Two weeks ago, Leon and I were sitting in a coffee shop having a cup of tea and discussing my possible job in Europe.  We decided it would be best to make our status official, go ahead and take the plunge, in short, the “M” word, yes, that’s right!

Any woman will tell you the first step to walking down the aisle (figuratively or not) is picking a great ring.  So it didn’t take me long to persuade Leon to visit some jewelry stores – over another cup of tea, in a different coffee shop.  The search didn’t take long because we found just the thing in the second shop we looked in.  Maybe it’s just that I am getting more decisive in my old age.  At any rate, the choice was made and the next step was to find just the right match for Leon’s finger.

The next decision involved when and where.  Las Vegas was a contender but we didn’t see ourselves in an Elvis Chapel.  I thought of Tofino, but with the Olympics in February, it would be too expensive and difficult to arrange a ceremony.  We did know we wanted to get married during a long weekend in February when I could add 2 personal days and make it a decent length holiday.  And we agreed we wanted to elope.

So Leon asked me to visualize our wedding photos and I realized that the ocean had to be the backdrop.  I found just the place on the net – A Simple Wedding.  We will marry on a sunset cruise, just the 2 of us, with Justice of the Peace and photographer, captain and crew.  I sounds so right!

We’ve reserved the flights – departure Feb 10 from Ottawa to Miami.  We’ll drive from Miami to Key West and stay in a lovely old inn in Old Key West.  Our room has a balcony overlooking the pool area.  It sounds quaint and lovely.

The current decision centers around the dress.  What to wear?  Short, long, white or not, barefooted preferably.  And my groom?  He’ll be in light trousers and a lightweight shirt, barefooted too.  The wedding planner provides the flowers and champagne.  Perfect!

I’m still looking for a dress in the meantime and enjoying every minute of it.  It sure is a good incentive to lose those extra pounds!