Monday, August 13, 2007

The Wonder of You and Elvis too.



It's Elvis week.
This time, every year, thousands of people journey to the hallowed city of Memphis to celebrate this guy. Mr. WM and myself made that very pilgrimage back in 1995- a year before we got married.
The trip itself is fodder for another post on another day, but I will give you a preview, in bullet points, to sum the whole experience up:
  • Fucking hot
  • Driving for 22+ hours with no sleep
  • angry Motel 6 housekeeper that yelled at me
  • moldy bathroom, hairy carpeting
  • check into different hotel
  • Graceland kind of, well...didn't suck, but the pseudo-word "meh" comes to mind.

So- yes, we went to Graceland.



And yes, we were married at the Elvis chapel in Las Vegass a year later.

And yes, we looked like this:


The Graceland Chapel is every square inch a monument to all that is gloriously tacky and genuinely American.

My dress was white satin and short, short short. The veil is intentionally 60's poofy. The Mr. was oh-so-cute in his white coat, black open-collared shirt and black pants. He grew the sideburns and dyed his hair a little darker than usual for the occasion.

The chapel even provided us with the sophisticated flowers and a stunning white limo to take us to dinner (cheeseburgers at the Stratosphere) afterwards.
It was perfectly cheesy and perfectly perfect.

Elvis week always reminds me of that day, as the old wedding anniversary is just a couple of weeks away.

A lot of people (relatives mostly) think that because we went to Graceland and did the Elvis wedding thing that we are "fanatics" of some sort- kind of like people who collect Hummel figurines and women who obsess over their pets.

Not so much. I don't want any more Elvis merchandise. Please. I beg you all. No. More.

Really, what I love about Elvis isn't on a coffee mug (got one) magnet (several) or pillow (sold in garage sale).

I don't even love the young, skinny, early-to-mid 60's Elvis so much. Although...every once in a while I see a picture of him from this time and I get a little misty in my undies. Me-ow.

What I really really love is the late 60's-early 70's Elvis. The jumpsuit-wearing, sweaty, karate-kicking, a little more meat on his bones Elvis. The way he could belt out a gospel tune gives me goosebumps. He had so much more soul and energy at this point, and it seems like he genuinely enjoyed performing, as opposed to (in my blindly opinionated opinion) the stilted, obviously staged for the teenage masses rock n' roll/blue suede shoes sort of stuff.



My name is Whiskeymarie, and I love me some Sparkly Elvis.


This is one of my favorites- he totally gets down at the end. And, I must say he looks pretty Mmmm Mmmmm good here- I'd totally let him slather me with peanut butter and make a sandwich with his banana:





P.S: It's Elvis month on T.V. Land. Do yourself a favor and have yourself a little slice of the King this month. He would want you to.

P.S.S: I almost forgot. Jon Bon Jovi got married at the same chapel, and for a while (it still may be, I don't know), our picture was on the wall with his. Awesome. And the owners at the time were from Duluth and good friends with my in-laws, so when they decided to start selling commemorative plates with wedding pics on them, our picture was the one they used for the display model. We are so cool.

P.P.S.S: Sorry to keep changing this, but I also forgot to say that for all of you that requested letters/postcards, they're all finally in the mail. Some of you may even have them already. Enjoy!

37 comments:

H said...

Oh, you were such a pretty bride! And famous, too. Nice.

Fran said...

That is too fabulous for me.

I once had my photo taken (long since lost) next to the Elvis statue at the Las Vegas Hilton, which was "his"hotel.

Sadly I was there in January of this year. New owners -statue gone.

That ought to be a crime.

Anyway - Great post, Great photos!!

abbersnail said...

1. I got mail from you today! HOORAH!

2. I think you missed your calling. Lady, you could make up sexual euphemisms for a living!

gorillabuns said...

well, as you very well know, i have a thing for elvis too, hence, i dated a few guys with awesome pompadours. they weren't half as cool as their hair.

as for my velvet elvis, i requested a pic of him to put over my throne in the room of rest and it HAD to have a tear. what is elvis without a tear? while, my husband did his best, he came home with a ginormous version that takes up the whole wall.

i would have liked to have been married by elvis but my mother and grandmother (catholics) threw such a fit about my dream.

instead, i'll just live vicarously through your awesome pictures.

Sandy said...

If you get the chance, watch Bubba Hotep (http://imdb.com/title/tt0281686/). I recommend it.

Elvis weddings are awesome.

