Her offbeat partner: Caleb

Date and location of wedding: Denver District Courthouse, Denver, Colorado - January 16, 2015

Our offbeat wedding at a glance:

At 9 o'clock in the morning, Caleb and I awoke together in our home and went downstairs for a quiet breakfast and coffee. It was intimate and routine, yet there was a distinct buzzing feeling between the two of us. The morning has always been a special time for Caleb and I. However, the morning of January 16th, 2015 will always be my favourite: on that day, at noon, we made our way down to the courthouse and were officially married.

At 10 o'clock, the flowers arrived. At 10:15, Caleb helped me pin my flower crown into my hair and assured me everything looked right. He went downstairs to dress, and I finished readying myself. Walking down the stairs at 11:15, I felt ready. When I saw his face, his smile, I was overwhelmed with emotion. We kissed, and drove to the courthouse together. I can only describe this intimate morning as peaceful and perfect.

Having lived in Denver for only a few months and knowing very few people, we had to rely heavily on the internet and good luck to find professionals who could help us to capture our day and make it beautiful. We couldn't have been more thrilled to have found Grace at Acoma Street Photography and Tristin at Orchid Princess Floral. We met Grace at the courthouse for the first time on the day and she immediately took the reigns, guiding us through a series of poses and locations to commemorate our day. Tristin arrived at our home at 10AM, beautiful floral arrangements in hand. I was amazed that both these women had been able to gather such a perfect understanding of my hopes for our wedding based on so little communication.

We exchanged vows and left the courthouse with Grace for a photo session. This was an absolute riot. Caleb had several ideas for photographs and we spent the afternoon kissing, smiling, jumping around, and really enjoying the moment. As the sun set, we returned home, popped a bottle of champagne and were delighted to see that Grace had already posted some of the photos from our afternoon! We put them up big on our screen, got a little tipsy on bubbly and whiskey and, feeling like we wanted to get the most out of our wedding outfits, met up with some of our friends at the bar down the street for pizza and more celebratory drinks. It was a mini-reception of sorts, I suppose, and was the perfect way to cap off our first night as husband and wife.

My favorite moment:

Caleb and I had been dating for almost six years. For four of those years, he was serving in the United States Air Force while I was finishing my university degree. I am a Canadian and Caleb is an American. For the majority of our relationship, we have both stretched ourselves financially and emotionally to grow and maintain the bond we share. Long distance relationships are difficult, but somehow, Caleb always managed to make it easy for us. As a Canadian, I attained a Visa so that I could live and work in The UK while Caleb was stationed there. When his time with the Air Force was through, we both moved to Denver.

We did not expect just how emotional the experience of speaking our vows to each other would be. Personally, I expected to quickly sign a piece of paper and leave the courthouse happy to continue our future together in the US. I was filled with joy as I promised Caleb to love him in sickness and in health, until death do us part. Even more emotional was hearing him promise the same things to me. Suddenly, this marriage became very, very real. Real, and wonderful. Something I have never felt before.

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