Heyyyyyy, it's been a while since we last chatted. I've missed you guys🤗!
I stopped writing this blog when COVID hit, because, well, I just didn't really know how to deal with it. My blog was always meant to be a fun escape for my readers and I wanted to write about lighthearted, uplifting things, not about the pandemic, but I also didn't want to give the impression that I just stuck my head in the sand, completely oblivious to the world around me, because that definitely wasn't the case.
So, the way I decided to deal with it was not to deal with it. And I didn't write. Not for a loooooong time. In hindsight, though, maybe some people would have appreciated reading about something non-COVID-related for a change 🤷, but oh well.
Anyway, a lot has changed since the last time I wrote, for instance my country of residence (I live in California now), my home, my everyday routine, and... oh, yeah, I also got married 😉!
Today is my one-year wedding anniversary and, in honor of that, I hereby give you...
...my wedding story:
How I Finally Tied the Knot
It had been several years since my fiancé got down on one knee and proposed to me, and although we hadn't managed to set the date yet (because life), we knew for sure that we were going to get married one day.
This all changed when my then fiancé, now husband, got a job offer in the US, and suddenly "one day" turned into "like, now!"
This was still in the thick of COVID, so we decided to have the official ceremony in Mexico, where we were living at the time, and a proper wedding celebration for friends and family later.
Preparations (Part 1)
To get officially married in Mexico, there's at least one paper you need for sure: your birth certificate. Incidentally, that was also the only paper I didn't have.
In my native Finland, they don't exactly hand out birth certificates like candy, which meant that I had to contact the Finnish Digital and Population Services Agency and ask them to send my birth certificate to my parents, who then, in turn, sent it on to me.
And so it began. The Wait.
Did I mention that Hubby's new job wanted him to start like yesterday and we had visas to get and a move to organize? So the pressure was on.
This is when I had my experience with THE WYLD OMPS (THe FEeling When Your Life Depends On Mexican Postal Service).
"Our letters come when and if they come" is the official slogan of the Mexican Postal Service - and if it's not, it certainly should be. My poor mom had paid for express delivery, and yet my birth certificate was taking the scenic route to my mailbox; sightseeing, sleeping for weeks at airports, stopping to smell the roses, all while I was slowly losing my will to live.
Every day the mailbox turned out empty, I aged another ten years (I'm 637 now), and every Amazon package that made it to our doorstep on time earned a dirty look and a passive-aggressive "Sure, of course, you are not late," from me.
And then, finally, our doorman Jesús (who lives up to every bit of his name) showed up at our door with a banged-up letter, and both he and I along with Hubby, our neighbors, mail carriers, and the postal services both in Finland and in Mexico rejoiced!
Preparations (Part 2)
One of the bad things about not having ample time to plan your wedding is that you don't have a lot of choice as to the actual date. I had previously sent a humble wish to the universe, asking to have our special day land on a somehow meaningful date, a lucky number, a loved one's birthday, etcetera.
Instead, we got April 17, the International Bat Appreciation Day.
Thank you, universe 😐.
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| Because nothing says love like bats! |
A few days before the 17th, we got a checklist of what to consider and things to bring with us to the ceremony. The list included:
- a face mask and a face shield (because what little girl doesn't dream of wearing these two items on her wedding day)
- no witnesses (a COVID safety precaution)
- maximum two guests (also a COVID safety precaution)
- bolígrafo
Since my Spanish is a little rusty, I asked Hubby what bolígrafo meant.
"A polygraph," he answered matter-of-factly.
I blanked at him. "They are going to administer a polygraph examination on my wedding day?"
"Apparently so."
"Huh."
I somehow always thought that the whole "Do you take this man/woman?" part was more or less a formality, but, apparently, Mexicans take their marriage ceremonies very seriously.
But just when I started thinking about what color shoes might go best with the polygraph, Hubby took a look at the list himself.
"Ohhh, bolígrafo!" he said. "I thought you said polígrafo. Bolígrafo is a pen."
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| Will the real bolígrafo please stand up? |
Hm. Kind of an important difference, don't you think?
Anyway, with our face masks, face shields, a pen packed in our wedding bag, and an appreciation for bats in our hearts, we were now ready to get married.
Wedding Day
On the 17th, we arrived at the place of the ceremony, put on fresh masks (as one does on their wedding day), and got in line with the rest of the brides and grooms for our 15 minutes in front of the judge.
One eternity and five bathroom breaks later it was our turn.
The judge only spoke Spanish but promised to do so slowly so that I could keep up. I figured I should have this one in the bag, as I only had to say one word at the right moment - Sí. As long as I didn't say it when the judge asked if anybody objected to this marriage, I would be kosher.
The judge proceeded to give a speech about the lawful union we were entering into, in accordance with Law This and Law That, and we agreed under the said laws to enter into a relationship as defined by law and, long story short, the law won.
Did I mention, law?
And then came the question of the hour: "Aceptas este hombre como tu esposo?" ("Do you accept this man as your spouse?")
But now, instead of doing my one job, which was to say "Sí," my brain decided that this was as good a moment as any to revisit my Spanish-101 grammar and, in my mind, I started doing verb conjugations: acepto, aceptas, acepta, aceptamos, aceptan...
After a small pause, I spoke: "Acepto?" (I accept?)
The question mark wasn't there because I was having cold feet, but because I was unsure about whether or not I had nailed that conjugation. Luckily, the judge seemed fine with my answer and proceeded to ask Hubby the same question.
I did a little happy dance in my mind when I noticed that he used the same conjugation. Without a question mark 😊.
"Under the law, you can now lawfully kiss your lawful wife," the judge said, and a storybook moment ensued as Hubby lifted my face shield (the poor man's veil) and planted a kiss on my mask.
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| Mask kiss mask |
And boom we were married!
🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳
Although I always say that the proper wedding celebration will follow later, this ceremony is still my official first wedding and, for that, it will always have a special place in my heart - quirks and all.
The Future of This Blog
So there you have it, my wedding story. I hope you enjoyed!
Before I bid you farewell, though, I wanted to talk a little bit about my plans for this blog:
As much as I'd like to, I cannot commit to any kind of a regular posting schedule, mainly because I'm writing a story on Wattpad, which is taking up pretty much all my creative time and energy now. You can still expect the occasional blog post, though :)
In the meantime, however, if you miss me, you can check out the story I'm writing (you can read it for free here). It's a fictional story that takes place in the future. And in space. You can read the description below (scroll down until the end of the page). I post a new chapter every Thursday.
And so ends the "shameless self-promotion" part of this blog.
Thank you everybody for reading! And Hubby, Happy Anniversary, I love you 💗💗💗!
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