The (Bowline?) Knot Has Been Tied!

We've done it! As of the Winter Solstice 2014 we are officially married and, as I keep reminding Jon, legally obligated to get along. As I've never been one to fantasize about or even want a wedding, it turned out perfectly. The cost was low, it was outside in a pretty park, minimal eyes were on me, and the whole thing was over in less than 30 minutes. I coordinated my wool coat to be part of my ensemble, and neither of us spent any money on our outfits. Actually, I did the math and all in all the entire wedding cost about $260 ($100 for the judge, $7 for flowers, $58 for the license, and about $95 for the celebratory dinner and drinks with our witnesses afterwards). OK, this doesn't include my ring but we were able to get it for 40% off =]. We wanted to minimize cost in order to have more money to throw at the boat and at moving expenditures later next year.

We were running late getting ready, mainly because we had a lazy morning since the wedding wasn't until 2:45 PM (I thought we may as well time it to the actual solstice, 3:03 PM PST). That was the only stressful part of the day. As soon as we got to the park and for the rest of the day, I was excited and giddy. I am not outwardly expressive with my emotions, and I am one of the last ones to cry in front of others, but I confess I started to tear up during the ceremony. I was nervous repeating such solemn vows, and I was relieved I didn't mess them up at all.

I'm still debating on whether/how much to change my name. I've spent 30 years with it and I guess you could say I've grown attached to it, as I'm sure we all do. Does a name not become part of a person's identity? It's also possible I'm attaching too much importance to it, a la "A rose by any other name..." The feminist/anti-conformist in me says not to do it, while another part says to just go ahead and hyphenate. We'll see which side wins out.

The whole thing was quite a surprise to family and friends, except for the few who were informed beforehand (mainly by Jon, who has a tough time keeping secrets :D). I figured I'd rather let people know afterwards in order to minimize awkwardness/hurt feelings about not being invited.We are planning on having dual receptions later next year, however; one on the West coast and one on the East coast. Plus, a honeymoon that will consist of a weekend in a cabin deep in the snow-covered woods will occur in the next month or two.

For now, after spending Christmas with my family, we are both back at work while I finish up my day job in order to pursue my private practice full time. My last day is New Year's Eve and we are hoping to take our MacGregor out for a sail and camping that night, but with dropping temperatures we'll see what happens. It's going to be a great year!

Here's the video of our ceremony:

Enjoy!

Will You Sail with Me?

          I have not written in a while, and seeing as this blog is all about our life adventure, I figured I should include you in some of the major stepping stones. For those of you who do not know us personally and have not heard the great news, I have asked Amanda to be my First Mate (lets be honest, she's the Captain). She affirmed with a hardy, "Aye Aye!" And so it is, I've snagged a siren of my own. If Drumbeat where here, there would be played a mighty percussion from the deck to announce my joy for all to hear. Maybe it is the luck of all who find their love, but I am still amazed and excited about the prospects of us taking on the world together.

          With that being said, we have also finalized our wedding plans and shall be wed before the week is through. So there shall be a wedding on the day of the winter solstice. We will be travelling away from the sun as individuals and as the earth returns back to its warm host, we shall return hand-in-hand as one. Some may say we are running this a bit quick, but we are not interested in a big wedding or a lot of attention, so this seems to be a good fit. We even get to have an outdoor wedding in December, and the guests (both of them) will be able to hide from the rain/snow with the rest of the party under the gazebo. With only a few days left, we are finalizing vows, finding some flowers, and waiting on Amanda's ring. Off the checklist already is the venue, arbiter, our two witnesses, marriage licence, date, invitations (or lack there of), and ordering of an official engagement ring. As far as a reception goes, I think we'll worry about that in the spring or summer. And for the ceremony, I'll try and record it so everyone interested can partake with us after I post it.

          So there we go, full speed into the next stage of life. My excitement is building and I just had to let you know! I'm not sure why people get so stressed over these wedding things, I think we were able to get everything taken care of in less than three days with no hiccups. It should be a fun day and I'll post the video so you can join with us too as soon as I can. In the mean time, here is the ring she'll be wearing from now on. But don't tell Amanda, she won't see it for a few more days.