TheBanyanTree: Wedding Diaries, Part XXIIV

[Monique]

My kitchen table has a pile of handouts, brochures, booklets, instructions,
CD’s, business cards, and other assorted documentation, all apparently vital
to having a wedding. And there is no one here to help me but Robin. Well,
yes, my fiancé, of course. In light of that, and in light of the fact that
the only thing that really matters is that we do this, we’re evaluating
options. Sure, a big ol’ party would be nice. But we could do that anytime,
and there’d be a big ol’ party in Anchorage at a later time no matter what
we do down here. Neither of us has family here, we’d have to import them all
for the wedding. 

 

Importation of relatives is subject to certain rules and regulations that
are both confusing and contrary. 

 

At least I don’t have to have the blessing of the monks to pick the day for
the engagement party, like my brother does. His required a careful analysis
of the stars, birth dates, lucky days, unlucky days, and both bride and
groom had to list their favorite foods alphabetically, in order of
importance. I, on the other hand, am marrying into Lutherans, and the gods
of jello salad and potlucks are much more manageable. His engagement party
is June 10th, after careful deliberation by the monks. Ours is Sunday, and
I’m not sure we should even call it an engagement party, but he wanted to,
and so in theory it is. In fact, we’re going to cook some awesome food and
entertain, and be entertained. 

 

As for the wedding, we contemplate scaling down and out to a reasonable size
and configuration. I’m supposed to be getting out of debt, not going farther
in by throwing myself a huge party, not to mention how much work I’d have to
do beforehand, which I’m rather opposed to, being of a lazy disposition. I
mentioned this to a visiting friend from Santa Barbara a few days ago. She
went back to Santa Barbara and proceeded to plan me a wedding. In Santa
Barbara. Where we know no one, except her. It sounds like a lovely wedding,
but we won’t be in attendance. 

 

In August, on the other hand, we’ll be in California with his parents and
siblings. And my family will be around, because they live there, and my
friend Robin and her husband. So maybe we’ll just do it then. Maybe at
Disneyland, which would fit with our marriage theme (if you have to ask, you
don’t know us very well). Of course, not one of their traditional weddings,
which cost from 8 to 50 thousand dollars, when all we want is to find an
unsuspecting officiant, do something fun with the people who care about us,
and do something that’s not going to keep me up nights worrying about how
I’m going to pay for it, and wondering what sort of surprises I’m supposed
to think of but haven’t. A vacation wedding. That might be just the thing.
Well, we haven’t talked to my in-laws yet, but they’re having a reception in
Anchorage anyway. Whew, something someone else can think about. I’ll just
show up and be bridelike. 

 

This might work. If it doesn’t, something will.