Trois Ans de Mariage

Three years ago today, Joe and I were married in Gabon.  At the time, it was a bit of a kerfuffle - the months of struggles trying to work out my residence card hoping I wouldn't be deported finally culminating in the resolve to get married.  The major's office gave us two weeks notice but thinking the ceremony wouldn't be legal anywhere outside of Gabon, we didn't put much thought into the actual logistics of it.  It was what it was and without wanting to take anything away from the wedding we were planning in Canada, we just sort of did it.  These days, the whole idea of it brings a lot of laughter.

When I pull out our marriage certificate for paperwork here I can't help but giggle at the tiny, handwritten strip of paper and when Joe and I get asked about it, we'll often jovially relay the story.  We'll share that our driver was one of the four witnesses as we were desperate for attendants that had legal residence in Gabon (something many of our friends were also struggling to attain.)  I'll recount, whilst shaking my head, the struggle to find any sort of suitable dress in Port Gentil however, not wanting to show up underdressed, I purchased a $12 white dress from a local shop that I detested.  Joe, leaving his formal wear in Canada, borrowed a suit from his boss!

We'll talk about arriving that morning to city hall waiting in the back of the room for the ceremony to start only to be beckoned to walk down the aisle to Rihanna & Eminem's 'Love the Way You Lie.'  Our Moroccan friend Tarik, also an attendant, translated the entire ceremony for us through a microphone as the mayor was adamant that we understand every single word.  We all laughed as they reiterated that we decided upon a monogamous marriage and what that entailed and we sat smiling and nodding as we endured a twenty minute long speech as to why we should bring all of our friends and family to Gabon.

Quite unlike our reception in Canada, we immediately left city hall for an oceanfront restaurant where we sat, sweating, in plastic chairs, batting away flies and sipping champagne.  Currently sitting on our bookcase here in Stavanger is the cork from that first bottle of champagne with a Gabonese coin wedged in it, a tradition relayed from our British friends who joined us.

While we didn't have a photographer to capture all of the details, those memories are etched in our minds and although I can see a million things I would have done differently, I love that every time it comes up, every anniversary, every story we tell, it brings a smile to both of our faces.

{If you're interested, you can read the first post where we announced our wedding to family & friends via this blog here and of course, our more typical Canadian wedding is here.}