# Oboy! I'm getting married! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 18, 2007, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oboy-im-getting-married/423198 "2007-10-18T18:09:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Swampwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Swampwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swampwolf)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oboy-im-getting-married/423198/1 "2007-10-18T18:09:14Z")
…This Sunday! We’ve been together for 4 1/2 years, living together with her kids for 3, engaged for 2 (she was the one who popped the question…three days before I was going to), and this Sunday, we’re finally doing it. You know the show [_Platinum Weddings_?](http://www.wetv.com/shows/PlatinumWeddings/) Where they find the gaudiest, most ostentatious display of an overabundance of wealth combined with an underabundance of taste or modesty? Well, we’re happily having an aluminum wedding. Not only is it on a shoestring, but the shoestring is threadbare. We don’t really have a lot, but we don’t need it. Marriage license: $93 Rings: $75 Groom’s jacket: $3 at Salvation Army Bride’s dress: $35 at Goodwill Park for the ceremony: Free Internet-licensed minister and best friend: Free and surprising Best man and best friend: also free and surprising Flowers: fake and already in our possession Marrying a wonderful woman: well, you know the rest. We decided on this a week ago. **SwampWitch** has Lyme disease and a few mental health issues, and the stress of planning a wedding would _not_ be a good thing for her health. So we figured that we could get one of many people we know who can perform a wedding, go to some park and tell people “no RSVP, No Reception, No Dress Code, No Gifts.” When I called up my (exteremely atheistic) friend and jokingly told him that we may have need of his ministerial services, he immediately said “Let me see what I can do about a flight down.” :eek: when I called up my other friend and jokingly said “You wanna come down to Tallahassee? X. is already doing the ceremony, and we need a best man.” he also said “Let me see what I can do about a flight down.” :eek: :eek: Sadly, as I found out today, it’s also my maternal grandmother’s yartzeit (anniversary of her death). I never met her, but she will be honored in the ceremony all the same. I’ve got amazing friends. And an amazing bride-to-be. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oboy-im-getting-married/423198/2 "2007-10-18T18:36:41Z")
Woohoo! _cracks open the champagne_ Congratulations! _snogs and toasts_ (We’re all invited to the reception, right?) ---
**Author:** ![Dazzling\_White\_Diamonds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/41988e/32.png) [@Dazzling\_White\_Diamonds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dazzling_White_Diamonds)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oboy-im-getting-married/423198/3 "2007-10-18T18:37:37Z")
Congratulations! My wish for you is many happy, loving and wonderful years with you and your bride-to-be, as well as with your family! Wind to thy wings, and blessed be. ---
**Author:** ![\_Deep\_F\_ied](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/7cd45c/32.png) [@\_Deep\_F\_ied](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Deep_F_ied)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oboy-im-getting-married/423198/4 "2007-10-18T18:44:33Z")
Good on you! Here’s to many. many years of wedded bliss. Congrats! ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oboy-im-getting-married/423198/5 "2007-10-18T18:46:12Z")
Congratulations! I’ll drink a toast to the pair of you and your friends this Sunday. You sound like good folks. If you post an approximate time for the vows, I’ll try to synchronize the toasting. If it hits in the middle of the catapult design class, I’ll even share the champagne. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oboy-im-getting-married/423198/6 "2007-10-18T18:49:42Z")
Wishing you both a lifetime of joy and happiness! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oboy-im-getting-married/423198/7 "2007-10-18T18:51:08Z")
Congratulations! Have fun! Be happy! Make the world a better place by your example! 🙂 [sub]Although I first thought the OP was **Swampbear** , not **Swampwolf** , and was wondering whether gay marriage had suddenly been approved down south…[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oboy-im-getting-married/423198/8 "2007-10-18T18:54:21Z")
[QUOTE=Kythereia] _cracks open the champagne_ [/QUOTE] [Officer Hal, Uniformed Killjoy] Sorry ma’am, but I’m going to have to issue you a summons for having an open container of alcohol in a public park. [/OH,UK] Congrats, **Swampwolf**! A lifetime of happiness to you and the missus-to-be! ---
**Author:** ![Li\_l\_Pluck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ee59a6/32.png) [@Li\_l\_Pluck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Li_l_Pluck)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oboy-im-getting-married/423198/9 "2007-10-18T19:09:47Z")
_Mazel tov_, Swampwolf, and many wishes for _shalom bayit_!\* I’m already taking as a given that you have an amazing bride 🙂 , but I do want to say that, yes, it does indeed sound as if you have amazing friends. Lucky, lucky you! May you \*all \* treasure each other for many, many years to come! \*For those who don’t know: shalom bayit = peace in the home (usually refers to the spousal relationship, though it can be broadly interpreted to mean…well, peace in one’s home). ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oboy-im-getting-married/423198/10 "2007-10-18T19:17:12Z")
