Mum and Dad Got Married

Dear Jessica Brennan,

Last Saturday night amid wine and cheese, your Dad and I announced to a handful of close friends that after a 27+ year courtship, we in fact got married last summer, without telling anyone but you, a judge and a witness.

It was a surprise party of sorts, for a few of those who love us, and surprise there was; and tears, and there was joyful outrage that we had kept it to ourselves for so long. It was a beautiful thing. 

By coincidence, last August was a particularly busy social month for us, and around the time of the blessed nuptials we seemed to see everyone we knew within a two-week period.  It was fun to think of planning a surprise party for our friends who had absolutely no idea what we had just done.

We laughed about how once Dad and I hit the 25 year mark of being together, people started saying things to us like, “Don’t get married now.  You don’t want to jinx a good thing.”

How silly.

The fact is, getting married didn’t really change anything for us except perhaps it made the paperwork of growing older slightly easier to fill out.  I love your Dad and he loves me with or without the certificate of achievement that came after surviving the years.

I would recommend the secret wedding option to anyone.  Apart from being very cost effective, it also gave the three of us the chance to absorb the whole experience before talking about it with others.  Keeping it our secret made it seem all the more precious.

While the marriage was private, the event was significant. The butterflies still hovered as we left the house to be wed and because none of our friends knew it was happening, the usual reinforcements I would call on to calm me down were unavailable. You were no help Jess, a bubbly bundle of nerves.

We got married on a Monday night after work, at Dolcetto, an Italian restaurant, in the middle of dinner service.  No one but us knew it was happening and it was a magnificent giggle to hear a quiet, “I now pronounce you husband and wife”, while people were ordering their pasta.  We were in our own little love bubble. Dear Jess, you were positively beaming. If I knew it would make you so happy I likely would have done it a lot earlier.

The groom reluctantly wore long pants for the occasion, and the bride, as she always promised, wore red.

As the judge left the restaurant she looked at us and said, “I really think this may have been my favourite wedding of all time.”

Mine too.

Love Mum xo

PS “When they want to see how true love should be, they’ll just look at us.”

Gentle Reader, if you enjoy this blog please follow and share. That’s how others find us and how we know if you are enjoying the content. Also, find us on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram @DearJessicaBrennan