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Our Wedding
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The proposal by Elliot
I had contemplated several locations to pop "the big question" both in stark contrast to one another ranging from the romantic to the amusing. There is ride at the very top of the Stratosphere hotel. It is a steel framed antenna that points skywards standing at about 1800ft, making it the highest point in Vegas. Attached to this antenna is a row of seats leaving your legs free to dangle that gets fired up the needle at gut wrenching speed only to freefall with equal velocity. I cannot put into words just how disorienting and scary the ride is only likening it to being strapped to the side of a rocket and being fired into the atmosphere, the view it´s self is dizzying. The anxious anticipation of being fired up that needle is only exaggerated by a countdown and the press of a button by a grinning ride attendant (smug git). I thought this would be as good a place as any to pop the question on the count of zero, causing Carla one hell of a sensory overload. She wouldn´t forget that one in a hurry!
Fortunately I´m not that cruel and thought that a romantic setting would be more suitable on this occasion. One of the truly remarkable things about Vegas is the sheer lengths the hotel casinos will go to pull in the punters. The glamour and grandeur is a real testament to man´s greed. One of Vegas´ top hotels, the Venetian has an indoor replica of the famous Venice canals complete with gondolas and singing Italian boat men. Even the hotel as you pass through has fully detailed facades and a ceiling that has a changing sky projected onto it. I thought this would be a perfect setting to pop the question. Obviously the real Venice would be a million times more romantic but a short round trip to Italy from the States just wasn´t in the budget. Unfortunately they pair you off to fill the 4 seats and I didn´t fancy sharing a gondola on this occasion. I think Carla had a clue at this stage as I suggested paying for a private gondola, there would be no way we would pay those prices if it hadn´t been a special occasion. We boarded our vessel and set off slowly down the canals being serenaded with a bit of Dean Martin´s "That´s amore (check spelling)" I must admit I was pretty nervous. I managed to steer the conversation round to weddings which gave me a perfect opportunity to ask Carla if she would do me the honor of being my house bound kitchen slave, to which she replied "Yes".
The Wedding by Carla So after deciding that it would be fun to be married the same day, we headed back to the hotel to ask the concierge how we went about getting married. They gave us all the relevant info, which basically just involves taking your passport and $55 to the marriage bureau downtown, getting your licence and picking any chapel you fancy. Our hotel was right near loads of chapels, so we wandered into a few. After rejecting two (one was too expensive - the other a bit too trashy even for us) and picking up 2 gold plated wedding rings for $40, we decided on The Chapel of the Bells. This was a bit quieter and had a cute small chapel. At this point it was 7pm and we had to get a move on as the chapel shut at 9pm. So we jumped in a cab to get our licence (that place doesn´t shut until midnight!). It took about 10 minutes to get the licence and then it was back to the hotel via an off licence to pick up a bottle of champagne. We quickly got ready and walked over the road to the chapel. The bride was wearing jeans, a cashmere sweater (picked up in LA) and her best footwear (gold plastic Havaianas from Rio). The groom wore Levis, t-shirt, a new jacket and nike classics.
We were just in time to take the last slot, so whilst we waited for the minister we had our `official´ wedding photos taken. This involved a guy shooting a dozen photos on his mildly professional looking camera whilst various poses were struck. He then handed us the roll of film and said `They look just like these ones on the wall, but with you in them instead of strangers´. Nice. We were then left to assume ourselves in the chapel, for 5 minutes, which resulted in the photo of Elliot playing the piano. Our minister then arrived. She was a lady who was 100 if she was a day, but she was very sweet. She then conducted the ceremony, which she had to cut short as she needed to cough (it sounded like she was hacking up a lung). We do have the ceremony on cassette tape, but seeing as nobody has tape decks anymore (well not when travelling) we haven´t been able to listen to it. Although one thing that sticks in my mind is Elliot saying `I certainly will, instead of I do´.
So that was it, we were married. We headed back to the hotel, cracked open the champagne and had a celebratory gamble. We upgraded from the 1c machines to roulette and after going $40 down, we ended $70 up. We out then and as it after midnight, we realized that we could start calling everyone to tell them the news. After calling the families, we started trying friends. We also had a second bottle of champagne and some Makers Mark. The rest gets a bit hazy. I think we finally went to sleep/passed out at about 6am and then woke up at 9am with stinking hangovers. But hangovers or not, this was the start of married life. So starting as we hopefully mean to go on, I lay in bed watching Lost whilst Elliot brought me chips and vinegar. Perfect.
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