Jason and I are married.
In fact, we've been married for over a year. Over the holidays, we decided to confess to our family and friends back home, who had no idea, and since I can't tell everyone in person, I guess this is the best I can do for now.
You're probably wondering how and why we would get married and not tell anyone, even our parents, for a whole year. That's fair. Here's the story. (This was originally much longer but if you want the director's cut, call me. I am happy to tell you all the gory details!)
After a couple months in France, it seemed like life really would be easier as a married couple so I pitched the idea to Jason in December 2012, right before I was was coming home for the break. He was more or less in agreement, and even though it was just the formality before our big wedding post-France, we wanted to invite our parents. There didn't seem to be a good day/location that was mutually convenient and both my mom and Jason's dad insisted that more people should be invited so it seemed that we weren't going to do it after all. DISAPPOINTED.
I was flying out of Baltimore on Saturday, January 5, and that Wednesday, Jason and I were heading back from the airport where I was trying to get my flight changed. We were chatting about the whole wedding thing again and I finally said, "I think we should just do it. No parents, no siblings, we don't tell anyone. We just go and do it. Just the two of us." So instead of going to the mall, we rushed to the courthouse in the 10 minutes before they were closing and applied for our marriage certificate. In Maryland, you have to wait 48 hours after you get your certificate to have the ceremony. Since the courthouse was only open on weekdays, it was literally now or never. We chose now.
On Friday, January 4, 2013 at 10am, I got out my little white dress (that my mother cajoled me into buying three months before we were even engaged), Jason put on a suit and we rolled over to the courthouse in the Green Lantern. We got Paul, Ama and Chuck, the people most responsible for our relationship (and most available to get off work in the morning), to be our witnesses. Ama even went so far as to put together some flowers so the guys could have boutonnieres and I could have a bouquet. It was all over in about 10 minutes (15 if you count posing for a few pictures, which are still on Ama's camera somewhere) and we went out for lunch at AleWife afterward. There was even champagne!
That night was officially billed as my goodbye party but it secretly doubled as our wedding reception with all of our closest Baltimore buddies, unknowingly celebrating our marriage. GOTCHA!
There were no limos, no matching dresses, no linens, no speeches, no favors, no cake and it was perfect. It was just us and our love and our commitment to each other. We didn't have to worry about accommodating anyone else. We did exactly what we wanted and what was best for us and I am so glad we decided to just go for it.
So now you know. I hope you're not mad. (Josh was a little mad.) Everyone else has been really cool about it and they are mostly just happy that we're happy, which is nice.
Why did we wait so long to confess? Many reasons, the main ones being 1) we weren't going to say anything until our big wedding but it was becoming harder to keep it a secret and I didn't want to have to lie to anyone, 2) we didn't know how people (our families, mostly) would react after not being there for it and 3) we really wanted to tell everyone in person. The first time we were both back in the US in the same place at the same time was this past holiday season.
How I am allowed to live in France without my own visa? Married couples get special privileges and I am basically Jason's +1 for the length of his contract. Our recent trip to Paris? It was to celebrate our first anniversary, which is probably why the guy at the hotel was so nice to us and we got free champagne at the restaurant. It all makes sense now!
Moral of the story: If you're moving to another country with your fiancé(e), just get secretly married before you go. Life is better together.
No comments:
Post a Comment