I am the first to admit that my wedding was not what I thought it would be. As a child and young teen, I imagined a traditional wedding. What I got was a justice of peace wedding. It was out of necessity — I was pregnant. And not just a bit pregnant, but VERY pregnant. My husband and I married exactly seventeen days prior to the due date of our first child, our now almost four year old daughter Alyssa. Needless to say, we didn’t choose to have such a rushed, informal wedding. We had gotten engaged in August of 2001, and planned on having a late summer or fall wedding in 2005 or 2006. My pregnancy with Alyssa was unexpected, but we wanted to be married before she was born, so we moved things up and tied the knot the quick and somewhat tacky way — in front of a judge.

I don’t regret marrying my husband. I do regret the timing, and hope to someday have a “real” wedding. I can only imagine how exciting it would be to have a wedding wishlist and countdown on Wedding Wire, and to pick out the perfect bridesmaids gifts. Oh well. All in due time, I’m sure.