DAY 1: Fireworks!

Today, July 1, 2010, I got married. Brandon and I were high school sweethearts and have been together for nearly a decade now. But today was our big day!

It was to be a very special day indeed. But, for the past year, as we have been planning this wedding, I've been adamant about keeping our festivities about the entire marriage - you know, committing to each other for life - and not just about this one day. This day should be important, and this day should be huge, and this day should be really, really special. But the whole point of this day is that we're about to spend a whole future together; so, at the end of it, well, it's just another day that has come and gone. Except that you are married now; and that's forever, at least in my book.

All that said, our wedding today was beautiful. We had our immediate families - four parents, two brothers, one sister, one brother-in-law, and one sister-in-law - all here with us in Key West, which we have always considered our own personal Paradise. We got up early, before the sun was beating down too hard on our shoulders (after all, it is hot in Paradise in July), and headed out to Smathers Beach. We parallel parked three cars at three consecutive meters, went out onto the soft white sand, removed our shoes, gathered in a circle, said our vows, exchanged rings, kissed, and cried (well, that was just me, actually).

And then, about two minutes after my dad (the pastor) officially announced us as husband and wife, we heard a big bang! Like fireworks out in the road. Only, when we turned around, it wasn't fireworks at all, but a large work truck that had run itself into our three parked cars (plus one more that was in front of us) and flipped onto its side. Brandon, my husband and hero (sorry, but it is my wedding day and I am in a very sappy-romantic kind of mood, despite being in the middle of this ridiculous story), ran out into the road - bare feet and all - to make sure the driver of the big work truck was ok. He was; he climbed right out of the passenger-side window, with a few bumps and bruises and just a tiny bit of blood running down his arm.

The only damage was to our material things: My brother-in-law's rented Mustang convertible (also the bride and groom's getaway car) was absolutely totaled. It was kind of wound all around itself and looked a lot more like a big pile of scraped-up metal than any kind of wedding getaway vehicle. My mom's "little blue bullet" (a Ford Focus wagon), which she genuinely loved, was also totaled; the guys from the towing company actually had to tie the bumper to the roof of the car before dragging that blue bullet away. Our little Honda Fit (who has already been through so much in his three short years) was thrown about 100 feet forward, where he was promptly stopped by a fourth parked car (belonging to no one in our party).

The police showed up and rolled out their crime scene tape (ok, I admit that was kind of cool). Two hours later, we were back at the hotel, getting out of our wedding clothes in a hurry so we could get ourselves to the nearest bar. Which we did, and now we are almost to the point where we can laugh about all of this.

A lot of people - my family members, the police, and some random passersby - told me that I seemed to be taking it very well. One of the police officers even said, "I can't believe you're still smiling." And all I said at the time was, "Well, honestly, what else can I do? And hey, I still got married."

As I've thought about it this afternoon, I've really gone back to what I've been saying so adamantly all along - that it's not just about today, but about the entire future that Brandon and I are about to have together. I mean, life happens, car accidents happen, weddings happen, and then life just keeps moving forward. This very long, very stressful wedding day is going to be over after a few more hours pass. But Brandon and I said our vows, and we exchanged our rings, and we kissed in the sand and committed to each other for life.

Someday the car accident that happened at our wedding will be a distant memory. But we will still be married.

And that is the bottom line - I AM MARRIED!!!

For the next year, I'll be documenting my life as a newlywed (censored, of course). I'd love it if you would join me here for the journey. I'm sure it will be just full of fireworks!

Sincerely,

Charlotte K Eames