More Weddings from Last Week

Last week I didn’t write about all the weddings.  As usual some are so normal there is nothing to write.  And then we have others.

The couple was from Cambodia and they had several family members with them.  As I was asking them to mute their phones, someone’s rang.  The guest answered it and was talking away.  I asked her to please hang up, she ignored me.  I continued with questions for the couple and then I was ready to start the ceremony.  Guest is still talking.  Again I asked her to hang up.  She kept talking.

I began the ceremony anyway.  As it turned out, the phone lady was the least of the offenders.  Everyone in the room was talking over me, including the bride and groom.  I figured screw it, just get the ceremony done.  After the ceremony the bride was really upset.  She was worried because she had on jeans and not a formal outfit.  Had she offended anyone?  I told her clothing was not what makes a wedding/marriage. It was her wedding so she could dress how ever she wanted. She calmed down.  The guests, still talking.

The next bride was in a floor length strapless white dress that was just a smidgen too long.  It had an empire waist and knife pleats. The dress was made of  a chiffon like material.  She wore little sparkly Kitten heels.  The bride kept tripping over her dress and was wobbling in those unsteady heels.  To make all this really scary, she was 8 months’ pregnant.  She carried a huge bouquet of white and burgundy flowers.  The groom wore a burgundy shirt and had a white boutonniere.  The families were so happy and taking lots of pictures.  The picture taking became an issue.  They focused for ever before snapping the shot.  These were expensive cameras, they didn’t need to worry about the focus.  They all had automatic focus.

Another bride wore a knee length strapless white cotton dress.  It had heavy cream  embroidery 10 inches above the hemline that dropped to the bottom of the dress.  As we got in the elevator, the bride asked her mother if her slip was showing.  Mother said, “No, and I am soooo glad you wore a slip.”  I told them I was too.

The groom’s mother couldn’t be there, so they had her on speaker phone.  After I pronounced them married, Mom let out a big scream and said that she had heard everything perfectly.

Nice people even the talky ones.  Cultures are different.  What is rude to me, may not be to others.  But still, I asked her to hang up twice.

 

Monday Weddings

I only did weddings on Monday.  Wednesday I had a conflict.  That is the beauty of volunteering, you get to pick what you will do.  Monday was really busy before I got there.  When I walked in at 1:00, one clerk yelled, "I love you, Janet!".  Then she handed me a marriage license with a big smile.  She had done a lot of ceremonies that morning, and it wasn't her turn.  For some reason the clerk on call was not answering her phone.  That meant W had to do them.

I perforomed 3 1/2 marriage ceremonies.  Regular readers know what that means.  Someone didn't tell the clerk they needed a translator.  The clerks should figure that out.  If only one person is talking in English and translates to the other, big sign English will not work.  I hated not to do the ceremony.  The bride wore a white chiffon knee length Greek style dress.  The groom wore a black suit with a lighter black stitching on the lapels.  Their toddler son wore a long sleeve white shirt, black tie, black vest, and black slacks.   Guests were dressed up, everyone was nice.  But it wasn't mine to do, Marriage Desk Lady got to do it.

I had a Confidential Wedding to do.  (a confidential license doesn't require a witness, the record of the marriage can only be accessed by the bride and groom, anyone else wanting information about their marriage must obtain a court order which are rarely given.)  The couple was relaxed, excited about the wedding . . .  until the ceremony started.  The groom became very emotional, he barely could say I do.  And then for the vows, he lost it.  He cried, then he could not utter a word, she held him until he calmed down enough to finish the vows.  Then she cried during her vows.  I was worried I was going to cry, it was pretty emotional.  It was very touching.

The last wedding left a bad taste in my mouth.  The couple used the young man from the Deli for the witness.  I asked if they wanted him to take pictures for them.  The bride looked at me as if I were crazy, and said, "Why would we want pictures of this?  We were married yesterday. We had a huge wedding yesterday. Just get this done."  OK, bitch, heard.  I explained this is the wedding/marriage for legal purposes and she can't use yesterday's party as her marriage date.  She glared at me, crossed her arms, and looked between pissed and bored.  The entire ceremony she and the groom had their arms crossed, looked bored, and did the vows in a dead I am so over this voice.

Usually if there is no interest in the ceremony, I do the 3 legal sentences ceremony.  This chick had ticked me off.  She was rude to me and to the volunteer witness.  She felt no importance for her legal ceremony.  So I out bitched her, I am way older and have much more experience as a Southern Belle in handling rude people.

I gave her and her bored groom the longest fluffiest ceremony we have.  I also read it as slow as molasses in January. 

It is great to be a marriage commissioner!

Yesterday was 7-11-11.  People love stand out dates.  We were busy marrying couples, and a lot of licenses were sold. The lobby in the County Recorder's Building was packed all afternoon.

When I walked in the county building I saw the dress swirling around the chair.  The bride and groom were sitting at the clerk's window.  The bride wore a long white dress with bead work on the front and the train. The dress was ruched to one side. She wore a short veil held in place by a double band of rhinestones.  He had on a black tux and his shirt was very interesting.  Each cuff of his shirts ended in a small ruffle.  I know that sounds awful, but it wasn't.

Now they weren't the only ones dressed formally.  When I gathered them to go upstairs I was impressed.  There were around 30 people.  The women wore long beautiful dresses with fur shrugs.  Yes fur.  The bride had a white fur shrug.  We are having cold foggy weather this week.  You need a coat.  Anyway, the men wore dark suits.  And then the children. The little boys wore tuxes that matched the groom's.  The little girls wore white long dresses that complimented the bride's dress.

Now we have this fancy wedding.  Very prim and proper guests.  And the bride and groom nervously laughed throughout the ceremony.  

We had a fancy formal wedding at the county building.  Everyone from the Sheriff's Deputies to the clerks were loving the look.  This couple may have had the most formal, elegant wedding group of the day.  But they weren't the only ones making a fashion statement.

The next couple were crisp, squeaky clean, with shinning black hair. They were very tiny, right at five foot each. They were like two perfects dolls standing there.  The groom was so crisp with his starched shirt, military haircut, and stiff posture.  He wore a gorgeous blue pinstriped suit.  The bride wore white flowers in her black hair. She wore a knee length white dress. The bodice was of soft satin, the skirt had crisp knife pleats, and at the waist was a black ribbon belt.  On her feet were flowered white sandals.

Another couple had a large group of guests. Most were dressed up, except for the Matron of Honor.  She was just thrown together and that is the nicest thing I can say. The groom wore a black tux with a rose boutonniere. The bride wore a white, knee length, Greek style dress.  She carried a bouquet of roses of mixed colors.  She accessorized the dress with a cellphone.  I didn't think I would get her off the phone long enough to do the ceremony.

Two weddings the couples were in everyday clothes.  But don't think these wedding weren't as emotional or moving as the fancy ones.  One bride was terribly nervous.  She kept wiping her hands on her dress.  She would look at her hands and say, "sweaty palms".  Then they would laugh.  This went on over and over.  She was really nervous.

The last wedding I did nearly make me break down. The bride and groom were very casual, very calm and collected.  I began the ceremony, the groom was saying his vows and the bride nearly collapsed. She was sobbing out loud.  The groom held and comforted her.  This went on for several minutes.  I wasn't sure if she would be able to go on.  She gathered herself together and I picked up the ceremony.  Then the groom started crying.  The witness is crying.  It was all I could do not to cry with everyone.  We got through the ceremony, and ended with smiles all around.

You just never know what emotions will hit in the ceremonies.  We  have the laughers, the criers, the fainters, the stoics, we even have people who bounce.  People handle the big step of marriage in many different ways.