MEHcus's Puerto Rican Adventure Part 3: MEHcus gets married
47If you haven't read any of my Puerto Rican adventure stories yet, this is the one you'll want to take the time to read, it's a big one. And there will be plenty of photos to help tell the story - at the end. You can follow along with the entire adventure here:
Part 1
Part 2
As I'm sitting here trying to write this story I'm realizing that it will be the most difficult story that I've ever tried to write. I've always considered myself to be a much better writer of stories than teller of them. But this, this story is incredibly personal and exposes vulnerabilities of mine that are only known by one other person in this world. She is now my wife.
In order to tell this story there are a few things you should know about Ashley and I first. We met in February of this year, were engaged (though nobody at Meh knew) only a few weeks later, are very simple people and were determined to make this day about us. As you may remember, I'm a big fan of eloping. Thankfully so is she. So we threw traditions to the wind and that's just what we did.
Deep breath. Here goes.
Day 5: October 27, 2015. A day that I'll never forget. This is the story of the day I got to marry my best friend in a private ceremony on a remote beach in Puerto Rico.
8 am
It started off like any other day on our trip, yet this day was different. There was a calmness in the air, excitement in our eyes, and an overwhelming sense of joy for what was to come in our hearts. As the sun rose we sat on the porch listening to the ocean crash upon the shore and began to take in what this day would bring. No words were spoken, they weren't needed, the words were felt.
10 am
After an incredible breakfast at a local coffee shop we headed a few towns over to Isabela to pick up Ashley's bouquet at a little place we found called Fusion Floral Art. The drive over was exactly what you'd want it to be. A picturesque drive down the coast with waves crashing on the beach and the sun glistening on the water.
10:30 am
As we arrived at the shop we got our first glance at the bouquet as the finishing touches were being applied. It wasn't quite ready so we took a moment to walk down to the beach and walk along the shoreline enjoying our last few hours together before the ceremony in absolute peace and harmony. It was perfect. Just as the bouquet turned out to be, filled with tropical flowers that were hand picked that day.
11 am
We headed back to home base to start getting ready. Ashley found a hair and makeup artist that made the nearly 2 hour drive from her home to meet us at our house so that we could be together as she got ready. A few hours and a couple of mimosas later and it was getting close to time to leave.
2:15 pm
I've just finished getting ready and walk out to see her for the first time. Oh my, she is beyond stunning. How did I get to be this lucky? Deep breath. Holy shit, you're going to marry her.
2:30 pm
The ceremony is in an hour and a half, we'll need to leave soon to make the drive over to meet with our officiant and photographer. I expect to be nervous. I'm not. Just enough time for us to call home and spend a few minutes chatting with family (that are none to pleased that they weren't invited). Both tears and laughter are shared. Everyone is smiling as the anticipation of the moment builds.
3 pm
It's time to leave. What are we missing? Vows? Check. Rings? Check. Keys and wallet? Check. Gorgeous Bride? Damn right. Let's go.
3:05 pm
As we drive towards our venue I grab her hand just as I always do. This is where I belong. We're doing it our way just as we intended. This is right.
3:45 pm
We meet with our officiant and photographer and hop in the car with them as they take us to our venue. To this point we've only seen a few pictures and a video on YouTube of where we are going. As we pull up an audible sigh of relief can be heard from both of us. The place is incredible. It is perfect.
4 pm
I look at our officiant, it's time. We're now standing in the spot that will forever change our lives. I reach out to grab Ashley's hands and look in to her eyes. My eyes won't move from this spot for a while. In a few moments she will be my wife.
Deep breath. 
This is really happening
My vows are super funny, because I'm super funny
Man I love this girl
As far as we knew, we were the only two people in the world
Turns out she's pretty funny too
I do. 
WE DID IT!
And with that, I introduce you all to my best friend and the one person that knows me to my core, my wife - the incredible @asgriffin.
- 35 comments, 52 replies
- Comment
@MEHcus, a beautiful story, a happy ending. I cried. Best wishes to you both.
@Barney Thanks! Sorry there wasn't any purple in the flowers...
@MEHcus I noticed that, but you are forgiven.
