Today would have been the third anniversary of our second wedding anniversary.

Let me explain that …… ’cause it even confuses me !

Gregory and I dated for over three years before we got married. Officially married. Stay with me, this will soon make sense, I promise! When we started talking about getting married, we both knew we wanted something simple, casual and fun. We had both been married before, and since my first wedding to my “practice husband” turned out so well ( Yes, I’m being highly snarky) , we both wanted the hassle-free wedding. More of a celebration, since that’s what we were celebrating – Us !

Originally we planned to get married on St. Patrick’s Day 2007 in New Orleans. I have a friend that owns a great bar in the Irish Channel called Parasol’s, and the high holy day is the party of the year there. They have a humongous block party, parades, and more fun than is legally allowed in most jurisdictions. NOLA was one of our favorite places to go, and SPD was our favorite holiday. But once we started planning, it quickly turned into a headache. The folks from Pennsylvania couldn’t come down that weekend because they all had events, I couldn’t get my buddy the judge to do our ceremony because he would be out of town, etc, etc. Not to mention that Jeff’s bar would be a madhouse and pandemonium would be unfolding all around us. It was quickly turning into an event. A headache causing, stress inducing event. Much like my practice wedding.

One morning I hung the phone up after trying to nail some sort of a plan down, and being unsuccessful, immediately began to stress. Gregory and I began talking about it, and he said “Let’s go get married right now”. I thought he was kidding. He wasn’t. We called the judge,  threw on wedding clothes that we deemed appropriate, stopped at the jewelers to get bands, and on Friday, December 15, 2006, we got married at the Shelby County Courthouse. Our “first” anniversary.

So what to do in March ?

Spring in New Orleans ? That calls for a party people ! So that’s what we did, we changed the date to accommodate everyone, left the stress and planning behind, and on March 10, 2007,  renewed our vows at my friend’s bar and had a four day party in NOLA ! I never thought I’d ever say that I “got married” at a bar, but I did, and it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done ! We did the whole thing “our way”, right down to the invitations and our wedding announcement. It was true to us, and that was all that mattered. Parasol’s was one of our favorite places, Jeff had green hair for St. Patrick’s day, my good friend Doug served as our officiant, we were surrounded by people we loved, and what marriage shouldn’t be toasted by champagne and Irish car bombs ?

So happy third second anniversary Gregory Mann. On this unique anniversary, as always, I am proud to be your wife and am honored to have been given the chance to profess my love for you. On more than one occasion.