mrs-roboto's Diaryland Diary
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Even On the 25th Anniversary of the King's Passing, It's all About Me
I know I've talked about my wedding here and even a little bit here but in honor of the 25th anniversary of the King's passing I'm going to talk about it some more. So, my wedding was planned entirely over the phone. I called Graceland Industries, told them I wanted to get hitched there, and Graceland was nice enough to assign me a "Personal Event Coordinator" to take care of the details. Let's call her Peggy Sue. Peggy Sue seemed like a nice little gal from what I could deduce over the phone. She was kind of young and readily admitted that this was her first assignment. She had just been promoted from working the ticket counter at Graceland Tours, Inc. I suppose that should have scared me but I was so concerned with other things (catering, transportation, getting a dress, buying rings, etc.) that it didn't even phase me. All I needed from Peggy Sue was to know that the event was scheduled and that she'd unlock the doors to all the facilities when the time came. She assured me of these things and we were golden.
So here is how things were supposed to go:
1. Wedding Ceremony. to be performed in the King's Car Museum in front of our sixty or so guests. Blue Hawaii would play on a large screen behind Pete and I as the vows were taken. Pete and I would then exit the museum followed by our guests.
2. A Tour of the Graceland Mansion. Our guests would arrive by bus at the mansion and a private tour would be given. Pete and I would arrive first with our photographers to capture the moment.
3. Reception at the Rockabilly Diner. Our guests would be whisked off to the lovely Rockabilly Diner and treated to an Elvis style buffet (fried peanut and banana sandwiches) and an open bar. Pete and I would mingle till 10:30 or so and then sneak off to the Heartbreak Hotel for 'A Little Less Conversation.'
I look like I'm enjoying myself, right?
So there it is, simple enough. And I'm a laid back kind of girl. My standards are reasonable so really nothing could go wrong, right? Wrong. Lets begin again with that list.
1. Wedding Ceremony to be performed at the King's Car Museum. It seems Peggy Sue forgot to clear the place out beforehand and several tourists were still wandering around amongst the invited guests. This is all fine and good, the more the merrier, but these people weren't really interested in my wedding. They wanted to take pictures of the Cadillacs and motorcycles. Peggy Sue finally gets them out and now it's just the invited guests. Peggy Sue is getting ready to cue up the video, I'm nervously gearing up to head down the isle, and then a Loud "BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP" sounds. My ears are burning from the pain. My guests have all hit the floor for cover. Where is this sound coming from? Oh my, it's an alarm! What has set it off? Well it seems my mother-in-law has decided to stand one of my nieces up on a lovely Pink Caddy in order to take a "really cute picture" of her grandkid. Apparently she didn't see the 400 signs that say "DO NOT TOUCH THE VEHICLES" or notice the large red ropes around them that are clearly there to keep people out or maybe she just thought they meant everybody except her has to keep out. Who knows? Somehow the alarm gets turned off and it's on with the show. Pete and I manage to get through this part without passing out although we did put our rings on the wrong hands -opps! The ceremony ends, we run outside with the photographers and hop in the getaway car. It's off to Graceland we go!
2. A Tour of the Graceland Mansion. Pete and I arrive with our photographers to capture the moment. We have two photographers, a black and white photojournalist and a traditional color photographer to satisfy our parents. Peggy Sue opens up Graceland to the four of us and starts dropping the red ropes. Pete and I pose on Elvis' couch, I pose at Priscilla's vanity, Pete sits at Elvis' grand piano. You get the idea, lot of pics of us with Elvis' stuff. All of a sudden, several large men appear. They pull Peggy Sue off to the side and lots of whispering ensues. Then the color photographer walks over to the B/W photojournalist and takes a bunch of rolls of film he shot. He hides everything in his jacket. The large men approach the photographers. The color photographer goes outside with the large men. The B/W photojournalist pulls Pete over. More whispering. Pete pulls me over and lets me in on what's going on. Apparently, Peggy Sue was not supposed to let us take pictures in those areas that are roped off. Security was watching and now there is going to be a shake down. They want the film. They say we can't have those pictures, they have to become a possession of Graceland Industries. B/W Photojournalist guy's phone rings. It's Color guy. He took off running, he has the film in his possession. He will never give it up to the EVIL GRACELAND EMPIRE! Our wedding photos are safe for the time being. The rest of the event will be captured solely in black and white though.
3. Reception at the Rockabilly Diner. Somehow everybody gets to do the tour and they all make it back to the Diner in time to chow. My mother had asked me to invite my grandmothers sister who lives in a trailer in Texarkana (that Redneck central for those of you not in-the-know). My grandmother, who lives in NYC, had not seen her sister in over 15 years and since both of them are nolonger able to travel unattended, it seems as if this may be the last time they ever get to see each other. So I invited Aunt Dorothy and Aunt Dorothy was accompanied by half of her trailer park. Seriously, she brought two of my cousins (whom I had met once before when I was 6), one of her sons, his wife, and her sister. They all wore blue jeans and John Deere caps and flannel shirts (that's their fancy clothes). They all scarfed at the buffet. I'm not just talking seconds, I'm talking fifths. I won't get into the scene they made at the open bar but trust me it was ugly. Oh, and they didn't even give us a wedding present. What I said earlier about the more, the merrier - it's not true. One of the big guys from earlier in the evening shows up. He is holding forms. He takes Pete and I off to a small room and makes us sign numerous legal documents stating that we will not use our wedding photos for commercial purposes. Pete and I return to the party a little shaken up and completely exhausted. We do manage to sneak out of the reception at about 10:30 PM as planned but run into several old friends at the hotel lobby who have purchased cases of beer and want to party. We socialize till 2:00 AM and then hit the road first thing in the morning putting as much distance between us and the event as possible.
Still, I never regret my marriage and the event was memorable and look.....
we even look sort of happy here after being scolded by Graceland security. By the way if your ever on the road heading away from Graceland, this place is great and you can take all the pictures you want to. And I get the feeling that when Elvis returns to Graceland he is going to be none to happy with what his croonies have done, lord help them.
3:30 p.m. - 2002-08-16
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------