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Breaking tradition, not the bank
Marriage: It doesn't have to cost so much.
November 2011, my girlfriend and I pull into the registry office in Letterkenny. After nearly three years together we had decided to get hitched. However, we decided to avoid every aspect of a traditional wedding.
After we registered, we had a three month wait before we could get married, so now was the time for the first decision of our non-traditional wedding: who do we tell? Our answer? NO ONE! We didn’t tell our parents, family or friends… okay we told two people. As the registry office required two witnesses, two of our best mates were called and sworn to secrecy.
As a male, I didn’t really have fashion on my mind but more so the idea of an after-party. My girlfriend had the sense to order a silk Japanese style wedding dress and boots on eBay. In total I think she spent €60.
The registry office also required the exchange of at least one ring, so we got two. Our local jeweller designs rings engraved with symbols unique to Donegal. I grew up here and my girlfriend adores Donegal, so this was a good choice, as well as that they were only €60 each.
One of the witnesses was restoring a MKIII Ford Cortina, a beautiful beast of a car. We asked him to have it ready for the day as the wedding car. And this he managed to do.
So finally the day arrived! There I stood, in my boxers, thinking of what to wear. There is not much that I own clothing-wise that doesn’t come from the charity shop. On went the black trousers from the Cancer Research shop, the boots I bought new five years ago, fresh socks and boxers. Now, which shirt? Should I iron it? Why? It’ll just get wrinkled again. Luckily, I was saved by the two boys arriving with a beautiful brand new, form fitting, freshly ironed black shirt.
Away we went, my girlfriend looking wondrous after a few hours in the stylist (another present), sitting high and proud in the beautiful silver Ford Cortina. Unfortunately, halfway to the registry office our wedding car blew a gasket and was leaking engine fluids everywhere. Our poor witness flew around the car in his wedding clothes, with a spanner and tape, heart set on making it run again!
I hugged him, told him he’d done a wonderful job, and that now it was time to get into the little Toyota behind and make a dash for the wedding. We laughed, smiled, our witness cried at the car, and in the end we got there.
Repeating our vows after the Registrar, a signature and fifteen minutes later we were married. Easy as pie.
However, I still had butterflies in anticipation of the after party. The first part of the party was after the registration ceremony and was a meal. We texted friends and family and the next stop was our local, which was soon jammed with our closest followers.
For the second part of the after party, we sent out cards announcing our marriage and inviting folk to a party. The invitation stated that a requirement was to bring food and a bottle, I know: BRYB at a wedding party?! The cheek of them! However, we also arranged with a pub owner friend; my wife being a professional photographer, to trade a keg for photo work, so the beverages weren’t just up to the guests themselves.
Next question was where to house these merry folk. Funnily enough, the same pub owner also owned a full sized wedding marquee that he had used for his own wedding. After he got married and had little use for it; he rented it out to others. I traded a week’s work for the use of part of the marquee.
It took a full day to erect the marquee, then the rest of the week to lay the wooden floor, bring down tables and chairs, and set lights. The band was a hodgepodge of several friends who play together, as well as other guests who sing, play guitar, or just pretend to. A week after the wedding day, family arrived from Holland, food and drink filled the tables and by 10pm we had quite a crowd.
Money was spent on gifts for everyone who had helped during the week. My wife made a speech, announcing that the groom refused to do a speech and the first person to make a speech on our behalf would be slapped!
She forgot to mention that we didn’t want a first dance, so we were ushered to the floor while the band swung into: “Let’s Get it On” - appropriate! At 7:30am, my bride lay down next to me, after the last of our guests left. We cuddled up and thought nothing of money or debt, or counting our losses.
By: nyrne
