Lawfully

A few days after New Years, Tangela texted me something that almost threw me off the loop.  Even though what she texed me was a surprise, we had actually talked about it previously.  Her text?  We were getting married early.  January 21, 2012.  We were set to be LAWFULLY married in our town's courthouse.  Why so early?  Her Passport.  Her passport was going to expire this year.  So, why not renew her Passport with her new married last name?  Renewing it under her maiden name and then renewing it again after we get married is a little redundant.  Makes sense right?

We were banking on good weather for the day of our ceremony.  It was winter.  The month of January was filled with unpredicted snow surprises and you know me and snow...I hate it to high heaven.  Mother Nature probably knew how much I hated snow because when the weather reports on television came in, I let loose a big sigh and said "Why am I not surprised?"  It was going to snow on the day of our ceremony.  Ugh.  The thought of waking up early to shovel snow already had me upset.  Nevertheless, it had to be done. 

Saturday, January 21, 2012 finally arrived.  There was about two to three inches of snow on the ground.  Not bad but I still had to go out there and shovel that out.  The good side:  The snow was powder.  So it was easy to get it off the sidewalk.  The bad side:  It was still snowing.  After a good hour and a half of cursing at Mother Nature, I finally finished shoveling.  I quickly took a shower and got dressed.  I looked in the mirror and said to myself "Wow, I'm going to get married today".  Was I nervous?  A little bit.  I mean, who wouldn't be?  This was a major step I was going to take.  Tangela is the one who I want to be with for the rest of my life.  It was time to confirm that.

My parents and I arrived at the courthouse in good time.  The courthouse parking lot was literally empty.  Maybe because it was STILL snowing.  30 seconds later, Tangela and her family arrived.  Our civil ceremony was going to start at 11am.  It was already 10:45am.

We entered inside the courthouse.  We went up the stairs and walked over to the Mayor's office first.  We were instructed to make sure the paperwork was correct.  The information on the paperwork was majorly important.  The NEW mayor of the town, Jeanne Baratta, stated that there were no "Do Overs" or "strike outs" on the spot.  If there were any mistakes, then we would have reschedule the ceremony.  Fortunately, everything was correct... I think.  HAHA!  The episode of "Martin" came into mind when Gina and Pam signed the wrong line on the marriage certificate.  Anyways, next stop... the courtroom.

It was exactly 11am.  Tangela and I took a few pictures before we started with the ceremony and then, it was the moment of truth.  Tangela and I stood in front of the mayor with smiles on our faces.  In all honesty, I didn't really hear what the mayor was saying because there were so many things rushing through my mind.  Her voice sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher (waa waa waa wa wa waaa).  When she was done reciting of whatever it was, I automatically said "I Do".  The mayor smiled and she responded "Not to me, to Tangela".  All of us laughed.  She then recited whatever she was reciting to me, to Tangela.  "I Do" responded Tangela.  It was time for the placing of the rings.

Placing the ring on Tangela's finger will be a moment I will remember for the rest of my life.  Before I placed the ring on her finger, I dropped it on the floor by accident.  Yea, I dropped the RING!!  I uttered "Oh, shit!!"  Everyone laughed.  I started to laugh myself.  Embarrassed?  Extremely.  It took me a good 15 seconds to find the ring.  My mom found it right next to one of the seats in the courtroom.  Whew!  HAHAHA!!

After we all had a good laugh, I finally placed the ring on Tangela's finger.  I looked into Tangela's eyes and she was happy.  She placed the ring on my finger and then, it was official.  Tangela and I were finally married.

Since it was short noticed, we coudln't invite everyone we knew.  The ceremony literally lasted 5 minutes.  We had most of our wedding entourage there for support and a few friends.  Our immediate families were there as well.  Even though it was snowing, we appreciated those who came and celebrated our civil ceremony with us.  If you're wondering, yes, we are STILL having our wedding in June.  We are calling it "THE GRAND WEDDING".    Four more months to go!  Yikes.

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