Officially Mrs. Mister!

Before planning for Ghana, The Mister and I had been planning a Jamaican destination wedding to take place next year. Being from different cities, a destination wedding seemed like the neutral perfect opportunity to bring both of our families together. However, when we accepted our new positions overseas, we did so knowing that we’d be heading over as husband and wife. 

We didn’t quite know how we would work out getting married. At first, Jamaica was still on the table. We naively thought that maybe we could scale it down: we’d fly out with our parents for a private beach wedding. But logistics and, more importantly, finances quickly busted that bubble. Given the adventure we’re about to embark on, it would be insane financially irresponsible to spend that kind of money on anything but preparation for Ghana. 

We played around with a few more ideas, but they all pretty much ended in us coming to the same conclusion.  That’s when we decided on a courthouse wedding. The thing about a courthouse wedding is: it’s just business. All of the pomp and circumstance that goes into the planning and execution of a traditional wedding is (for all legal purposes) frivolous without the signing of the contract that makes man and woman husband and wife. So in deciding to wed at the courthouse The Mister and I had to ask ourselves, “What are we trying to accomplish?” and “What’s the most logical way of meeting our goal?” Staring an opportunity of a lifetime in the face, it became clear to us how unimportant the ceremonial aspect of being wed can be.

And so…. The deed is done! The Mister and I were married on November 1^st. We woke up, exchanged personal vows and rings to each other, and then went down to the courthouse to make it official legal. No hubbub or fanfare. My mother and sister were there to witness. And that was it.   

 Our rings!

Well, that was almost it. This past weekend my mother hosted a dinner party in our honor. It was a beautiful gathering with some of my dearest friends and family and there was even an African drummer! I guess “no fanfare” is like speaking Dutch to a mother-of-the-bride. :) But we definitely enjoyed ourselves and appreciated everyone coming out to share in our love for one another. 

bells will ring... the sun will shine

Everything is happening so fast that it still feels unreal to me. Sometimes, just to make it more real, I say to myself, “You’re going to Africa!” and it starts to settle in a little more. But if that doesn’t make it real enough to me, you know what does? The ton of things I need to get done before departing. Thankfully, I can cross two of those things off of my list. 

I’m not one of those women who have been dreaming of a princess wedding since childhood. But I must admit that shortly after the proposal I was pleasantly haunted by visions of the perfect wedding dress. It didn’t exist anywhere but in my head, and I was willing to do whatever it took to have my seamstress-sister bring it to fruition. So never in a million years would I have thought that I would walk into a store on my lunch break and walk out with my wedding dress. But that’s just what happened. Well it’s not a wedding dress in the traditional sense (i.e. white, poofy, sickening), but it is lacy. Maybe I’ll post some pics after the occasion.

What are your thoughts on keeping with tradition? Is it important or stifling? What untraditional aspects have you or would you incorporate in your wedding?

With my dress taken care of, it was time to move onto the second most important task at hand: plane tickets! After checking out some online ticket prices, we decided to kick it old school and go through a travel agent. I thought travel agents were obsolete—boy was I wrong. They’re amazing. Although it took a little longer (about an hour) to finalize everything, we were able to work with an actual person to tailor our itinerary to fit our needs and get our tickets cheaper than the prices offered online. Long story short: travel agents rock!

Do you prefer travel agencies or online booking? Are travel agencies obsolete?