Congratulations to you both, and may your life together be filled with joy. That was a lovely writeup, but it wasn't a total surprise. What a gorgeous wedding. What a wonderful trip. Blessings (of every flavor and denomination) on you both.
@OldCatLady Thank you!
Congrats to the bride and groom! Now go make me some grandchildren (said your parents).
@ACraigL no no no, not time for that right now
@MEHcus No, now's the time to practice!
congrats! will we be hearing from @MrsMEHcus on the forums as well?
@carl669 You will, she created an account and will be chiming in at some point
@MEHcus First your mother joins, now your wife. Big couple of weeks on Meh.
@MrMark for realz tho, peeps be droppin in like crazy yo
Stupid fucking dust...
Congrats good sir!
@studerc
@studerc - my eyes are just a little sweaty today.
Ok you crazy kids. The bar is set, now the rest of your lives must be near perfect or you're regressing from the day of your marriage. Don't even think about ever having kids and remember ignorance is bliss.
@denboy All I do is perfect, you should know this. Just as you should know of my abundance of ignorance.
@MEHcus Your ignorance is exceeded only by your humbleness. Congratulations! May each year be better than the one before.
So sweetly romantic. I am so happy for you, you crazy beautiful couple.
Gotta love love.
@KDemo
@MEHcus @asgriffin Congrats you crazy kids! Wishing you a happy, healthy lifetime making incredible memories. And here's to hoping your families forgive you! :)
@cinoclav Who are you calling crazy?
Also thank you
Note to self, read these things before applying makeup.
But for seriousness, congratulations! I hope you have a lifetime of all the good making the bad seem like nothing, and living in your own beautiful world together!
@jaremelz I think we're going for a lifetime of being good at making bad decisions
@MEHcus A partner in crime is always good.
@MEHcus @asgriffin Congratulations!
and now I'm happy ugly crying.
Congratulations @MEHcus & @asgriffin!!!
(There is a surprising lack of rice throwing gifs on the internet...)
@Thumperchick
@Thumperchick this is getting warmer
@MEHcus - good find!
@connorbush I was hoping for just the rice, not the random married people. Alas, I did give up quickly.
@Thumperchick Well shit...
@Thumperchick
@hallmike well played
I was in a bad mood (cough,pms,cough), but this put a smile on my face.
Thank you for sharing your joyous day!
@looseneck Ah yes, any day I can bring joy to a PMSer is a good day
@MEHcus Your wife will greatly appreciate it :)
You forgot to mention 11:24 am: when I ask if it's socially acceptable to start drinking vodka before the ceremony - you tell me no
2:08 pm: a brief meltdown occurs when I declare my hair "too poofy" to go out in public with
10:30 pm: Already asleep in bed
Thanks everyone! Love you babe.
@asgriffin just for future reference, vodka is acceptable any time of day. have @MEHcus get you a giant flask
@asgriffin
@asgriffin I hate poofy hair
Congrats! And way to go with making the day about yourselves, sounds like it couldn't have been more perfect!
@tinkertime True story. We did it absolutely the way we wanted to. Thankfully our families know us well enough to understand that and to not be too terribly mad at us.
@MEHcus I was curious about your call to them shortly BEFORE you did it...that could have put a damper on the whole thing if they hadn't responded well...
@tightwad they all knew what we were doing already, we just wanted to give them a call so that they could feel like there were at least somewhat involved.
I leave the company and look what happens....
J/K Congrats @MEHcus! Let me know when you and the new missus want to grab a beer.
Congratulations! Thank you so much for sharing your story and pictures with us. Your wife is beautiful and the setting looks like it couldn't have been more perfect. I'm glad everything went smoothly and you ended up with an amazingly beautiful day.
I'm not crying, I'm having an allergic reaction to feelings.
Congratulations!!
@MEHcus - some unsolicited advice for you that has served me well for years:
Never laugh at or audibly question the choices your wife will make . . .
You were one of them.
And remember to
@Pavlov
I'm stealing this.
@jqubed Heard / said that one growing up more times than I can remember, it isn't mine . . . Can't find an (original) attribute online.
@Pavlov I feel that I may have failed at this advice already. Crap. I'm screwed.
