I really did not know what to do with this thing, let alone name it. I figure that will do.
After two months of talking about it, Mr. Bell and I were just married on Saturday in Last Vegas at the Little Chapel of the West. I don't like people looking at me and I am not a huge planner so the idea of a ceremony with just the two of us and the minister appealed to me greatly. Other than our immediate family, maybe less than a dozen of our friends knew we were planning on getting married. Even when you say you just want to elope, people insist on wanting to be invited and put in their two cents so the less people knew, the better in my opinion. The simple ceremony was not without some hitches though.
My darling mister left my wedding ring at home and since he took the train to the airport, he couldn't return to get it. Let's just say that I was momentarily upset.
The dear now hubby then missed his flight because he mistimed the train's arrival. He paid an extra $240 to fly down here which was annoying since the initial round trip flight was $240. BUT he made it here and that was all that matters. Thank you Alaska Airlines for your great flight deals.
Two days after he received his okay to go on leave so we can get married, my father found out he would be going into surgery the day before my soon-to-be hubby arrived in town. Since my dad is the only one who drives in his household, it became my responsibility to drive my mom back and forth to see him until my sister could drive up from San Diego. The beauty of getting married in Vegas, you can get it done quickly on any day of the week without an appointment! We ended up leaving for Vegas on Friday at 5, traffic but still on our way!
We got in to Sin City around 9 pm and checked into the Bellagio for our one night. It was really cheap rate of $191 through Priceline. The key is to constantly check rates because they change all the time. I haven't done the "name your own" price thing yet so I don't know what to say about that. They upgraded us to a Tower Room. The mini bar is ridiculously expensive so if you have grabby kids, either watch them carefully or be willing to shell out a $5.00 per item!
We drove quickly to the Clark County Marriage Bureau to get our license. When we arrived, there were two other couples there filling out forms. We paid the $60.00 plus $5.00 credit card charge and received our marriage packet, which included our license and certificate.
We attempted to find a cheap replacement ring to use during the ceremony as well as a suitable shirt for him to wear, since he forgot that too. Originally we were going to wear the traditional bridal dress and navy dress blues but I really love my jeans so we settle on nice dress shirts and blouses and jeans! We drove over to the Venetian because I love the shops there and the gondolas. We stopped by a sterling silver store near the TAO nightclub but could not find anything suitable. Mr. Bell suggested we check out DaVinci's Fine Jewelry. The prices for rings were between ridiculous and insane. After looking at my mister, wondering when he was going to stop playing with the poor sales guy, he bought me an amazing ring in the crazy price range. Definitely a wonderful surprise.
We scoured the strip for a wedding chapel but contrary to popular belief, the wedding chapels are not open 24 hours a day. We went back to the hotel and in our room, my darling got down on one knee and formally proposed. It was very romantic.
The next day we checked out and went in search for a suitable dress shirt for him to wear. After searching the Miracle Mile Mall at Planet Hollywood for three hours with no success and a stop at Cheeseburger Las Vegas, we found a Ross store and found a decent shirt for $8.00. Finally, we were on our way!
We chose the Little Chapel of the West for our Ceremony. It was the only place that appeared somewhat traditional for our non-traditional wedding. The cheapest package they offered was $199 plus an additional $60 cash for the minister. The package came with one photo on a disc. Not the greatest deal on the strip but I liked the chapel. We received the $35 military discount and bought a $22 bouquet. After 15 minutes to get dressed and waiting, we had our 10 minute ceremony. Tah-dah! We were married!
We went home and my dad was already released from the hospital. My parents were very pleased that we were now married and my friends were all pleasantly surprised that this former shunner of marriage was hitched. Our photo turned out beautiful and the chapel was quick to get our license and certificate filed. It was done within two days.
Now I am looking forward to changing my name on all my documents and getting myself and my daughter into the military benefit system. I'll be saving that for another blog.
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