Married 6.9 ... Nice

Patrick likes Numerology. I like boomerang jokes. When we were discussing what day we wanted to get married (I wanted it to be in summer [for reasons] so cool dates like 2/23/23 or 2/3/23 were out) the first date that popped into my head was 6/9.

It's a childish joke, but because it's been a boomerang joke on LTT for years (definition: a joke that comes back again and again), and it's reminiscent of the number 47 (when Star Trek writers decided to try and hide the #47 anywhere in the episodes that they could), I figured, why not?

Neither one of us were keen on doing a "real" wedding (we were 1 and done with that), so getting married at the courthouse was the plan. 6/9 fell on a Friday so that was perfect. We planned on doing a small reception (aka "party") on 6/10 for a few close friends at the clubhouse of the apartment complex.

I didn't care to go through the whole wedding dress process. Not only did I want to keep the budget down but I wanted things simple since hardly anyone would see it anyway. I figured I could order something that I could wear more than once. I decided to order a dress online at an e-tailor called eshakti. What's cool about them is that you can take your measurements and they can tailor the dress to you before it's shipped. You can also change some features on them like the sleeve length or dress length. It was coming from India though so the whole thing took almost two months. But, it only cost me $90 and it fit great, so win-win.

My colors were teal, silver, and white, so once the dress arrived, we matched Patrick with a light gray/silverly suit and a teal tie. I made my own bouquet using white carnations, hydrangea, and mums, along with a matching boutonniere for Patrick. I let the flowers soak in teal water in order to pick up some of that color.

I ended up ordering the tie and my shoes on amazon because we shopped literally everywhere and could not find a matching tie color or white heels. Yet the first teal tie I ordered off amazon matched perfectly. Go figure. Grabbing some costume diamond jewelry to complete my look, we were set.

I was only nervous because I had never been to a courthouse wedding so I wasn't sure what to expect. I always like to over-prepare for stuff. I invited my parents as witnesses, along with my best friend Mary and her husband and child. Dad decided to get his camera out of storage and took some pictures for the first time since his heart attack. I was really happy that my mother (and father, tbh) were able to be at my wedding after the big health scares they had.

We set the time for 4:30 on 6/9, got our marriage license, and was told to arrive at the courthouse early because they close at 4:30. Even though I arrived in a teal and white dress, all the guards and stuff congratulated us on getting married. Oi. My parents were already waiting in the lobby, and Mary joined us outside the courtroom. It was a really simple process. The judge just asked us questions about where we wanted to stand and if we had our own vows and stuff (we did),
and got the ball rolling. I had Mary take pictures with my cellphone. It went off without a hitch and turned out great. We were out of there by 5pm.

I wanted the reception the next day to be slightly fancy so I had ordered a small wedding cake custom made with my colors (only invited about 13 people which is basically the limit for the clubhouse anyway), and a large charcuterie platter from one of my favorite restaurants called Stink. (I just heard that the owner sold it and I'm so sad!!). Got all of my wine from my favorite winemaker Wynoochee Winery, and a helium tank with some white, teal, and silver balloons. 

I was going to play bride and groom games, but unfortunately none of Patrick's friends could make it. Apparently everything in the world was happening on 6/10, including the World Poker Tournament in Las Vegas so Aaron couldn't come. His other friend had just had back surgery so he couldn't make it either. (Also, Brenda's daughter was doing Prom that night so she couldn't stay long, and Kim had finals for her RN classes.) Games such as "who said this, bride or groom?" wouldn't work since only my friends could come. I did set up a "Pin the Bowtie on the Patrick" game, and gave everyone a scratch-off ticket and Brenda won the $10 Target gift card.

Oh, I forgot to mention that while I was setting up, I tried to lift a case of water and threw my back out. I survived the party on oxycodone and well wishes. I couldn't wear my heels at the party or drink as much wine as I wanted to, but it still turned out well. Unfortunately that also meant that I was laid out on Sunday and Monday also so we couldn't go out to eat in Seattle like we had planned.

Overall though, it all turned out very well with no catastrophes, so I consider that a win!