Why I've been out of touch: Part I

Hello dear friends,

I know it's been a LONG long time since I updated my blog, and I hope that hasn't worried you... it's actually been for a really good reason: Kirk and I got married yesterday (June 19). It was an amazing day, all the more so because we only set the date and started making plans 16 days before the wedding. (We wouldn't advise this... There's a reason most weddings are planned with at least six months' lead time.)

Some of you reading this blog were invited to the wedding. Amazingly, despite the short notice we provided, almost every person invited did, in fact, attend the wedding. The response overwhelmed us. (Those of you who were not invited, please believe me, we wish you could have been included but we simply couldn't invite everyone we would have wanted to share the day with.)

The day was joyous beyond belief. For me, it was a perfect day: From the time we got up and started our preparations, everything went smoothly. Everything ran on schedule, there was much laughter throughout the "getting-the-wedding-party-dressed" phase and the brief dress rehearsal... And then there was the wedding itself, which was... perfect. As most of you know, I'm not a person who really likes to follow the "traditional" paths, and Kirk's sense of humor encourages that tendency of mine. So his suggestion that we start our wedding ceremony with a famous "bit" from one of the Bronstein family's favorite movies, "The Princess Bride," suited me just fine. If you know the movie, it's the section that begins with the wedding ceremony being officiated by a priest with a serious speech impediment. ("...mawwage is what bwings us togevah...today...) This"bit" is regularly-quoted by my brother, Jon. If you've never seen it, you really need to.) The ceremony was officiated by Kirk's best friend from law school, Bob Shipway (affectionately known as the Reverend Bob), and the first word out of his mouth was, "Mawwage," and then he did the whole "bit." That set the tone for the wedding: much laughter and silliness mixed with wonderful loving emotion.

Okay... It's late and I need to get to bed, but I'll do Part II in the next couple days...

Before I sign off, I guess I just want to say that I think Kirk and I have "felt" married for quite some time, and maybe that's part of why we haven't done this marriage thing till now. But the actual marriage to Kirk...the actual ceremony in front of our friends and family, well... it just reinforces the incredible blessing of Kirk's love and makes me feel so incredibly lucky to have the loving commitment of this wonderful, smart, kind, tender and generous husband.

Oh...and one last thing: Please – no wedding gifts! Really. We’re in our 50s for crying out loud, and we want for nothing. But if you wish to give something in honor of our marriage, donations may be made to:

Children's Hospital & Research Center Foundation
2201 Broadway, Suite 600
Oakland, CA 94612

More to follow... love you guys... /ab

Update to post: Yes, yes, we'll be posting links to photos, that sort of thing, but be patient! We don't have the pics back from the photographer. Once we've got that, we'll be posting a link to get you guys all "hooked up." Thanks for your enthusiastic interest!