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My Wedding Story

 

    July 20 was a typical summer day in Tallahassee. Angie was working at her job with the Department of Environmental Protection. I was still looking for some gainful employment of my own. We had only been in Florida for a few weeks at this time. Angie had been looking for ways that we could get married on our rather limited budget, and after making a few phone calls that morning, she called me at home to give me the news: we could get married in Eufaula, Alabama.

At this point, you are undoubtedly asking (as many of my friends did) why would you leave a perfectly good state like Florida to get hitched in Alabama, which is, after all, a lot like Louisiana except with hills in place of swamps? Well, the probate judge's fee for a civil ceremony was within our means and there was no waiting period. In Florida, you can buy a gun faster than you can tie the knot--go figure.

So I dressed up in my best threads (and those who know me know I'm not kidding about the thread part) and she picked me up at noon. Off we went to Eufaula. The town of Eufaula is mainly known as the location around which Lake Eufaula is located, which is evidently a very popular place to fish. To me, however, the town of Eufaula was mainly known as a joke, because as Angie and I would drive back and forth between Auburn and Colquitt, we would pass the exit sign for Highway 431, at which point we would ask each other, "If I go, will Eufaula?" Yes, we have perfectly dreadful senses of humor.

On the way over, we played a group of CDs that we found particularly romantic. One of our favorite CDs to listen to was Sting's Brand New Day. Angie found "Ghost Story" very moving. Both of us were that odd combination of nervous and excited that only such occasions seem to bring.

We completed the relatively simple ceremony at approximately 3:30 p.m. The judge presented us with a small gift bag, courtesy of the state of Alabama and Barbour County, and said, "It's so nice to marry people who want to be married!" I would have raised my eyebrow in a Spock-like fashion and made some dry remark at that point, but my mind was elsewhere.

We ate at Taco Bell on the long drive back to Tallahassee (yes, we were poor) and Angie wouldn't let me eat a Choco-Taco in the car. I had a brief but ugly history with the Nissan and ice cream.

These are the things I remember most clearly about our wedding day--small things that I will treasure for the rest of our lives. I love you, baby.