The Wedding

Greetings, dear readers!

Today was a very long, but happy day. One of our dear family friends was getting married and asked hubby and I to be the witnesses to the happy event! They decided to have a civil ceremony at the new courthouse for legal reasons because while they wanted to marry in the Church, they couldn't get in contact with a priest to set up a meeting where he could do the necessary pre-marriage counseling and set the date. Their advanced ages and shaky health also meant that waiting for a priest to set a date might not be in their best interests at this time. At least with this civil ceremony, they would be legally bound for the purposes of wills and other legal matters.

My outfit for the wedding. Since it wasn't the church wedding, I didn't wear anything fancy-just a nice top and pants

We arrived at the county courthouse around 4PM. Once in, however, my husband nearly got us thrown out of the building because the security guard wouldn't let him bring in his giant sippy cup and it made my husband curse up a blue streak for which the guard threatened to evict us all. Fortunately, once we all calmed down, the security guard allowed my hubby to go and put his cup back in the car while our friend's fiancee, the baby, and I remained behind, taking off our jewelry so as not to set off the metal detectors. Once we regrouped and passed through the metal detectors, we got our things and got dressed while the couple to wed got their place number from the employee handing them out. By 4:30, we were up on the 4th floor which is where the weddings are held.

View from the top.

Being goofy with daddy

After waiting for what seemed like an hour, our friends finally got in line to get their courtroom number assigned for the wedding. As they stood in line, our friends also decided to volunteer to be witnesses for the couple in front of them. This couple was a man with his 9-months pregnant fiancee, and they apparently got stood up by their witnesses. The lobby and hallway were very crowded with couples of all ages and backgrounds waiting to have a judge seal their unions. It was not like our civil wedding in 2012, where there wasn't much of a crowd and was held in the historic old Pima County courthouse. As I observed the couples, their witnesses and guests in their various wedding attires, I suddenly felt bare because I realized that I was one of only a handful of people who did not have a tattoo. My husband noted this observation as well, and thanked his father for pounding into his head the no tattoo rule because it was something that could be utilized by the police for identification purposes.

Tying the knot

Finally, it was our friends' turn to get married. Since they were the witnesses for the couple in front, the judge decided to officiate both couples at once. It was a very pleasant ceremony and I was touched to see our friend put a ring on his wife's finger, especially since at our civil wedding, we weren't able to do that. Once the judge pronounced the couples as husband and wife, hubby and I signed the marriage certificate as witnesses to our friend's marriage. Since our friends did not tell their respective families or friends about the civil marriage, I will respect their privacy and not post any pictures where they are identifiable. Also, my husband's decision to turn off the flash on my camera and his atrocious photography skills rendered the courtroom pix blurry and the subjects semi unidentifiable anyway.

A shoe is a magnet for children

After the ceremony, we went back to his wife's old apartment at the assisted living complex where she lives for a small celebration. We picked up some fried chicken at our favorite chicken restaurant and some ice for the drinks, and had a delicious dinner of fried chicken, baked beans, cole slaw, potato salad, and biscuits. The baby ate her fill of the feast, as did the rest of us. Before our friend came to get us, I kept telling hubby to go to the store and get a fruit tart as a wedding cake, since our friend can't eat gluten and his wife isn't crazy about cake. But, we didn't get the chance to go because it was horrendously hot outside and my husband didn't want to wreck something in the car by making the trip. Fortunately, his wife bought a pack of eclairs from the store bakery. They would have something nicer for their church wedding, since that was the more important one. While we sat around and digested the food, the baby explored and played around on the carpet. She had once crawled on that very carpet several months ago when our friend's wife moved into that unit and the living room was still empty. But, eventually, little batteries ran out and she fell asleep on the way home.

One last zoot (note: I have no idea what those white colored blobs are in this picture. I saw them after I'd taken the picture, but I didn't notice any dust or bugs floating around at the time and they did not appear in subsequent pix. But since this is a senior living facility, there's no telling what it could be)

I'm very happy for our friend. I wish him and his wife the best for their new life together.

Thank you for reading this post and please don't forget to share, comment, and subscribe!

The Anniversary

Happy Saturday everyone!

Today is my anniversary. On this day in 2013, my husband and I said our vows in front of God Almighty and legitimized our union in His eyes.

I wore a sari for my wedding dress. I bought it with the express purpose of wearing it to weddings, baptisms, First Communions, Confirmations and I do not regret it one bit

This was actually our church wedding. We had a civil wedding in 2012 for legal reasons, but agreed not to consummate the marriage until after our church ceremony. This is a bit unusual because in America, religious marriages are legally recognized and it's not necessary to have both civil and religious ceremonies for a wedding as is the norm in other countries. The only reason we did it this way was because my family was causing trouble for me as a result of a feud and we needed to get married fast for legal reasons. The priest at the Latin Mass church I met hubby at and who I wanted to marry us refused to do so for selfish reasons. He outright told my husband (then fiance) how he would not marry us because of the age difference and lack of income my husband brought in to support a family, and that he wouldn't risk losing donations from the moneyed senile delinquents who might disapprove of his decision to marry us. I will forever hold that against him because his refusal to marry us put hubby and I in an occasion for sin that was totally unnecessary, and could have been avoided with a quiet, low-key ceremony that no one of moneyed importance need know.

But, in a way, perhaps it was better that things worked out this way. Now that we were legally bound, hubby and I could sort of breathe and relax a bit. Our status as civilly married got us exiled from the Latin Mass church where all this drama went down, and so I got to know the diocese better from spending time at the different churches, and in due course, we found a priest who would marry us. This good priest was the one who was instrumental in helping my husband come back to the Catholic faith, and he was more than happy to marry us. We had a small wedding, inviting only a few close friends. Hubby's family could not attend for various reasons of health and income, and I refused to invite mine due to that ongoing feud. We didn't want anyone who might cause trouble showing up.

His grandmother's rosary. It's over 100 years old

Thanks be to God, I had probably the most stress-free wedding anyone could ever ask for. Since it was a small one, we held the party at the house in the trailer park we lived in. My hubby was the manager of the park, and got along well with the neighbors so they basically pitched in for our reception. We compiled a short playlist of music, though the house resident had her radio playing as well, and we just had a great time. If I should marry again after my hubby passes away, I'll keep this one in mind. Small and stress-free is the way to be!

We had two wedding cakes. This one was carrot cake 

And the other was German Chocolate. Both cakes said "Tamara *heart* Jerry"

In addition to being our anniversary date, it was also our day to go to Confession. We had another fortuitous encounter with Canon Bill and his assistant at the other church, waiting to get scrubbed by the good Carmelites. Our visit was even more blessed when a lady in the Confession line allowed us to go in front of her since the baby had begun to make noise. Upon completing our penance, we left to go home. My hubby took the encounter as a sign of approval from God, since earlier in the week, a woman gave him money in exchange for a blessed scapular. My husband gave the money to Canon Bill as a donation, since the Catholic Church deems exchanging money for sacred items a sin known as Simony.

And that was how I spent my Saturday