Well, we did it! We got married on September 12th 2014, the coldest rainiest day of the season. When you mention that it rained to other people, they always offer, “it’s good luck when it rains on your wedding day.” Or maybe it’s just weather, I’m not sure, but I’ll take it! I don’t say that it rained in a bad way at all, just a factual way, a detail that helped shaped the adventure of the day.
It was a great day, we headed to City Hall in the morning with our immediate families. In this beautiful building, the marriages are performed in the basement. The windowless basement had white fluorescent lights leading into a dim lit waiting area. Cream colored walls, dingy gray seating, and a dated mirror skyline accompanied the freestanding heating unit in the corner – a perfect photo backdrop for the happy couple. Professional photographers in this small dark space are desperately ready to catch this special moment. Down the hall was the room with the judge, the man with the papers.
The court marriage was nice and simple – just how we imagined. Our immediate families piled into the room, rings were exchanged, and our marriage was official. We headed upstairs and Snapped a few pictures under the arches of City Hall.
Off to lunch with our families to celebrate our marriage. This is where the rain aspect of the day got pretty serious. The brutal walk to the restaurant took only about fifteen minutes, but it was quite an adventure. We rolled in to the restaurant all soaking wet, wind blown, and cold from the unseasonable weather.
We arrived at Frontera Grill lead by local celebrity chef Rick Bayless, also host to one of our favorite cooking shows, One Plate at a Time. Sitting down with our loved ones for some delicious food and margaritas was a perfect celebration to follow our court marriage. We warmed up rather quick, it was a real treat for all of us to be there together.
A surprise bottle of champagne was gifted to our table from my mother’s co-worker. What a thoughtful gesture!
After lunch we headed back to our neighborhood for another round at the local bar before departing from family. It was a great chance for our immediate families to get to know each other better and help Joe and I celebrate as we begin our next chapter together.
We ended our wedding day at the Green Zebra. What a treat, they printed a menu congratulating us on our wedding day with complimentary champagne and later desert. It certainly was a lovely day to remember, best of all I got to marry my best friend. This is certainly going to be another important year.
Check here to read more about our low key wedding reception.