Wedding Day
T-24 hours
At 3:45 on Thursday, May 14th, 2026, I walked into the bathroom in the breakroom at work. I looked in the mirror, and I smiled. At that point, we were 24 hours (and 15 minutes) out from Paige and my wedding (25 hours or so from actually being married). I started stimming (bouncing my legs, flapping my hands, and vocalizing) out of excitement, and as I clocked out, my coworkers congratulated me.
The Rehearsal Dinner
I picked Paige up from her parents' house immediately after leaving New Story, and we got to our apartment at 4:20. We got dressed and headed to St. Tim's for the rehearsal. The rehearsal went well. The funniest moment was when Paige was walking down the aisle, and our Priest, Fr. David, told me to “greet your bride,” so I went and hugged her (he meant to escort her up onto the altar). And that's why you have rehearsals, everybody! After the rehearsal, Paige and her family and my family, my cousin Maci, aunt Cyndi and my cousin Cameron, Nimba, Grandma, Joe, Pop-pop, Sara, Eva, Zach, Uncle Paul, Aunt Alicia, Austin, a couple of Paige's uncles, and Dad's high school best friend Martin and his wife Pam, went to my parent's house and ate from the Habanero's food truck that Mom & Dad had arranged. While I was excited for the reception, the rehearsal dinner was really fun because it felt like a mini-reception and was much more intimate than our actual wedding reception.
Coffee
At 5:00 a.m., on Friday, May 15th, I posted, Greattastic Life Special edition: For Shana, and headed to Crimson Cup to do a little writing, then met up with a coworker of mine named Lexi. She and I hung out for about 3 hours before I had to get going.
First Look
I went back to the apartment, fed our cat, Charlie, then found a Voe scooter and left for my parents' house to get dressed for the wedding. About an hour later, at 2:30, Austin drove me to St. Tim’s. Our photographer, Ken, let me into the church, and after we talked for a minute, we went to a prayer garden outside. About 2 minutes after I got out there, Paige came up behind me and told me to turn around. When I saw her, I was so excited I bounced on the balls of my feet, and I couldn’t stop stimming.
Waiting Game
Immediately after the first look, Ken took a few more professional pictures, and Nicole took a picture on her phone and sent it to Mom so she could have Dad and her employee print it up for the reception. The next hour and a half was kind of excruciating. Not bad by any means; Paige and I were both so excited we could hardly contain ourselves while all our guests arrived. A few minutes after 4:00, Fr. David came into the waiting area and told Paige, Nicole, Ryan, me, and Cameron, who was the ring bearer, that it was time to start. Ryan and I walked into the church to wait for the procession to start. People heard us walk in, looked back, and everyone smiled.
Mr. & Mrs. Ulibarri
The ceremony started. Mom and Dad processed down the aisle, followed by Fr. David and me, Ryan and Nicole, Cameron, and finally Paige, escorted by both of her parents. Maci and Paige’s cousin, Catherine, each did a reading, and one of Paige’s oldest friends, Miranda, sang. During the homily, Fr. David surprised us with a literal knot-tying ceremony and an analogy using a rose. After the homily, we exchanged rings and finished the rest of the mass with a few special blessings just for Paige and me. And then at the very end, Fr. David said, “By the power invested in me by the Roman Catholic Church and the state of Ohio, I would like to introduce to you, Mr. and Mrs. Ulibarri. You may kiss the bride!”
Paige and I turned to face each other. In the second before I kissed her, I briefly thought about all the weddings that I’ve been to before. Aunt Shana and Uncle Scott’s, both of Aunt Cyndi‘s, Uncle Bob and Aunt Erin’s, Greg and Temi’s, my cousin Paige’s, Savannah’s, Melody and Rob’s, and Alexander’s. Before Paige and I started dating, I wasn’t really sure if I would ever get to this point. With the communication deficits that come with autism, it just seemed so unlikely. As I leaned in and we had our first kiss as husband and wife, I felt so incredibly overjoyed because Paige was worth the wait!
To Be Continued…
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