I got married on Mardi Gras

I got married 2 years ago today and it was Mardi Gras. In any other little town, that would not matter at all. In our little town, we throw down for Mardi Gras. Well, we throw down in a very small town kind of way. Hokey parade and costumes. It's pretty hilarious. I moved to this town in 1984 and have attended every single Mardi Gras since (that would be all but the very first one).

I did not plan to get married on Mardi Gras. I planned to get married on my grandmother's birthday (which is also today). I wanted to elope. My husband wanted a wedding. He got his way. We had a small ceremony and reception at our church. We had planned on going to a downtown restaurant afterwards with our family and have dinner. But, 3 weeks before the wedding the restaurant called and cancelled, because it was Mardi Gras.

I freaked out some. Then I decided that I couldn't miss Mardi Gras, I mean, I had never ever missed a Mardi Gras. So, we thought we would have everybody walk down to the parade after the ceremony and then come back to our house for a small party. My mom stopped at a little store downtown to pick up a very pretty Mardi Gras mask for me. She ended up telling the owner of the shop about what happened. She immediately called her son, a firefighter, and arranged to have the hook and ladder truck that was leading the parade be decorated with "Just Married" signs and for us to ride the parade route in the bucket. Then she insisted on reserving her storefront for everyone who attended the wedding. She even decorated for it.

Seriously. I am not even making this up.

So, that is what we did. Our guests enjoyed a cake and punch reception and then went to the Mardi Gras parade (with reserved seating)! We got a ride to the firehouse and climbed into the bucket truck and led the parade. I have to admit, I kind of felt like the whole thing was a party just for us. And, let me tell you, when you have beads, you have POWER. People go pretty crazy for some plastic beads. My hubby and I kept kissing each other just to avoid throwing all of our loot before we got to the end of the parade (and because we just got married, of course)!

The truck dropped us off with our guests near the end of the parade route and we watched the parade with our family and friends. We also got interviewed for a story in the local paper, yes there is proof. Then we rendezvoused at our house for a party. (I had Mardi Gras wedding shirts printed for RM, myself, and THE Princess so we had a quick costume change.) We had Turducken (a chicken in a duck in a turkey, seriously), jambalaya, gumbo, and kings cake. We partied into the wee hours. It was kind of a crazy wedding. But fun.

So, if you ever need a fun day to have a wedding, plan for the LW Mardi Gras. Or not, it's a little unorthodox. But it's fun!