Maquinna's Poop du Jour

I do...or more correctly, I will...

This past weekend my boyfriend - I should probably say my fiance - and I took a little roadtrip up the Maine coast to where we plan to get married in about six weeks' time. We had selected a location without either of us having ever been there, based on some photos a coworker of Craig's had taken and its position on the map: on the beach, in a place that sort of reminds me of home (British Columbia), and on the route of our planned wedding trip/honeymoon destination: Nova Scotia. So, we'll be married in the U.S., on July 1st, which is Canada Day, and then proceed up the coast to Canada, which we'll likely hit on the 4th of July - American Independence Day. For a Canadian girl and an American boy, I think we were both pleased with the confusion imposed by the calendar.

Part of our weekend involved meeting with the notary (Maine doesn't use Justices of the Peace) who will be performing the ceremony, and starting the process of writing our vows. Taking the plunge, as it were, really hits home when you start to think about the words you want to say to one another. Maine has no laws or requirements about what is said at the marriage ceremony - it's entirely up to us. We could recite the entire script of the movie 'Airplane' if we so desired. Since it's just going to be the two of us there, with no family and scant witnesses, there isn't any need to say a lot of explanatory stuff to a big audience. This is going to be some of the most intensely personal writing I ever do. Where to start? The notary showed us numerous samples of previous ceremonies he'd performed, so we could get an idea of what we might want to include in our vows - and I think that was very helpful. I also think our vows are going to end up being markedly different from them in several respects. Some of them were so serious ("I promise to respect you always...and never take you for granted...and oh, did I mention I really respect you?")! Some seemed rather banal...full of cliches and meaningless, overused phrases ("My love for you is as endless as the ocean around us..." Gag!). Our marriage is a very personal event, and what I say to Craig that day needs, I think, to be very clear about how I feel, why I feel that way, and what I hope for in our future. In my own words, with a little support from writers and artists who I feel resonate with me on the subject.

For the record, I think the site is beautiful. We had originally hoped to return to B.C. later this summer and be married out on the west coast, but my schedule scuttled those plans. Somehow, though, we've managed to find a beach with a rocky shore, driftwood, tall dark conifers, seaweed and barnacles...not unlike B.C. at all.

So there it is. For those of you who weren't aware of our plans, I suppose the cat's out of the bag. Go easy on Craig, will ya?

posted by Maquinna @ 10:25 a.m.