 |
Jim and Mark
Engagement Picture
Augusty2017
|
"Who is gonna walk you down the aisle?"
"Well, yeah, I know you are both grooms, but, like, who's the "bride"?"
"Are we going to do group dances, like the YMCA?"
"Seriously, who is going to throw the garter?"
"Are you doing a bouquet toss?"
These are, total truth here, just some of the questions we have answered dozens of times since announcing our wedding date. Before I get to the here and now, let's have a dramatic flashback.
(Picture a black screen, "August 2017" in white letters at the bottom.) You got the idea?
Mark asked me to marry him on my 40th birthday in August of 2017. Of course I said yes. There was never a hesitation, although I knew we would have a lengthy engagement, as we just weren't in a place to marry right away. There were relationship issues and goals to work through and towards. There were serious discussions that needed to be had about future goals, dreams, what we would need to have a fulfilling life. I am pretty sure everyone, Mark included, expected a long engagement. Like years. It was really great to have the support and love from our families about the engagement. I am not going to get into the specific details, but in January of 2018, we were ready to split. I stayed with my best friend for a couple days and licked my wounds. I was devastated. We agreed to talk after a day apart to see if we could find some common ground to start to rebuild on. Love was never the issue between us. Life circumstances and past baggage just weighed us down. Somehow we re-connected during that weekend apart. I think we were both scared and shaken a little that we had gotten to that point. Both of us committed to protect this love and our family, and to do whatever we had to to get back on track. And we did. When he asked me to marry him, I remember thinking when he can look at me in the eyes, hold the gaze, smile, and not look away, I will know that it is time and we are ready. When he looked at me in the eyes in July, and laughed, and held my gaze, I felt him. That was when I knew it was time to set a date. We also decided on a home in the country. With all of this occurring in a fairly short amount of time, we set out to plan a move. And a wedding. All while working on a new business venture. That is 6 weeks to plan a move, and 14 weeks to plan a wedding. Impossible? Nah, we got this. Ambitious? Yes. Insanely crazy? Abso-friggin-lutely!
Now that you have the back story, here is the plan. We have come across some really great finds to help pull this wedding off on a budget. We also just happen to be expanding our business into wedding rentals. We will share ideas and how to's on just about every topic! From decorations to designing our ceremony, we will share our triumphs and our lowest of lows. We will share our goofs and our homeruns. We will be sharing encouragement, laughs, and a few tears. The end result will be a wedding that is truly a reflection of who we are and where we are at on this journey.
"Will there be glitter instead of rice?"
"Are there going to be drag queens?"
"Will there be a seating chart? I'm not sure how it works at gay weddings."
"Seriously though, like someone has to be the bride!"
Still more comments and questions. We will now have a sign near the entrance of the ceremony venue that will simply read:
"Pick a seat, not a side. There is not going to be a bride."
