Here’s to 15 Years!
There are times when it’s hard to imagine that I’m an adult. I perpetually feel like I’m a teenager/20 something and it’s when I do the math that I realize that I’m much older than I feel/think. So it’s really waco-a-doodle to think that The Mister and I are celebrating 15 years of wedded bliss today!
We eloped at the DC district courthouse on a snowy Tuesday in 2003. The 21st was the day after Martin Luther King Day so we finished a 3 day weekend and were back to work. We scheduled the 21st back in December of 2002 when we completed our marriage license application because it was the 1st available date open for a judge to marry us.
We didn’t tell anyone of our wedding plans and since witnesses weren’t required for the ceremony, we didn’t have a need to have anyone there. I knew that I wanted to wear a cream Chanel suit so in 2002 I began the search and finally found what I wanted. I still wear the suit to this day.
Back then, I didn’t have a smart phone and when you go to the courthouse, the only cameras allowed are for when you get married. We brought a disposable camera and never used it. So we don’t have any photo documentation of the ceremony!
We went to lunch afterwards and then visited my mom to tell her as well as show her our marriage certificate. When we told her that we got married that day, she asked “Where was I?”. To not hurt anyone’s feelings, we didn’t tell any of our parents or family members so that people wouldn’t feel that they had to be there. How often do people get married on a Tuesday in the late morning/early afternoon? So when my mom got remarried after being a widow for 25 years and I wasn’t invited to her wedding, I felt that it was fair 🙂
I wouldn’t change how we got hitched. It was a moment for us and it’s a fun story to tell friends. Later that week, we hosted a Winter party at our house (we entertain a lot so it wasn’t unusual to have people over for a large gathering). That’s when we announced we got married. At that point in our relationship, we were already together for 7 years and people thought we were announcing our engagement. I stood next to Michael with my hand behind my back when we told people that we wanted to say a few words. So I don’t have an engagement ring since we skipped that process. In fact, I got my marriage proposal a few minutes before the cab arrived to pick us up for the courthouse.
Two years later, my mom hosted a Vietnamese ceremony/reception and the Mister and I did a Catholic ceremony and reception. As a result, I’ve been married 3xs to the same person: civil ceremony, Vietnamese ceremony & Catholic ceremony. We are LEGIT!
What’s a favorite wedding experience?
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