Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Weddings

Monday was very slow.  I did no weddings until 2:30.  Then shortly thereafter another couple.  And then I sat.  It was almost 10 minutes until 4 and P brought me a license and then another.  Timing was just bad yesterday.  I thought I would be out of there right after 4:00 and be off to the grocery.

My first couple was Chinese.  The bride had only a last name.  And the fathers of the bride and groom just had last names. I have only seen this one other time and the bride was from India.

We had one license with a big time error.  The couple are to put in the computer where their parents were born.  If they were born in the United States they put the state.  If they were born outside the USA they put the country.  The groom put his parents were both born in Europe.  Ding, ding, ding, not a country.  Luckily I caught it and the clerk got the correct information and reprinted the license.  The couple had the neatest ring box for the ceremony.  It was hinged blue enamel box with a jeweled butterfly on top.  It was lovely.

When P bought me the next license she said the bride is pregnant with twins.  I did my paper work and went out for the couple.  The bride comes up and tells me the groom has gone to feed the meter.  Great.  Those of you who are regular readers know it ticks me off when they are not ready when I come out.  But this woman is so pregnant, so upset,  so worried I will be upset with her.  She is so miserable carrying twins I can't say anything to her.

 I tell her we will wait, no big deal.  And we wait and wait, and wait. I now know her life story.  (She is 33, she has a 14 year old and a 5 year old by her first husband.  Her mother has a church wedding planned in the spring.  The bride said she won't have these babies unmarried. Her mother will just have to be upset.)  She says she will go look for her groom.  I hurried back to my desk to call Marty.  He was to pick me up in 15 minutes.  I told him to wait 30.  I grabbed the other license and plan to take them up. But the groom has arrived.  I did a lovely unhurried ceremony for them.  They both were so emotional, tear spillage.  After the ceremony the bride told me these are her last babies.  NO MORE!

The last couple were so happy, excited, so giddy.  All through the ceremony he would lean over and kiss her.  Then he would look at me and ask is that OK?  I told him of course kissing is allowed.  They were fun.

We had to wait to get the certified copy of the license.  Another couple was in the office asking about getting married on Valentine's Day.  They wanted to make a reservation right then.  They had the license and wanted a time so they could send out invitations.  We don't take names for Valentine's Day until a month before.  But this couple convinced the Marriage Desk Clerk to do it.  So she entered them at the time they wanted.

Even when I have a slowish day, things happen to make it interesting.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

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