Disco and Dexter - Friends at Best said...

slather me with peanut butter and make a sandwich with his banana


OH how rich it is!

domboy said...

I got married at Graceland Chapel in February this year. We'll have a big ceremony in October which, oddly, will be more af an event. Vegas was fun and romantic - it couldn't have been better. Sorry, if I'd known I would have checked for your photo (Bon Jovi is definitely still up there though). Have a great anniversary!

Katrin said...

You look so cute on the wedding foto. This really is American as American can be, I doubt anybody would understand it if I married like that. Certainly not my Catholic-the-priest-comes-to-sunday-dinnner Austrian family. And I doubt the American side would appreciate it either. Not that I'm thinking of gettting married.
P.S.: The pug link scared the shit out of me.

3carnations said...

My mom had the same thing happen with cat figurines. Someone gave her one, she turned into a collector, and people (including me) started giving them to her on every birthday, Christmas, etc... Finally, she asked me to stop. She said she wasn't actually collecting them. My bad.

Cute wedding photo! :)

Anonymous said...

I got my card yesterday. I'll be writing back soon.
Love your wedding photo!

Butrfly Garden said...

That is sooooo cute! I totally get the 60's feel of it!!!

Your guy really does look like E with the face blanked out like that!

Elvis was such an icon. (And soooo hot. I like the younger one, myself, though).

Kate said...

Your husband's sideburns are DELICIOUS.

I would totally try to talk Dave into gorwing some out, but A) Slovenians don't wear sideburns well, and B) Accountants + Elvis Chops = Demotion.

Flenker said...

I, too, received something very wonderful in the mail yesterday that made me chuckle. They think I'm going to pay my student loans, ha! Oh, and I got a postcard, too! :)

I need to get H's boyfriend to email the picture of me with a (very) fat Elvis impersonator (with a camel toe even!) in LA. Horrifying yet hilarious.

Amaya said...

You're right- he sure was yummy. I'm a fan of Elvis myself - I even have a kick-ass clock to prove it. But I sure as hell don't need a mug, magnet or pillowcase either.
Do you happen to know why they celebrate Elvis week now instead of the week of his birthday?

Suze said...

Worked with a guy who was an Elvis impersonator in Vegas....way way way off the strip.

By the way, he was the Elvis in the later years. He wasn't sparkly, but he did sweat. Does that count?

McGone said...

My name is Whiskeymarie, and I love me some Sparkly Elvis

Admitting the problem is the first step to recovery.

kerrianne said...

I once bought my fiance an Elvis ID. It's awesome. I've dared him to use it probably hundreds of times, but alas, he won't play. Wimp.

Lollie said...

This post is as rich as the peanut butter and his banana sandwich, so I am going to digest this and read it again before I deluge you with comments.

Ahh, I'm full...!

Stacey said...

I was at Graceland right around 1995 ,1996 what are the chances ?

I got a little sump'sump in the mail. And I fully intend on using my coupons tonight. expiration date shmexpiration date, Grocery store manager be damned !

Ps. I must say WM you are truly thoughtful.

PPS. love the wedding photo...has the Mr since done something about that horrible pasty rash on his face (tee hee)

Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein said...

I dig you more every day. Your Mr is one lucky dude.

Lollie said...

I have had but one regret in my life. My ballet company went to Graceland on a side trip during the tour of 1990. I was pouty and petulant then and I wanted to make some sort of stand by being the only person to refuse to go into Graceland. I stuck it out in bus outside the gates while my pals enjoyed the carpeted ceilings and tacky 70s furniture. I always thought I'd missed something great. But if you honestly gave it a half-hearted, meh, well then yay - it no longer haunts my days.

How much do I love that you and the Mr got married in Vegass Elvis-style? [-----------------this much-------------]!!

Whiskeymarie said...

h- yes indeed. Consider yourself touched by fame.

Franiam- I'm totally getting a statue for the front yard. Oh, and thanks for stopping by! (been checking your blog out today too, by the way. Smart and funny, you are.)

Abbs- Other possible Elvis euphemisms: "taking the bus to Graceland", "Greasing the pompadour", "sliding into the spangly jumpsuit"...

Gbuns- Kudos to your Mr. for agreeing to a velvet Elvis. He's a saint.

Sandy- saw it, loved it (the Mr. is a huge Bruce Campbell fan).

Nic- and tasty too!

domboy- Hey! Another Elvis/Vegas marriage! We had a big reception a few weeks after the fact- both to include people that didn't come out with us, and to get the loot. (checked out your blog- love the writing & artwork- very original)

katrin- Pugs should scare you.

