Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Oyez! Oyez!

Please don't hate me because we went to Maui last week, even though we'd just been to Kauai in November. My brother planned the trip for his family and asked us to come along. My nieces are 7 and 9 and the sweetest kids and I didn't want to miss seeing Hawaii through their eyes, especially when they're at such delightful ages.

I tried to convince Greg to come but wasn't having much luck. Then my nieces sent him letters, including this one from Tabi:


Greg hates glitter with a white-hot passion. Only a monster would say no.

At Christmas I told Tabi she was a genius and she sighed and said conspiratorially, "There's probably going to be some glitter." She's the best.

So. Anyway. We went to Maui and instead of visiting gardens we hung out with my nieces and swam and ate burgers and swam and swam and swam. It was awesome. How cute are they? They are still, for the moment, super affectionate and not embarrassed to hold my hand in public. So wonderful.


We went on a sunset sail the first full day we were there and humpback whales were breaching all around us.



All week you could just look out on the horizon and you'd see whales leaping, slapping their dorsal fins, or shooting plumes out of their blowholes. I've never seen a whale in the wild, so that was really neat. We also took a snorkeling tour and got to swim with the biggest green sea turtles. I could lay on the surface of the water and watch sea turtles forever. They're more transfixing than TV, though you can't play on the computer in your sweatpants while you watch them.

Greg and I stayed two nights longer than my family so we could have some time alone. Greg, unbeknownst to me, made arrangements for us to have dinner in a little bungalow by the beach so we could watch the sunset while we ate dinner. Then he shocked the hell out of me by asking me to marry him. After hanging out with my family for a week!


I reacted, not by crying like a normal person, but by getting really sweaty and forgetting how old I was. Our server asked me my age and I said, "37." Greg was like, "You know you're 36 for another month, right?" And I made him pull out a calculator and make sure he was right. I honestly couldn't remember.

So I think I got so happy I had a tiny stroke! I went to the bathroom and I saw a miniature frog, which I considered a good omen. In retrospect maybe he wasn't real? Either way, I'm really happy and I'm sure the feeling is going to come back to my arm soon.


Our server was so excited about our engagement, she didn't want to leave our sides. She told us about growing up in the Philippines, her son's job, the hotel where they stayed in Times Square, the time they went to Washington DC . . . She also took about a thousand photos of me and Greg, making sure to cut off parts of our heads so she could get the table settings in the photo. She was a hoot. She also told us the key to a good marriage was giving in, "And I guess the bible says women should submit?" which made Greg laugh and me shake my head vigorously. She really was sweet but very goofy.

Now we're trying to figure out where we can get married where we don't actually have to PLAN the wedding. Wedding planning sounds like the most boring thing ever. I love throwing parties but most weddings seem like a lot of work toward creating things that no one remembers, like decorations, favors, and ornamental poufs. Instead they remember if the food sucked and if your friend made a super awkward toast.

So if anyone knows where you can get married by a sea turtle, hit me up. If the turtle could do all the planning, even better.


Between this and spring coming, I feel like my heart may burst. It makes me feel even more passionately that marriage needs to be available to everyone. How anyone could deny this wonderful feeling to any of their fellow humans boggles my mind.

42 comments:

  1. Congratulations to both of you! Your excitement and joy are palpable in this post. I enjoyed reading it. What a wonderful vacation, with the happiest of happy endings.

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  2. What a great post -- you made my day! Congratulations! My stress-reducing advice from a recent family wedding: If the flower girl is under age 6, she *must* practice at the venue. The more times the better. If she is shy and doesn't want to sign on for the job, pay attention to this! Better yet to have a flower girl over age 6, and a flower girl's mom with good sense to feed her lunch *before* she gets into her fancy dress!

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  3. Such great news Heather and Greg, a big Congratulations! Reading your story made me smile from to ear to ear, such a happy story and really pleased for you both!

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  4. Congratulations! I can feel your excitement and joy through the computer monitor!

    My husband and I got married at an all-inclusive resort in Mexico (not sure about the sea turtle situation). All of the planning took place between the resort's wedding coordinator and I via email and went like this, "Do you want a round cake or a heart-shaped one? Do you want white ribbons or gold ribbons around the chairs?" The entire planning thing from my end took about 15 minutes. Best decision ever!

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  5. Thank you so much! That sounds like exactly what I want. We've found a number of places that will do that kind of arrangement in Hawaii, so I'm really excited!

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  6. Okay, now I need the full story on this! Thanks so much for the congrats!

