In December, we did something unexpected.

Last time I checked, I thought marriage was something outdated and for other people.

And then I found myself in the middle of one!

And I didn’t really mind.

More photos here.

And, because I think there’s nothing wrong with taking a moment to pat myself on the back …

Here’s my parents’ wedding in 1975.

I cut my mom’s $10 flea market wedding dress in half, sewed an elastic into the new waistband, and layered it under my $3 Dress Code consignment find.

Voila! New wedding dress:

But my craftiness did not end there. I had not been planning on flowers, but my mom put her foot down. She said: Sarah, you’re going to look like a hobo walking through the woods on a regular day. You need flowers.

So, obviously, I had to make arrangements. But it was December in Massachusetts! I just could not bring myself to buy imported or dyed flowers. I went to the local craft store and picked up felt, pipe cleaners, and a hot glue gun. (It is not lost on me that all of those ingredients were probably imported and dyed also. Sigh.) I did some googling to get an idea of where to begin, and then I started cutting. Here’s where I ended up!

The gems in the flower centers are from broken bits of jewelry and spare buttons I found hanging around my apartment.

The boutonnière took a few tries, but I finally came up with something presentable enough.

Also worth noting, we had a hot chocolate toast mid-way through the ceremony. Inspired by Taza and the Mayans 🙂

Oh, and there was [a cup]cake:

Obviously, this elopement would not have been possible without our excellent Justice of the Peace, Gayle Smalley, discovered through the magic of yelp. And the beautiful photographic memories would not have been possible without Andrew Kelly Photography, discovered through many years of mutual friends and mutual weddings 🙂

Yay for marriage!