Monday, October 1, 2012

Oops, We Did It Again

Eight years ago today, we got married.  It was truly the happiest day of my life standing in a teeny tiny church in the middle of Wicklow, completely surrounded by family and friends telling The Hubs that I loved him forever and a day.  We got married after seven years together and it seemed fitting that we mark our seventh wedding anniversary with something equally memorable.  I had been stashing money away on the sly for a couple of years for a special occasion and now was the time to break open the piggybank and spend it on a holiday to remember.  The destination had to be the US - it's where we spent our honeymoon and we have incredibly happy memories of walking around Central Park with Bob, the oldest tour guide in the world, sitting on the beach in Cape Cod covered in SPF 50 while the locals huddled up in jackets and scarves, and getting soaked on the Duck Tour in Boston.  We didn't want to replicate this trip - we wanted to make some new memories.



We started in San Francisco where we rented an apartment, met up with friends, had incredible food and developed a love for the west coast.  Soon it was time to head to the airport and catch a flight to Sin City.  We were heading to Vegas for our Seven Year Itch.  It's an odd type of place, all glamour on the surface but a bit seedy if you look too closely.  We weren't there for the bright lights or the casinos though, we were there to renew our wedding vows.  At 2pm on October 1st to be precise.  But I was so busy organising the big details that I'd glossed over booking the ceremony.  My only criteria was NO TACK and NO ELVIS.  Oh, and we forgot to bring any fancy clothes with us.  No problem according to the lovely concierge in our hotel, The Trump Las Vegas.  She took us in hand and sent us shopping for appropriate clothing and booked our vow renewal at 2pm on October 1st in A Little White Wedding Chapel - 7 years to the day when we said "I do" and collapsed into fits of laughter at the grown-upness of it all.


Unlike our wedding day, we were together all morning and being the dutiful wife that I am, I even ironed The Hubs' shirt so he'd be beautifully turned out.  Wrong move - the ironing board decided to close itself on my thumb.  Screeches ensued. Blood was shed and the bride to be had a complete and utter tantrum, kicking the ironing board across the length of the room and cursing like a sailor.  The renewal was temporarily in doubt.  Eventually, I calmed down, got a plaster for my ouchie and we headed out in the 100f heat to say I do all over again.  The taxi drove down a boulevard absolutely crammed to the brim with wedding chapels offering drive-thru, walk in and themed novelty ceremonies.  At this stage I was starting to wonder if we had done the right thing and if it was going to be a complete joke.  This fear wasn't dissuaded when I spotted the ATM in the corner of the reception area of the chapel and was presented with a tip envelope aka Love Gift for the minister when he hadn't even conducted the service.  Oh, and it was all cash/credit card upfront... Welcome to Las Vegas, baby!


When Charolette, the owner of the chapel realised we were Irish, she treated us to a long and shrill version of When Irish Eyes are Smiling, on a loop.  By now I was doubling over with giggles and The Hubs was nudging me to stop making a holy show of myself.  It didn't help when we walked into the room for our vow renewal and a little old lady was thundering away on an electric organ.  We didn't book her but she had a love gift basket on top of the organ, so we got the picture fairly quickly!  Soon the ceremony began and I walked up the aisle, just as I did the first time, except this time my Dad wasn't at my side, the church wasn't full of our family and friends and it was just the two of us.  To my complete surprise, I found myself welling up like a big soppy baby and practically howled my way through the vows.  The Hubs was quite taken aback because I wasn't like this during our wedding.  Our minister got rather tongue-tied pronouncing my name, even though he had carefully written it down phonetically at the top of the page, so the giggles started again through the tears.  Once we had promised to continue to love and honour each other again, it was time to walk down the aisle again as husband and wife.  It was meant to be accompanied by Come Fly With Me by Frank Sinatra but it could have been anything, prompting another round of giggles.


With the mission accomplished, it was time for lunch.  Charolette very kindly offered us the use of her white stretch limousine rather than calling a cab, so we hopped in and headed to the Top of the World Restaurant in the Stratosphere for lunch



The restaurant is on the observation deck of the Stratosphere tower and it revolves so when you're eating your lovely gourmet lunch, you're very slowly getting a 360-degree view of Las Vegas - the glitzy bit that everybody knows and the low-key residential areas which are usually hidden away.  We were also treated to hysterically screaming people outside the window doing the Skyjump and Insanity rides.  Very relaxing!  We were first in and last out of the restaurant where we spent three hours sipping champagne and eating filet mignon with lobster.  It was the perfect end to a very special day.  And the scar on my thumb was a lasting reminder of a memorable experience.






6 comments:

  1. What a lovely story, and definitely no Elvis!!

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  2. Re-congratulations "Eee-fah"! Hope you guys make LOADS more memories together!

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    1. Thanks Cindy - so surreal to think that I was in Vegas 12 months ago...

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  3. Be Bop a Luba.... nice and rosemantic

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