tonight. That’s because John didn’t want people to see how masterfully he executed the chicken dance or how he knew the electric slide like the back of his hand. If we’re lucky tonight though, we may get a glimpse of the legendary “Johnny Smooth” but we’ll see. Anyway, John always had this uncanny charisma. It was his businessman-type personality that always prompted my Dad to jokingly say, “Go into sales John”… and well, he did.
So you may be asking yourselves, what could tame a firebrand such as this? Well, it would take someone with certain qualities. Qualities like kindness, generosity, modesty, a good sense of humor, selflessness, warmth… qualities that John himself lacks. I’m kidding, but of course you know I’m talking about Nicki. The story of John and Nicki began where all romantic love stories begin… in a bar on Long Island. From what I understand, neither of them were actually looking to meet anyone at the time but John’s friend Les had inadvertently introduced them. They ultimately had hit it off and started dating. Eventually the time came for Nicki to finally meet the family. It was tough at first for her since she knew she would be subjected to my Dad’s teasing. Every time he would ask her, “So Nicki, what do you see in this guy?” she would just slink away in her chair, turn red and cover her face. Throughout the past few years though, she’s slowly learned how to dish it back and in a sense had earned her way into the Neary clan, although of course we all still loved her from the beginning anyway.
All joking aside… whatever they do see in each other, it’s evident that they’re willing to make the necessary compromises to make it work. For a time, Nicki was willing to deal with a violent house cat during Sunday football and John was able to stomach the occasional breakfast of chocolate and lollipops. Now a relationship that strong was simply destined for matrimony.
I remember when John had first told me about his plans to propose to Nicki. He had an intricate plan as to how he would get her to unknowingly go to the right place at the right time and if all went according to plan, he’d convince her to go the pub where everyone was waiting to surprise her. Well the day finally came for John to carry out his plan. I remember how nervous he was, which was weird because usually “Johnny Smooth” always had it together. Anyway, his plan was to surprise Nicki at the hotel room where the whole idea was to have her see the words “Marry Me” written out in rose pedals on the bed, at which point he would get down on one knee and present the ring while asking for her hand in marriage. John was so afraid that something would go wrong… he was wondering “what if I can’t convince her to go back to the hotel on time,” or “what if the cleaning lady cleans up all of the rose pedals before we get there.” Well sure enough when they arrived, there were the words “marry me” still written out in rose pedals on the bed… right next to the word “Yes” written out in cleaning supplies… I’m kidding. So after John gently let the cleaning lady down, he got on one knee to propose to Nicki. At this point he was so nervous that he was fumbling with the ring, barely able to find the words. Nicki, after having spent the entire day thinking that he was going to break up with her on account of how weird he’d been acting, could only initially react by asking him, “… are you kidding?” Eventually she said ‘yes’ and as planned, we all gave her a big surprise at the party afterwards.
So as a result, here we are today. On that note, I would like to finally make the official toast to the Bride and Groom. I figured in honor of Nicki taking an Irish name, I’d end this speech with an old Irish wedding toast. So if everyone would please raise their glasses…
“Here’s to health, peace and prosperity. May the flower of love never be nipped by the frost of disappointment, nor the shadow of grief fall among your family and friends.”
…Cheers!
THE MATRON OF HONOR'S SPEECH
Written & delivered by Jen Smith for her little sister Nicole and new brother-in-law, John.
Hi. My name’s Jennifer. I am Nicole’s older sister, and I am honored that Nicole has asked me to be her maid of honor.
Like all of you, my husband Mike, my son Tyler and I are thrilled to be here, in beautiful Miami, to see Nicole and John begin their new lives together.
While Nicole is my younger sister, she is the one I’ve always looked up to when it came to finding out what was in fashion, what the up-to-the-minute celebrity gossip was and what restaurant/lounge I should hang out at on Friday night.
If you know my sister, the way I do, then you know that she is fun-loving, fiercely protective of her family and a very loyal friend. But, like the rest of us, Nic does have insecurities, and for her, those have always been about guys. In all the years I can remember, Nicole has never been completely sure about any guy she’s ever dated. The calls or drop-ins to discuss said guy would sometimes be daily and the question her friends and I would always hear repeatedly was, “Well, what do you really, really, REALLY think of him? Do you like him? Do you?” It didn’t matter what we said, of course, Nicole was never convinced herself.
