We're Getting Married Y'All!

...On Friday.

If you’re wondering about how I feel about the rushed arrangements, I really couldn't be more thrilled. I've always said that engagements longer than 8 days tend to drag out anyway. Our wedding is going to be so much fun I can’t even stand it. I can't wait (good thing I don’t have to) and really hope everyone who wants to be there can make it.

I'm shocked at the outpouring of support from our friends and family. It seems no one really cares about the ceremony, and everyone sincerely wants to be there to cheer us on. So far, we have a head count just shy of 40 people. We feel really lucky. (Please RSPV in the comment box to this blog, so we can get a good idea of who can make it.)

Also, please don’t be insulted if we didn’t telephone you directly, but we’re challenged with putting together a party for closest friends and family in 5 days. Whew.
We currently have two options for Friday's ceremony. Plan A is to meet at 1:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 1, the Chicago Court House, wait in line to get married by a judge, and then meet at a yet-to-be-determined restaurant in the evening so that people can celebrate with us after they get off work.
Since we've been surprised with the amount of people who want to join us, we're looking into a Plan B, which is finding someone who could marry us in the evening at the yet-to-be-determined restaurant. We don't want to leave anyone out, so we're going to work hard Monday to make that happen.

I’m assuming most of you who are reading this already know about our decision to get married on the fly, but for those who haven't heard this is how it went down:
I came back Thursday from my visa interview with the new knowledge that I do not qualify for any work permits that could be issued immediately. There were several that I could apply for but they would all be valid about a month after we planned to leave. Disappointed, I called Marty at work and told him that I would not be able to depart with him... unless we got (gasp!) married.
We hung up, let the information sink in, and then continued the conversation on instant messenger where we agreed that the big scary "M" word just made good sense. We were going to do it anyway sometime, so why not now? I said yes to the modern marriage proposal, which was complete with internet abbreviations and emoticons. Awww.
Oh, and I don’t mean to get all “Bridezilla” on everyone, but please, please, please no gifts! We’re moving to London in two weeks, so we would feel horrible if we had to leave any presents behind. We really don’t have room for any stuff.