Teresa and I recently celebrated our 10-year Wedding Annversary. But then again, that’s nothing new, for not only do we celebrate it every year, WE REDO IT EVERY YEAR!
When we initially planned the wedding, we wanted to invite family and friends out to Sedona but life had a different plan. It seemed every time we tried to set up or plan something, it wouldn’t work out or the energy wouldn’t feel right. In the end, we realized we were supposed to do it by ourselves. I wrote the ceremony, came up with Teresa’s dress design, and was the official wedding photographer using a tripod and a timer. NO ONE ELSE WAS THERE!
In Arizona, you only need five signatures to make a marriage legal: the bride, the groom, someone legally recognized by the state, and two witnesses. We did the ceremony ourselves at sunset on our vacant property and toasted with some champagne as the stars came out. We then visited the local magistrate’s house where we had pre-agreed to do the five signatures. Unfortunately, only his wife was at home so we loaded up the magistrate and headed to the Rainbow’s End, a local bar where we had planned to celebrate with a band that night. We grabbed two bouncers and, five signatures later, were legally married!
The next day we headed off to the South Pacific on our honeymoon, which included Turtle Island in Fiji, Bora Bora in Tahiti, and Easter Island. When we came home three weeks later, it was then that we had a big party with all our family and friends. Since our May 2000 wedding, Teresa and I have gone back every year to Sedona on our anniversary and redone our wedding!
The story of Teresa and myself has unfolded with a story that is beyond a fairy tale. I hope to share much of it in my book The Journey Never Ends, which I’m still working on and will happen in its own time. Our daughter Katie has been the only other person to witness our ceremony and it’s interesting that, as the fairy tale unfolded, we found out Teresa was pregnant with Katie the morning of our 3rd Anniversary! Initially, while redoing the ceremony, Teresa used to hold her, then, as she got older, would walk out with her. Now Katie sits in a folding chair and takes pictures from afar. She always asks, “Mommy, are you gonna cry again?” We always do . . . and once you know the story . . . you will too!
Kermit