@MEHcus Nah. The good ones understand there is a "breaking him in (down?) period".
Congratulations @Mehcus and @asgriffen
@ceagee i think you said the wrong name there. i've heard women don't like that.
@carl669 Hey it takes me awhile to pick up on the spelling. I do my best. Curse you @christinewas !! It should be @asgriffin not @asgriffen.
At least I didn't write @assgriffin which is what I almost did, and what I thought I must of done. whew!
@ceagee I think @mehcus would agree that on occasion, sometimes @assgriffin is more appropriate.
@ceagee I accept all blame for your difficulty with vowels. I vs E can be a tricky one. For future reference, i is the stick with a dot and e is the round one, like an o that... reached in to scratch itself. They make similar sounds, but they can be distinguished. For example, p-i-n is the stabby thing that isnt good for writing. Some pins even look like an I. p-e-n is the ink-filled stabby thing that most people prefer for writing. Pin... pen... pin... pen. (No thanks necessary. I'm always happy to help.)
@ceagee Assgriffin, a magical creature that lives in your derriere?
@christinewas after that very condescending bit maybe I have misspelled your name goat ? Is it really @christinewass ?
And now back to the lovely bride and groom.
@christinewas You are so wrong. In the south, 'pin' and 'pen' are pronounced exactly the same.
@ceagee Ha! If all goes as planned, a name change may be in order by the end of the month. I'm afraid it is likely to just get worse from here on out. My plan from day one was to accept blame in a way that makes people almost regret giving it or to twist the problem into something positive. I've kind of been warming up on you.
@christinewas no regrets goat. But I'll deal with you later on another thread.
Now back to the bride and groom :-)
@christinewas i thought you were definitely building up to the p-e-nis joke, but fail...
@DMlivezey And this could have been a perfect set-spike scenario, where you got all the glory for driving the ball over. But... I kind of feel like you just tapped it away. Still... my fault.
@christinewas it was the power dink, nobody expects it, not so glorious, but it feels so good to be mentally superior, you old goat
Aw, congratulations!
Congratulations! That spot looks absolutely gorgeous.
@dashcloud It really was, here's a flyover video of the place:
BEAUTIFUL. Stunning bride, gorgeous setting, and the look of absolute contentedness. Congratulations, @MEHcus and @asgriffin!
@christinewas Well that was basically going to be my comment. Curse you for stealing it, goat!
I will add on best wishes for a lifetime of happiness!
@jqubed Well, to be fair, I think that is essentially what all of us are saying. But... My appologies for stealing the words that were closest to your own. (Both as goat and as the guilty party.) We can share. And, if it's ok, I'd like to tag on with those best wishes for the future.
Congratulations!
Thank you for sharing.
Congratulations! May you always share at least as much joy as you experienced on your lovely wedding day.
Just lovely! Congratulations to you both!
Congrats! I only wish I was as care-free as you. You two must of had an incredible time!
@conandlibrarian That we did. I would absolutely encourage anyone planning a wedding to consider doing the same. It makes a huge difference when you can just focus on each other and not have to worry about the stresses of making everyone else around you happy.
Absolutely awesome! Congratulations to y'all. Keep being funny, it will always serve you well.
And thanks for letting all of us be part of the family for a few minutes.
Best thing I've read in a long while. That was the wedding of dreams - truly amazing! Congratulations to both of you.
Love makes you do crazy things - I mean, she's not even a VMP.
I've read hardly any of this, but I'm a sucker for the whole marriage thing and romanticism in general. And you two look happy and adorable. Congrats, @MEHcus. All the best for your future (and present) together.
Hot damn, you're a gorgeous couple. Congratulations, and may you live happily ever after. :)
So sweet.
Congratulations.
Ok I'm late chiming in, but you know why. As I read this I cried and know this is the way you had to get married. I would have loved bed to have been there but you are a private person and the ultimate romantic! Whether I was there or not I still got an amazing and beautiful daughter! Love you both but you're not quite off the hook yet! Lmao. Oh you know I want more grandkids but you two have a lot to do before that. Have fun and enjoy each other first.
@melindakirksey - What a great mom!