And then, one day, along came John.
The way I knew John was “the one” for Nicole is that the questions finally, suddenly just stopped. For once, my sister was completely at ease in her relationship and the reason why was simple: John is truly a great guy. From the minute Mike and I met him, we’ve adored him. He’s always been easy to talk to, fun to be around and always makes us laugh.
It turned out, it wasn’t just Nicole who fell for John, it was my whole family, and today, we couldn’t be more thrilled that John will now be a part of ours.
Nicole and John, when Mike and I got married, there was a saying we found on a Hallmark card that we loved so much that we had it printed in our wedding program. I’d like to share it with everyone here tonight because I think it perfectly sums up Nicole and John’s relationship. The card said simply this:
“When we’re born, the soul we’re given splits apart and half of it is given to someone else. So all of our lives, we’re looking for the person with the other half of our soul. And if we’re lucky enough to ever find that person, our soul says, “At last, I can rest. I have found my missing half.” Then, it is said, we have found our soul mate. And we are happy and at peace.”
Everyone, I’d like you to please raise your glasses.
John and Nicole, I truly believe you are each other’s soulmates. I’m sure everyone here tonight would agree with me and would like to wish you nothing but health and a lifetime of happiness. Congratulations to you both.
AND NOW BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAM...
Eventually the rain ceased and the clouds parted... the hotel staff leaped into action, wiping down chairs and replacing soaking wet napkins. The guests took their seats again... while a mean wind continued to whip off the water, there was no denying - we were in it for the long haul!
The food was FANTASTIC - a spread that would be fit for a king and queen. Guests piled food high and a had a few laughs despite the rain... here's the proof:
The bride and groom at their table for two...
YES! The duck makes its appearance!
No wedding in our family would be complete without it. Poor Nicole doesn' t know what to think of it - which is generally the response from the unsuspecting bride (don't worry Nicole - Angela's reaction was similar five years ago). Inside joke.
I can't believe I got the duck.
SOME OF THE TABLES ...
The Sands, the Maags and Dad
The Lazzaris, the Johnsons and the Grossmans.
Baiba, Chopper, Steve & Alec (anyone look windblown, wet or cold in this photo??)
Frank, Katie & Mary
Dennis, Jen, Ricky, Daniella, Mal and Dave
AND SO THE PARTY MOVES INDOORS ...
Okay, so we finally thought the best of it and moved the party indoors. It took no time for the DJ, bar and dessert to get set up in the ballroom. The group moved inside for the champagne toast (delivered again by the Best Man) and a large group photo on the dance floor.
Jim and Christine Grossman
The bride and groom completed their ceremony (lighting the unity candle under the watchful eye of Pastor Shriever) and cut the cake.
Lighting the unity candle
Cutting the cake (Nicole looks nervous...)
A civil union - no face-mashing here!
Ben, Les and Dennis
With the champagne toast complete, the drinks started flowing again... and everyone broke out their best dance moves - I use the term 'dance' loosely ... judge for yourself...
BOOGIE FEVER
Time to relax and have fun for the bride ...
What IS wrong with you guys?? So weird...
Time to relax and have fun for the mother of the bride too!
Dennis breaking out the moves...
The groom, bride and ... the DJ? Why is he in this picture???
Uncle Ricky shakes his groove thang to the delight of the crowd!
Boogie WonderlandThe bride tossed an extremely heavy bouquet overhead... her friend Yvonne caught it, but not before it beaned some poor girl square in the head - OUCH! Think there may have been a very bad headache the next day for her!
THE LAST ONES STANDING... sort of
The wedding ended around 2 a.m. and a few hearty souls stuck around in the National Hotel bar. Most everyone had left... we eventually caught cabs back to the Four Points.
Thanks to my new cousin Lauren, I made my way safely back to my room to sleep it off :) A great time was had by all.
So that wraps it up ... friends and family trickled out the door of the hotel Sunday and headed back to their respective corners of the globe. Until we meet again ... at the next wedding ... who's next?! :)
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