WEDDING IN SEDONA
By Shannon

Kenny and I got married in a lovely and romantic ceremony in Sedona, AZ on September 28, 2005 at Casa Sedona Bed and Breakfast.
Our wedding was incredible, much like the story leading up to it. (This story doesn't really have much to do with beer, but lets not split hairs.) 

Our story begins with Kenny and I trying to decide where to get married. We decided on a destination wedding because we wanted something small and private and special, without all the hassle of planning a large wedding. While deciding on destinations, we narrowed our choices down to two: Sedona, AZ and New Orleans. 

It's important to the story to stop now and discuss why I don't gamble. I don't gamble because my instinct sucks. For example, betting on horses does not work out for me as evidenced by the fact that my Derby pick is just now rounding the third at Churchill Downs. Keep this information in mind as we proceed through this story. 

After careful consideration and relying on my afore mentioned "instinct,"  we chose New Orleans.  That’s not a typo, friends. We chose New Orleans. It was a tough decision, but we figured since I knew New Orleans like the back of my hand and we had never been to Sedona, it would be MUCH easier to plan a wedding/honeymoon in New Orleans. We had everything organized for a September, 2005 wedding--an officiant, a location, a bed and breakfast, flowers, limo, etc. It was going to be a lovely affair. 

Here's a quiz.   Q. What sucks?   A. Shannon's instinct.  

Now, kids.  Does ANYONE remember what happened at the end of August of 2005??????   That’s right.  FREAKIN’ HURRICANE KATRINA!!!! You know, one of the WORST natural disasters ever to hit the United States!!! Now, believe it or not, my first thought was not of my wedding plans, but of all those poor people there in my city that I loved. New Orleans is a lovely city and we got to know some of our wedding vendors and were concerned for them and all the residents.  Eventually, my initial shock and sadness for the people of New Orleans abated slightly, and then I said to myself, “Holy sh**!!!! I have to plan another friggin’ wedding!!!!!” (Side note: If you ever DO go to New Orleans to get married, use Rev. Donald Bohn to do your ceremony. Kenny and I have really enjoyed our correspondence with Rev. Bohn and plan to use him for a vow renewal! He’s a great guy and actually did the very first French Quarter wedding after Hurricane Katrina!)

So, needless to say, with 80% of New Orleans underwater, we went to Plan B. Sedona.  (Don't think that the fact that Sedona was in the middle of the desert wasn't a BIG plus!)  In a Category 4 panic, I did some research and called the staff of Casa Sedona to see if we could schedule our wedding there in three weeks at the end of September, which they could. They reserved a lovely room for us, got an officiant, photographer, flowers and cake!! (Side note:  If you decide to go to Sedona for a wedding, use Casa Sedona. They were amazing.)  So after a major hurricane, canceling one wedding, planning another, making a few quick phone calls to change our flights from New Orleans to Phoenix, we had successfully planned an entirely different wedding in about 48 hours.

And now,  the trip is finally here. We land in Phoenix and rent a car to drive two hours north to Sedona. The drive from Phoenix to Sedona is spectacular. The dessert is expansive, colorful and mysterious, with a playful mystique that is punctuated by the many cacti along the way that appear to be waving at you as you pass. We have to stop about 20 minutes outside of Sedona to get our marriage license at the Yavapai County Clerk’s Office.

Overcome by the beauty of nature, we drive up to the clerk’s office with gleeful, romantic anticipation. (If I were choosing the soundtrack for the movie of this event, I would choose something like Clannad or Enya. Something ethereal and mystical.) Still overwhelmed from the splendor of the drive, we emerge blisfully from the car to enter the county clerk’s office.... and IMMEDIATELY notice it’s connected to a WILD ANIMAL PARK and the YAVAPAI COUNTY PRISON. (The soundtrack for this portion of the movie would be a NASCAR crash and a twelve car pile up.)

Amused, but undaunted, we enter the clerk’s office and proceed to the window to obtain our marriage license. Now, I have come prepared. I have birth certificates, driver’s licenses, passports,  report cards from third grade, IQ test results, EVERYTHING  we could need.

The exchange went like this:

Kenny: “We’d like to get a marriage license, please.” 
Clerk:    “Complete this form.”

The form asks for name, address and age. That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less. My reams of documents feel a sense of loss for their lack of purpose.

Kenny:  “Here you go.” And Kenny hands the form to the clerk. 
Clerk: “Driver’s license of both parties, please.”

Yep!  That’s it. All you need in Arizona to get married is a driver’s license. They just want to know you’re 18. They will assume you’re telling the truth that you’re not brother and sister or first cousins, although in the Grand Canyon State, first cousins CAN get married if they are both 65. I think I speak for everyone when I say,  “Ewwww!!”

Clerk: “Okay. Here’s your license. Now before I print it out on the good paper, please check to see if everything is correct.”  The clerk hands us the document. 
Kenny: “Sir, my age is wrong.”
Clerk: “Don’t worry about it. Just scratch it out and put your correct age.”

And with that, we have our scratched-out marriage license from the Yavapai County Clerk Office.

The drive into Sedona is similar to the desert we experienced from Phoenix. And then LITERALLY, you drive over a hill to see the most amazing natural formations you have ever seen. IMMEDIATELY, we are surrounded by the massive, multi-colored and multi-layered  famous red rocks of Sedona. Now, I thought they would be pretty, I didn’t realize they would render us speechless. I could never have imagined how gorgeous Sedona is.

And then we drive to Casa Sedona, which is the most beautiful bed and breakfast I have ever seen. Our room was called Juniper Shadows and we had a lovely juniper growing outside our window and a balcony that overlooked Thunder Mountain.

The wedding itself was lovely. Our witnesses were the innkeeper and the photographer, Terri.  Our ceremony took place in a gazebo and other photos were taken around the grounds: a photo of us and the officiant, a photo of us on a swing and a  photo of our wedding rings.

Now, let me tell you about the kissing photo. The photographer and the officiant kept saying things like “No, give her a BIG kiss!” and “Grab him harder!”  I’m pretty sure they would have liked us to start groping each other right there on the balcony, but we refrained. The photographer also mentioned how many people she’d met from a past life in Sedona. We loved these people! 

So, despite a hurricane, we ended up having a magnificent wedding. Perhaps my instinct is getting better, because our wedding and honeymoon was spectacular.