As I mentioned in last week’s meme dump, Sweetpea and I
got married last week on a beach in Florida. We met in January of 2017, got engaged in May of 2018, moved in together in July of 2018, and now here we
are, a married couple.
So if you’ll indulge me a bit, I’ll take a break from my
usual political material and talk about our experiences last week.
So far, the best thing about being married is that I no
longer have to dither about what to call her: fiancé, fiancée, financier…
girlfriend, lady-friend, life-partner or whatever. Now it’s just “wife.”
“This is my wife, Sweetpea.”
“Have you seen my wife?”
“I’m just waiting for my wife.” (Usually spoken outside a
restroom door.)
One night last weekend, I started giggling, out of the
blue. She inquired why. I told her, as I was contemplating having a wife, that
I suddenly recalled a verse we guys used to repeat as teenagers:
“I love my wife, for
all my life
Especially in her
nightie.
‘Cuz when the
moonlight flits, across her tits,
Oh Jesus Christ
Almighty!”
(We were not a really a group of deep thinkers as boys.)
All along, we wanted a simple wedding ceremony, just 10
minutes on the beach, and out. A guerilla wedding, if you will. We didn’t want
a big crowd either, just her parents and mine. This was all her idea and I was
fine with it. It’s what she wanted even though it was her first wedding.
I figured I’ve already had my big wedding to-do. If she wanted hers, I’d be game,
but I certainly wasn’t against saving 10-grand and doing it quick and easy on a
beach.
Because my folks live on the Florida panhandle, we’d have
a place to stay and some foot-soldiers on the ground to help us if need be. So
we spent the last year or so putting our plans into motion. Minimalist as they
were, we’d still need plane tickets, a hotel, a marriage license, a church
official and a place to do the deed.
It’s pretty easy to put that stuff together in this day
and age. I found a reverend online who would do any kind of service we wanted,
wherever we wanted. Last year when we went to visit my parents, we scouted out
an isolated place on the beach, out past where all the hotels and condos were.
We flew down on Saturday, to spend the first couple days
with my folks. Dad had all his good pool toys out for us:
Two margaritas, a giant Froot Loop, and Turd
Ferguson.
We got our marriage license on Monday, three days before
the wedding. Because we were from out of state, we didn’t have to wait the
mandatory three days that the natives do, but we would be prepared either way.
Wednesday night, we checked into a Hilton hotel that Dad
had arranged for us, right on the beach, and it was freakin’ gorgeous.
The view from our balcony.
They had a nice pool on the grounds, a kiddie pool, a
bar, and access to the beach. We used all
of it, believe me! (Well, maybe not the kiddie pool.)
Sweetpea and I spend quite a while trying to determine if
the art in our room was supposed to be anything in particular or just an
abstract blot.
I see a pissed off goat with smoke horns.
Sweetpea saw land surrounded by water. You armchair psychologists can make of
that what you will.
Her parents came out to the hotel that night, met my parents and we all had a nice introductory dinner.
Thursday was the Big Day. Wedding at 9:00 AM.
All weddings have at least one crisis, and we got off
lucky, but not scot-free. Our little bump was when Sweetpea tried on the floral
headpiece we bought for around $60. She was anticipating a few simple
interwoven sprigs of baby’s breath. When she tried it on, it was bulkier; more
like a crown, which when combined with her simple white summer dress, made her
look like she was heading to a Delta House toga party.
We worked on slimming it down by pulling off some of the
buds, but it was what it was. I didn’t really want to abandon it; hell it cost
more than all of our wedding outfits combined! For what it’s worth, I thought
she looked gorgeous in it.
Reverend Michelle picked us up and took us down to our
beach spot, where all the parents were waiting for us. We rolled onto the
beach, went through the service, exchanged vows and rings, kissed the bride,
and were done in no more than five or six minutes. Even after posing for
pictures, we were still off the beach within 10 minutes, just like we planned.
There were maybe two other people on the beach aside from
us. I don’t think they even noticed what we were doing.
We returned to the hotel for breakfast and then the
parents departed. We’d have our honeymoon at the hotel until we left for home
on Sunday.
We noticed, on Saturday, that another wedding was taking
place on the beach, but right there at the hotel. We could see the whole thing
from our balcony.
Someone else’s wedding.
No offense to this couple, but this was everything we
wanted to avoid… a big affair right out in front of everyone. You can see other
people walking around, or watching the proceedings, or just going for a swim in
the background. I did NOT want to be a sideshow; that’s why we wanted to get
away from the hotels and condos.
