N.B. This post is long overdue. I have written it into other posts for several months now but then never finished them.
This is for the possibly two of you who have not seen my wonderful news on facebook, friendfeed, Twitter or heard it in person or via email.
As of a mid-October 2009 evening I am engaged to the utterly amazing and beautiful Sara Thompson. I asked her to marry me on her birthday. [I had to do something! The complete hardcover Harry Potter boxed set I ordered for her from amazon UK hadn't arrived yet. OK, while true that was a joke.]
The legal proceedings will happen at the courthouse on 27 May 2010, the Full Flower Moon. The ceremony and celebration will take place on 29 May at the Izaak Walton Cabin at Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve in Champaign County. It is a lovely cabin overlooking the Sangamon River.
It will be small (perhaps 35-40 friends and family) and it will be fairly nontraditional.
At 7 PM on that Saturday we will repair to the mezzanine of Crane Alley for drinks and more food. If you are anywhere near Urbana-Champaign on the evening of 29 May this year please feel free to join us at Crane Alley.
To say that we are excited is, well, not saying much.
And for those who also want a nontraditional wedding, one that among other things does not simply take the customs and rites of marriage for granted [There will be no chattel giving or taking here, thank you very much!], we wish you well. The multi-billion $$ marriage industry works hard to prevent you from doing as you wish. But just remember, the only required aspect is whatever, usually minimal, requirements your state imposes on you. Everything else, and I do mean everything, is up to you. So make it meaningful for you! We are. 
6 responses so far ↓
1 Angel // Feb 26, 2010 at 5:00 pm
Congratulations and best wishes. And thank you for saying those great thoughts there at the end about making it meaningful to you.
2 Mark // Feb 26, 2010 at 5:04 pm
Thanks, Angel. And you are welcome! It is tough to escape from the “traditional.” It certainly takes more work–writing your own vows, coming up with a ceremony–but we feel that it is what we want and need.
3 Steve // Feb 28, 2010 at 9:34 am
Mark, this is great news! I am very happy for you and wish you much continued happiness, which you richly deserve.
4 Mark // Feb 28, 2010 at 9:37 am
Thanks so much, Steve!
5 ranger // Mar 18, 2010 at 7:27 am
Mark, my feed has just decided to gift me with your news. It’s not unexpected, but still–HUGE! Congratulations.
6 Mark // Mar 19, 2010 at 8:08 pm
Hey, ranger! Thanks! ::looks sheepish::
I been thinking about you lately. Meant to try and find you on your birthday and got distracted. Was thinking about you at the beginning of the year when I almost wrote a blog post about the blog kind of looking back over the skimpy last year and, perhaps thankfully, it died on the vine.
But one of the things I said last new years was that I wanted to keep up with a few special people, one of which was you. Instead I lost you.
But you’re back!