Normally, if somebody were to ask me “What were you doing ten years ago today?” I would have a hard time telling them. I would have to count the years backwards, try to figure out what was going on at the time, and most likely resort to pulling out my journals and filling in the blanks that way. Not so with today. For ten years ago today was the day I got legally married. “Is there another kind of married?” you may ask, and well… yes there is. Ten years ago tomorrow a friend of ours performed a ceremony for our friends and family… but it’s the kinda thing that wouldn’t hold up in court, I’m sure.

Polaroids we took for our wedding invitations – “Tying The Knot”.

You see, when my now husband and I were trying to figure out our wedding plans, we both decided to nix the things about other peoples’ weddings that neither of us particularly enjoyed. In this case it happened to be the long, drawn-out ceremony and that “lull” when the new bride and groom are signing papers and you just have to wait around for them to be done. So, instead of putting everyone through that, we decided to get the legalities out of the way the day before the actual wedding, so that our ceremony could be exactly what we wanted it to be.

The select few in attendance (except Semi who is photographing us).

We found somebody to perform a “quick and dirty” civil ceremony and invited only our best pals for support, witnessing, and photo taking. After spending a relaxing morning at the spa with my lady friends, we arrived at the Marriage Commissioner’s house that slightly rainy afternoon… to find that she wasn’t even there! Luckily, she had only been momentarily held up at another ceremony, and we got things underway shortly thereafter. Oh, my gosh – we were so young!

The civil ceremony, as photographed by my dear friend Semi.

To be honest, looking back today… it’s all kind of a blur. I remember being ridiculously nervous – my heart pounding and my mind racing. I remember focusing hard to repeat the words that the Commissioner told me to, although I have no real recollection of what they actually were now. And I remember being completely overwhelmed by emotion, even starting to cry near the end of the ceremony. Apparently even  “meaningless-for-legal-purposes-only” weddings can be tear-jerkers too.

Polaroid odds ‘n’ ends – the spa, the kiss, the dinner, the threshold.

After signing the infamous papers, we all headed to Earl’s for a quick bite to eat and a wee drink to both celebrate and unwind a bit. Then it was back to the casa to spend the night making finishing touches on the following day’s celebrations. While Dave and I were trying to finalize our vows, Rich was working on the ceremony, and Kim was making a veritable tonne of Rice Krispie squares.

Clockwise: Semi and Thomas (somebody we went to school with who just happened to be at Earl’s). Rich impersonating a preacher. The Andrews Clan (and Thomas again…hmm). Kim making more Rice Krispie squares than anybody ever should.

I doubt that any of us got a good night of sleep that night – so many things to remember and so much that needed to get done… But if I recall correctly, it was totally worth it, and we ended up having one of the most fun weddings either of us had ever been to. But that’s another post entirely.

“Just Married”.