Megan Taylor: Family

Because of this, my family will be in town for almost a whole week. It gets complicated; 4 people with unique schedules will be staggering in and out of La Guardia airport at various points throught the week.

We are also seeing a lot of family members who until now have just been names and dates on a family tree. This prompts a lot of digging through family history, gossip, and rumors.

A big topic of conversation has been my own upcoming nuptials. Such as they are.

See, I'm just not a big fancy wedding kinda gal. I have no need for religion, white dresses, or bad catered food. I also have no money for these things.

My plans are simple: Husband elect and I show up with our parents at the city clerk's office. After a few minutes of paperwork, I'll be married. I'm not changing my name. Afterward, we will go to a restaurant, meet up with a few friends, and otherwise generally celebrate a lifestyle that has existed in all but name for 2 years.

Husband elect and I leave 2 days later for a honeymoon in Costa Rica. We are paying for everything ourselves, except dinner the day of the wedding. I will most likely not be wearing a dress, we may in fact not even dress up at all. Jeans and t-shirts are fine with me.

Someone mentioned that I would look back and regret not making more of an event of things. My response: Isn't that why people have vow renewal ceremonies?

The conversation goes something like this: someone proposes a change to the plans I've already made. Change of date, change of venue, whatever. I say, NO. Someone feels unloved and unappreciated. I feel bad about this, but there is a reality here that I have to fight to hold on to: This is MY wedding. The only person who has to be happy with it is me. And husband elect.