3carn- It's a slippery slope, the whole "collector" thing.

anon- thanks! I love mail...

butrfly- That's o.k. if you like the younger one- he WAS pretty darn hot.

kate- Yeah, sometimes I miss the 'burns. Sigh.

Flenker- You + fat Elvis = hilarity (oh, and when it's on a boy the correct term is "moose knuckle". I guess they're supposed to be bigger than camel toes) (Ick either way)

Amaya- why they chose his "death week" is beyond me- kind of morbid, actually. Is your clock the one with the swinging legs? We had that when we first got married, but it broke.

Suzel- sweaty counts.

McGone- Will you be my sponsor?

Kerrianne- I think we have one of the ID's around here somewhere- I'll put it in my wallet if I can find it. I'm going out tonight- we'll see if it works. Especially with me being a girl and all.

Lol- How cute that you were too pouty to go to Graceland. I too missed out on a few things in my younger days simply because I thought I was too cool. Here's to not being all that cool anymore! (glasses clinking)

WM- Maybe we were in the same tour group...I'm sure we were. Positive.
You better use those coupons! They're worth, like, 27 cents all together. That's a gumball! A GUMBALL!

Dr. Monkey- I think he understands that it is both a blessing and a curse to have me as a wife. Kind of like discovering a long-lost tribe of magical, unlimited wish-granting, shit-slinging, biting monkeys in the woods.

lizgwiz said...

The line was too long for the actual Graceland tour when I was there years ago, so we settled for just the tour bus tour and the "Lisa Marie." And the costume and car museum. Which was plenty, really!

My brother got married at the Graceland Chapel years ago and refused to have anything remotely Elvis-themed in the wedding. Which I thought was insane. If you're going to do it, DO IT.

Whiskeymarie said...

Lizgwiz- I agree. The chapel is pretty tacky, so if you're not going to have a chubby Elvis impersonator come out, turn the karaoke machine on, and sing to you after the wedding- well, what's the point?

ps said...

are you going to the elvis run at peavey plaza downtown minneapolis this friday? over the noon hour - rain or shine. xoxo

kimmyk said...

Such a sweet picture of the two of you!
We went to Memphis once. ONCE. So over rated if you ask me. I expected so much more out of Graceland, but what I got was a photo full of graffiti. So disrespectful to THE KING.
I wasn't impressed with Lisa Marie's plane either. BUT...whatcha gonna do?

I remember the day he died and my mom was gutted. She cried and cried and we were made to watch Elvis beach movies for hours.

He did have a voice though didn't he? Smooth. And those hips were pretty amazing too. His thin hips that could move not his chunky hips-not those.

Whiskeymarie said...

ps- this is the first I heard of this, so of course I immediately signed up.
I will be running.
I think I will be going for a "Johnny Cash and Elvis's love child" look.
I will have a pompadour, of sorts.

God, I'm so excited I may pee myself.

Anyone coming to watch?


And, KimmyK- I feel you. Graceland was not so exciting. Not so much.

nancypearlwannabe said...

Have you seen the Elvis Reeses Peanut Butter Cups yet??! They have banana in them!

Oh, and thanks for the card- loved it! :)

Stefanie said...

I'm not sure if what NPW just told us is the most awesome or the most disgusting thing ever. Peanut butter, chocolate, and banana is a winning combination, but in candy bar form? I'm not so sure... If you try them, please report back.

Also, was the Graceland trip the one where you went to the bowling museum?

Nature Girl said...

I LOVE your wedding pic. You look SOOOOO happy. Very cute pic!

Stacie

metalia said...

Do you read Gorillabuns? She has a velvet Elvis painting in her home, and recently posted it. He has a tear running down his cheek in the painting. A TEAR, Whiskeymarie!!

Jon said...

That's awesome. My college roommate used to have a giant bust of Elvis in our dormroom. I swear the thing was always starting fights with me, but that may have just been the alcohol.

Winter said...

I was going to say "fudge"

Winter said...

What the fu...

I want a post card!

Bonanza JellyBean said...

Ok, it's official.

I have decided to stalk you.

And create a shrine in your honor in my room.

All because of this post.

Amaya said...

You guessed it, swinging legs and a guitar. I had it in my bedroom during high school but I think it got lost during a move. I haven't seen it in a while. :(

Nocturnal said...

You rocking bride you, that's too cool.

Cheers