Congrats and best wishes! ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oboy-im-getting-married/423198/11 "2007-10-18T19:21:41Z")
When you have the right spouse, marriage can be the best thing ever! My hubby and I will be celebrating 19years of marriage in just about 3 weeks, and neither of us has ever had _any_ regrets! Many congratulations to both of you! ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oboy-im-getting-married/423198/12 "2007-10-18T19:40:47Z")
_Od yishama’ b’arei Yehuda u’v’hutzot Yerushalayim Kol sasson v’kol simchah, kol hatan v’kol kallah!_ (A traditional Jewish wedding song, taken from the wedding blessings: “May we hear in the streets of Judah and the courtyard of Jersalem voice of gladness and voice of joy, voice of bridegroom and voice of bride!”) ---
**Author:** ![Swampwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Swampwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swampwolf)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oboy-im-getting-married/423198/13 "2007-10-18T19:42:45Z")
Thank you all for your warm thoughts. Anyone who wants to drink a toast, the ceremony begins at 2pm eastern time. **SwampWitch** ’s and my relationship has not always been an easy one…we’ve had to deal with mental illness, physical illness, quadruple-bypass surgery (her mother), cancerous kidney removal (her father), Social Security Disability, an ex-husband who is way behind on his child support (but at least he’s seeing the kids regularly…when he lived 1/2 mile from us, he didn’t), and two fiercely independent children of divorce–what’s worse, they’re both extremely intelligent–and many other stumbling blocks. With openness, honesty, communication, understanding, mutual support and patience we’ve gotten this far, and expect to pick up momentum. I think it’s a good start. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oboy-im-getting-married/423198/14 "2007-10-18T19:57:59Z")
[QUOTE=Swampwolf] With openness, honesty, communication, understanding, mutual support and patience we’ve gotten this far, and expect to pick up momentum. I think it’s a good start. [/QUOTE] Can’t think of a better one. Congrats to the happy Swampcouple! ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oboy-im-getting-married/423198/15 "2007-10-18T20:09:50Z")
Mazel tov! I don’t want to be a sourpuss, but have you made sure that you don’t need a permit to get married in the park? I’m pretty sure that here in NYC, if it’s just a small group, with no chairs, etc, you don’t need one, but you do for a larger or more organized event. (Here’s a recent [article](http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07EED71730F930A1575AC0A9619C8B63) in the New York Times on the subject.) ---
**Author:** ![Slypork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Slypork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slypork)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oboy-im-getting-married/423198/16 "2007-10-18T20:14:26Z")
Don’t do it! Run! Run! 😃 Best of luck to you both. Mazel tov (sp?)! My wife and I will be married 18 years on 11/3 and, while they haven’t all been roses and rainbows, I could not imagine anyone that I would rather be with. We provide a balance to each other and keep each other sane. I once told her that we’re like a couple of drunks leaning against each other as they go down the street: we’d fall down if the other wasn’t there to give support and together we can go anywhere. OK, it’s not the most romantic analogy but she likes my weird view of the world. When times are good, love each other. When times are hard, love each other more. She is more than a wife and companion. She is your best friend and confidante. Again, best of wishes. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oboy-im-getting-married/423198/17 "2007-10-18T20:31:51Z")
Oh fun! May you be very happy. I was involved a couple of weeks ago in a fancy, expensive wedding. My daughters (and their little cousin) were flower girls. It was a lovely wedding, and I came out of it thinking how _very, very grateful_ I am for my own simple shoestring wedding 12 years ago. So much work and planning and hassle and expense! ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oboy-im-getting-married/423198/18 "2007-10-18T20:33:53Z")
OK! Let me see what I can do about a flight down… 😉 I’m glad it will be stress-free and happy! Congratulations. ---
**Author:** ![Ms.Pumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@Ms.Pumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms.Pumpkin)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oboy-im-getting-married/423198/19 "2007-10-18T20:34:35Z")
That seriously sounds like my idea of the perfect wedding. Congratulations to you both! ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oboy-im-getting-married/423198/20 "2007-10-19T02:35:28Z")
[QUOTE=Hal Briston] [Officer Hal, Uniformed Killjoy] Sorry ma’am, but I’m going to have to issue you a summons for having an open container of alcohol in a public park. [/OH,UK] [/QUOTE] [I’m a goddess.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kythereia) You have no jurisdiction over me. 😛 (_waits for **Bricker** to come in and tell me I’m wrong_) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oboy-im-getting-married/423198.md?page=2)