(this one is by me, all the rest by Matt)
After our Blackberry Nuptials, Garrett didn’t really feel married. I don’t blame him at all, it’s hard to feel married when no one would recognize you as such, except for the room service guy who referred to me as “Mrs. Cummings”, which was delightful and made me quite giddy.
The morning of the 14th, we waited around for our overnight package with Garrett’s passport in it and got ready for the day. I ditched the long dress for the short Jessica Simpson number I purchased the day before we left for San Francisco, with the intention of changing into it after our ceremony to go to lunch on the 13th. I left my hair down, straightened it with my new straightener (apparently appliances go bad right before you get married, because my hairdryer passed on about a week before the reception), and opted for the same makeup with subtler lips. I was a little more incognito, and Garrett dropped the tie and jacket.
Garrett’s best friend, Matt, skipped out on work another day (luckily he’d been sick the week before) and took pictures for us after a very brief tutorial. I haven’t had the holga pictures developed yet, but if any of those come out it’ll be fun.
My favorite part of the civil ceremony was the officiant saying that no one had the power to marry us, that us being married was based on the vows and promises we made to each other. That made me feel like our blackberry ceremony was a little more legit. I meant it, and that mattered. We didn’t re-exchange rings. We had our first legal kiss and as far as San Francisco was concerned, we were hitched!
(the clock so that we’d know the time. suggestion of our ‘civil priest’ [garrett's term]
(first kiss!)
Here we are, much later, without our marriage certificate because the courthouse has struck again. My check wasn’t good enough (being non-CA) and now I’m headed to get a money order so I can finally change my name and make this thing permanent everywhere! I wish the SS office was immediate. Like, check a box and they send your info to Social Security and they’ll send you a new card. I’d pay a lot for that option. *hint hint, I have good ideas that could get the government out of the poorhouse*
I love the shot of you kissing in front of the clock!
Wow.. it seems that this whole getting married deal has been so hard! I hope it doesn’t give you and your hubby too much stress! Though that could be an excuse for a fun little weekend trip…
.-= Lydia’s most recent blog post: The Kiln Cake =-.
we got married at sf city hall too!
.-= tiffany’s most recent blog post: Pro Pics =-.
I was wondering what advise you might give someone planning on eloping to San Francisco… like the things you wish someone had told you.
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Hi Jennie! Well, 2 years later I’ve forgotten a few things but….
-make sure your driver’s license isn’t expired (happened to us!) and maybe have a backup form of ID too
-pick your time of day based on the best light if you plan to do some photos outdoors before/after or arrange for the photographer to shoot during the pretty light!
-I brought my dress in a folding suitbag and was nervous about it but didn’t have any trouble, just double check before you fly and make sure to say it’s your wedding dress a lot so they understand how important it is :) (if you’re flying)
-we had lunch at The Slanted Door which was awesome, the tuna collar is to die for, but obviously there are tons of great restaurants. Just go ahead and plan some meals and sight seeing (I love the idea of taking your photographer around for the day, in which case call me, I’m a wedding photographer now :)), but have time to relax too. The process once we had the right paperwork was pretty simple.
Feel free to contact me if you have more questions!
-we took a cab from place to place and they seemed easy to find, but our hotel was downtown. We did walk to the city hall which was less fun since a homeless man tried to choke my husband (terrifying and sad), but I think a cab is the way to go.
-in San Francisco you can get some really neat photos over by the wharf in the market (we had champagne there)