Married!

Hello everyone (is anyone out there?)! I have been so bad about writing regularly on this blog. So much has been happening lately, I do not even know where to begin. First things first, I’m married!! Let me tell you, it’s been fantastic so far! Granted, it has only been less than two weeks but nonetheless I highly recommend it. I am married to the infamous Concord Grape blogger, also known as Brian, B-Phat, Grape-Boy, or Dough-Nut, depending on who you are and how you like to refer to him. I won’t even begin to share the dozens of nicknames I have for him. It’s too embarrassing. Anyway, the wedding went beautifully, I could not have asked for a more perfect day. The weather was spectacular and sunny, which was very lucky given the fact that it rained almost every day before and after that day.

So many of our close friends and family were there, which made the whole thing very special. All of my aunts and uncles came, as well as two of my cousins, which was awesome. I met Brian’s dad for the first time, finally, which was great. And lots of friends from DC and elsewhere flew out for the event, which meant a lot to us. And of course our friends from Seattle were there, too. One of my favorite things was seeing all of my various friends and family members converging in one place and meeting each other. It was so cool seeing my college friends meet my friend from high school, and my coworker swapping travel stories with Brian’s mom (my new mother-in-law).

We had so much fun. The ceremony was mostly a blur, actually. I don’t remember even seeing anyone in the audience except when I occasionally stole a glance and it felt really surreal to see everyone out there, because it kind of felt like we were alone up there in our own little world. Both Brian and I were spacing out a bit, but luckily we didn’t mess up or forget anything, or light anything on fire with our unity candle. At the end of the ceremony we kissed, of course, and then walked back down the aisle as everyone was throwing lavender! Here is a picture of that happy moment:

We felt so lucky and thankful and had so much fun that day. We felt like it was an opportunity to announce to our friends and family publicly how we feel about each other and to make our commitment to each other solid and official. I did not used to think I cared much about symbolic ceremonies (i.e., graduations, weddings, holidays, etc.), but more and more they are becoming really important to me. For me, the wedding day marked an historic occasion in our lives, celebrating our commitment to each other. We’ve marked our commitment to each other symbolically and legally, and it feels even more solid now than before. I’m also taking Brian’s last name, which makes it feel even more concrete as we now share a family name.

Next post: Honeymoon!