I didn’t go to homecoming. I didn’t go to prom. They seemed silly.
I got married in the courthouse, with a small ceremony with my father’s side of the family in North Carolina at my cousin’s church. I have about 15 photos from my wedding day.
Next year will mark the 10th anniversary of my marriage. During our 9th anniversary dinner a few weeks ago, Chris and I discussed a renewal of our vows for our 10th anniversary.
I wasn’t sentimental when I was younger. I didn’t like the idea of a fancy wedding dress, an elaborate ordeal…I just wanted something simple, something sweet, something easy. The wedding itself meant nothing to me – I just wanted to marry him, to have him all to myself. The actual ACT itself didn’t mean much.
Over the years, things have changed. I have watched people come and go in my life, and
realized that some things are worth celebrating on a grand scale. Looking back all these years later, I began to feel that my wedding should have been one of those things.
The funny part is that I didn’t even want the church ceremony back then. My parents talked me into it. They wanted something to remember, something to celebrate. My dad wanted to walk me down the isle and my mom wanted to see her oldest daughter in a wedding dress. If I wanted to be a bridezilla, they probably would have gone along with it.
Where do I begin? Do I book a banquet hall or do I have a backyard wedding? Do I have it in my hometown, in Miami, or plan it in the mountains of North Carolina, where the original wedding was? Do I go all out, in an elaborate wedding gown, or pick a simple dress? There are so many options. We have a year to plan…yet, that doesn’t seem long enough.
I have already began scouring the internet for gowns…is that silly? Perhaps, but I want to get it right this time. I want the day to be memorable. I want a photographer, not just a few snapshots my cousin took with his camera. I want all sides of the family watching me walk down the isle, not just my grandparents, cousins and an old family friend. I want Chris’s family there. I want my friends there. I want the man who introduced us there, the people who have known us the past 10 years. The people who have watched us grow into who we are today.
I spoke with a friend who is planning her own wedding a few days ago and she asked me a barrage of questions…it made me realize that I was entirely unprepared for what I have announced I was going to do. So much goes into planning a wedding – even a renewal of vows.
It is going to be worth it.
How great! The hubs and I will be celebrating our 10th next January! We’ve toyed with the idea of renewing our vows…I love the idea. We’ve got a big deployement coming up (1-2 years probably starting next summer so I think perhaps when he gets back…) On the plus side we’ll be living in Miami when he’s gone.
Wow, great minds think alike! I love the idea, 10 yrs is a big deal and reason to celebrate!
How exciting!!!! And what a fabulous idea! What better way to celerate the love of each others lives than to renew your vows! I have planned over 200 weddings, (and a half a wedding, lol) in the last 18 years. I know all the ins and outs and would love to help you any way I can! Plus it doesn’t hurt that I know alot of people in the catering business down here 😉 let me know if there is ANYTHING I could do for you two!
Wow, I didn’t know you were involved in wedding plans! Hells yeah, I would LOVE your help! We are going to start picking the venue, etc around January (after things have been settled with the legal issues on the house we will know how much of a budget we have available). 🙂
Me and Maz didn’t have a grand ceremony either. We actually got married in secret. No parents at the wedding, just my best friend since school days and a good friend that Maz worked with at the time.
We didn’t want all the hassle and stress and expense involved in a wedding. The money we would have spent on a big ceremony went on our house instead. That was more important than having a piss-up for other people that would almost certainly end in a few family fights.