by D.A. Marshall

Created on: September 08, 2009

I remember thinking, as a young girl, that my wedding day would be traditional, complete with a beautiful gown and a splendidly decorated church. As my "marrying years" gradually passed, my expectations changed somewhat. I decided that I would be happy to even get a proposal, let alone all the fancy details.

Finally, in my late twenties, I met the Man Of My Dreams, later life version. My husband and I dated for almost three years before I managed to convince him to marry me. He had been through a large Catholic wedding his first time, so he wasn't too keen on the idea of another big wedding. Neither of us had much money, nor did my parents, so an expensive to do was out of the question.

The subject came up when, in September, he asked if I would like a ten-speed bike for my birthday the next month. At the time, his current hobby (one of many during our marriage) was cycling. I guess he thought he could justify the amount of time he spent riding his bicycle if I had one, too. "We could ride together", was his reasoning. I thought for just a second and blurted out, "I'd rather have an engagement ring." I got both.

We planned our wedding day for a Friday in October, since we both love the Autumn. Rather than have the ceremony in a church or clerk's office, we chose to drive to nearby Miami, Oklahoma for a "quickie wedding" in a chapel across from the county courthouse.

The morning of our wedding day, I awoke to a steady downpour, complete with dark, ominous clouds. I tried to avoid thinking that the weather was a warning of things to come, and proceeded to get ready. Being very practical (and poor) I had chosen an off-white ensemble that I could also wear to work and church. My mother had taken care of the flowers for us, so we each had pale yellow roses (my favorite) to wear.

We arrived at the courthouse by ten o-clock and began the process of signing papers and such. Part of the routine, we found out, was to have a blood test. My husband's son was horrified to hear that we would need "a shot" before we could get married and began to cry! He thought he would have to have blood drawn, too, poor thing. I tried to console him while I fought my body's desire to faint (I don't do well with needles).

Once the blood test fiasco was over, we had to wait for the results. The rain had subsided for the time being, so we sat outside the courthouse in the fresh, crisp air. The leaves on the surrounding trees in the town square were still very colorful and beautiful. The

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