We Did It!

I got married a week ago.  That's right, we did it.  We managed to organize a wedding in a week, from acquiring the license to setting the time and place, finding an officiant and inviting all our friends.  It was a very happy day.  The only thing missing was more time to spend with our family and friends after the ceremony. 

We were very, very lucky.  When I approached the convention organizers to ask if they could spare us a room at the end of the convention, the response could have been a flat No.  But it wasn't.  The response was a cheerful willingness to accommodate us.  They let us have a big room, too, which turned out to have a lovely little courtyard outside.  It didn't rain that day, and we could look outside and admire the turning leaves on the trees - though I have to confess I didn't even notice the presence of the courtyard until after the ceremony was over.  It turned out to be a nice place for photos with our wedding party.  Almost everyone we invited was able to attend, so we had quite a crowd of guests.  I wish we could have taken more photos with all of them. 

I had planned to wear a pretty skirt and blouse from my regular wardrobe, but while browsing the Dealers Room at the convention, I had an idea.  I'd been admiring some Irish-style dresses at Celtic Moonlighting for several years, but they never had the right combination of size, color and price.  This time everything worked out perfectly for me.  They had a purple dress (my favorite color) with an ivory chemise for an excellent combo deal, and the dress even matched the purple Converse All-Stars I'd brought with me. I accessorized with a purple butterfly hair ornament that I picked up at the shopping mall across the street from the convention hotel, and with a silver chain loaned to me by my new mother-in-law.

My husband-to-be let me choose which of his Hawaiian shirts he would wear to be married in, so I selected one decorated with Chinese dragons on a ground that contained a complimentary shade of purple to match my dress.  Just to show his love for me, he cut his fingernails, which he usually allows to grow until they break off of their own accord.  I know he really loves me if he took the time to trim them to make me happy.

We wrote our vows separately, at the last minute.  He actually wrote his in the middle of the night.  I scribbled mine out a few hours before the ceremony.  His were better than mine, I think  In the midst of the vows he called on one of his groomsmen to hold a dice tray for him while he rolled a d20 and declared it a critical success.  I didn't know he was going to do that.  It was a nice bit of humor to break up the seriousness of the moment, which was good because by that point both of our voices were starting to break.

It's funny how serious it all became once it was actually happening.  We've been a couple for more than two decades.  Why should a brief ceremony be such a big deal?  But it was.  It was a very big deal for both of us.  We were excited and happy and nervous.  My knees went shaky during the vows, and once we were done I had to sit down.  It wasn't the absolute perfect day - I still wish we could have had a gathering of some kind afterward to spend more time with our friends - but we were so fortunate that everything worked out so well for us in such a short time.  I owe thanks to many, many people for making it possible:  The convention organizers who let us have the space, our friends who rearranged their schedules to attend, our officiant for volunteering to perform the ceremony on such short notice.  Everyone was awesome.  If you're reading this blog and you were at the wedding, I love you all.  I'm so lucky to have you in my life.