As for the rest of our weekend, it was glorious. We’d go
to the beach in the morning,
…shower off, go out to lunch, hit the pool in the afternoon,
have drinks and go out to dinner. It was like, “Hey, marriage is easy!”
Of course, there’s also that expression, “The honeymoon’s over…”
Worst part of our time there, (aside from feeling like a
walrus from all the awesome meals we had), was my learning that when you spend
too much time in a bathing suit, it can start to chafe the old undercarriage.
It felt like the lining of my trunks was erasing my t’aint. Next thing you
know, I’m walking around like I just got off a horse.
The weather was glorious all week, up until Saturday.
Luckily we were out on the beach early but got to watch this ominous storm
roll in before we got outta Dodge.
It looks like the alien ships are coming, yet
everyone else is like, “Meh. I paid for
this chair and umbrella for another two hours; I ain’t leavin’.”
It was kind of a gradual thing. One minute it’s
reasonably sunny, the next, the cows are flying by.
A panorama shot of it going from nice to
not-so-nice in one look.
All weekend long, we just kept talking about how amazing
it was that we are now married. (Or as I put it, “You’re stuck with my ass now; there’s a strict no-returns policy in my
family.”
I have confidence, though, that this one will stick
because I learned something recently. This is my second marriage and it was on
the 27th. My sister’s second and current 18-year marriage was on the
27th. My brother’s first and only marriage (of 29 years) was on the 27th.
So obviously, my family just has to get married on the 27th of the
month and it will last forever!
I don’t believe we all have “that one soulmate,” or in divine
intervention, but I’m with the person I’m supposed to be with. She’s the best
woman I’ve ever met, or at least the best for me. If I can’t make it work with
Sweetpea, I might as well just be a hermit, go off to live in a hole, and eat
juniper berries.
Future Bluz, if he doesn’t act right.
It’s on me now to be the husband my baby deserves and be
worthy of her love.
Thank you for loving me, Sweetpea. I love you.
Obligatory Rings Shot
Next week, I’ll be back to ranting about politics and
discussing the things I missed last week.
14 comments:
Congratulations!! Sounds perfect to me (from someone who got married in Jamaica, I get her desire to be on the beach and small!) Hey, when you find the good one, ya gotta grab him/her and ride the wave. I wish you both great happiness and great friendship to weather any storms! Best of everything
Congrats dude! Sounds like a lovely experience. P.S. I hope those are YOUR hairy legs!😁
Thanks Peggy. I hope I have the chance to introduce you two one day.
Yes, they are, Jono. I did not marry a Sasquatch, she did.
Great story. I was missing these good details in FB.
I had to hold SOMETHING back for a post, didn't I?
I've been so happy thinking about you and your Sweetpea. Congrats and much love to you both!
Thanks, Angela. Today we're busy celebrating our illustrious One Week Anniversary. What's the traditional gift for that, a fingernail clipping?
Mazel tov to you and Sweetpea from your bloggin' buddies. If humor is an essential ingredient to a successful marriage It is), you should fare well! That and getting hitched on the 27th of course.
Thanks, Hack.
And thanks for recognizing what I try to do here...
I'm so glad your happy,hitched and loved!! You deserve it,good man!
Keep rocking the JOY
Congratulations to you both
Please tell your dad that the next time I visit Florida I'm coming to hang out with him and those pool toys.-lol (My best friend lives in Defuniak Springs, and another friend lives in Ft Myers) Ler Sweetpea know that now that I've read this post, I'm madly in love with you too!(lol) Despite the craziness of my life, I'm that person who will never stop believing in romance and the joy that it brings to 2 people. So I think I do believe in soulmates. I also think that you end up with the person you're supposed to be with when everything aligns properly. I like that message of the 27th, and the rings are simply fantastic too! That large wedding looks a lot like the one my friend had in Wilmington when she got married years ago, and I was NOT a bridesmaid.(lol) Everyone who knows me will tell you that running around to get shoes dyed that ultimately shrink, causing me to hobble down the aisle wearing a dreadful dress that's strikingly familiar to the movie "27 Dresses", the endless parties and all the moolah spent cured me of that torture.(lol) I did it once and that was enough. I'm content to cry somewhere in the audience with my tissues thank you very much.(lol)
I absolutely love to hear about love stories, and wish you and Sweetpea 27+ infinity years of wedded bliss. Hugs to you both! RO
Thanks so much, RO. It's been a crazy path for the both of us; I mean, it was a fluke that we even met. But once we did, I knew. I knew this was the kind of woman I'd been looking for and I wasn't about to let her go.
(If you like romance stories, you should check out the post about how we met. https://darwinfish2.blogspot.com/2017/01/and-then-suddenly-out-of-nowhere.html )
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