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  7. Congratulations! What a fun surprise for you. We ended up eloping (under the St. John's bridge) in order to avoid the chaos. That created lots of resentment, so I don't think I'd recommend it. I signed the marriage equality petition for Oregon - let's see if it comes up for vote!

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  8. Thank you so much! I hope to have as many wonderful memories as you and Nigel. :)

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  9. Ooh congratulations. We got married at a all inclusive venue in Scotland. We had a lot of fun, the venue was gorgegous and it was super low stress.

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  10. I'm so happy for you! What an exciting post. Made me smile and tear up a little, a great way to start the day! Congratulations! You're an attractive couple and the table setting-ooh la la!

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  11. Thanks so much! If you like this photo you should see the one where she made sure to include the plastic water bottles!

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  12. Thank you! Scotland? That sounds wonderful.

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  13. I was hoping you'd tell the story of exactly how things went down, thank you! That Greg...pretty clever and romantic.

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  14. Wowee! Congrats, that sounds so wonderful!!

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  15. This was the best post ever! I was all excited about Maui and the whales, since we had been there two years ago and had the same awesome experiences -- then you totally got me with the end of the post. Wonderful, wonderful! I think you should get married in your beautiful intimate backyard garden in summer. We'll want pictures of course. Congrats to you and Greg!

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  16. Congratulations! Wonderful news.

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  17. Congratulations! I can't give advice on planning a wedding - my husband and I got married at the local traffic court during the judge's lunch break. While it was easy and relatively stress free (mainly because we didn't tell our families beforehand), I've always missed the fact we have no pictures as momentos. We did have a great party with friend (and, yes, family) a month later, though.

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  18. Congrats! That is so awesome and romantic. If you want something easy and not over the top in Oregon, I've gone to three McMenamins wedddings-simple and fun...and your guests can get hotels right on site!

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  19. Congratulations! And, thank you for your last comment. My partner and I got married, twice, in 2012, when we finally could, after 25 years together. The first wedding was big, in a garden, with family and friends, Mexican food and a Mariachi band. The second was tiny and legal, at a garden (Heronswood ... yes!), with fewer family and friends. We planned both to be very simple, and they were the happiest days of the year. My advice? Make sure someone takes lots of pictures. You'll treasure them for the memories they inspire. Congratulations again! May you have a long, happy life together!

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  20. I think that's the most challenging thing--not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings. I would love to elope but our parents would never forgive us. I have everything crossed that Oregon rights the wrong they committed when they invalidated so many marriages. It's embarrassing!

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  21. Thanks so much! We've talked about how many people we could realistically fit in our backyard (my immediate family is huge since I'm one of five kids and all my siblings have kids) so it's not off the table but it might be cozy!

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  22. Thank you! And thank you for mentioning pictures--I never want to sit fo take the time for them and then I'm always so grateful I have them afterward.

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  23. That's a great idea. Thank you so much for your well wishes!

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  24. That breaks my heart that you had to wait 25 years to marry. How wonderful that you got to do it at Heronswood! Thank you for what you said about pictures--keep the advice coming! :)

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  25. Ah! I've been eager to here the story. Good work Greg! Since you are looking at a tropical destination, maybe it could have a tsunami preparedness theme?

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  26. What a delightful family trip and a romantic proposal! Congratulations! http://www.penick.net/digging

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  27. Congrats!! You both look so happy. I married young and had a lot of crazy college friends at the wedding. One of the bridesmaids got so drunk she spun on her back on the dance floor like a turtle yelling "I'm break dancing!" Probably not the turtle you were looking for.

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  28. Who could possibly resist a note like that one from Tabi? Makes me want to marry into your family myself.
    Did you see the display garden at YGPS with all the glitter? Greg would have run screaming from the hall (I nearly did myself).
    Oh, and by the way, I'm very happy for you both. Each of you is getting the cream of the crop.

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  29. She sent us a follow up letter addressed to "Mrs. and Mr. Tucker" which was adorable and hilarious. Your kind words almost made me cry!

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  30. Oh my god, that's hysterical! Is she willing to get ordained online?

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  31. That's an amazing idea. Maybe not for the wedding but definitely for our next preparedness party. :)

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  32. So......you have me crying again! Love you both.......

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  33. I loved reading this! You two are going to be so happy together. Ben and I got married in our former back garden with about 60 guests but there was a lot of planning that went into even that very simple celebration. You're wise to know that's not where you want your energy to go - engage a planner and enjoy your wedding!

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  34. Eeek - missed this one!! CONGRATULATIONS!! What exciting news! Good luck keeping your wedding glitter-free.

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