(click on thumbnail photos to see full-size images)

day 2—
Our wedding day.  We arose at a fairly reasonable hour and spent the morning getting ready to get hitched.  Peter and I are not the "dressing up" types, so this was a bit of an effort. ;)  I'm a jeans/T-shirts kinda gal...and the sweet little strapless number I purchased as my wedding dress is the only dress I currently own.  But for this special day, I wore jewelry and makeup and pretty little black satin sandals, and even accessorized with a little black satin handbag.  Go me!

Amazingly enough, we weren't all that apprehensive about what we were about to do.  After 8-1/2 years together, we were more than ready to make the commitment.  Ok, I admit it—we were just a teensy bit nervous. :)  Our ceremony was planned for 1:00pm at the Inyo County Courthouse in Independence, California...which is about a 90-minute drive from Mammoth Lakes (where we were staying).  We left early, and made the trip in less time than expected, so we ended up in town with about 45 minutes to kill.  We spent most of that time at Independence Park.  Peter was quite familiar with Independence Park, as it had been a resting stop on many of his family vacations when he was a kid (on the way from Southern California to points in Idaho, Montana, and Canada).  He enjoyed seeing the historic train that he remembered from childhood, still there overlooking the park.  We also look around town a little, and marveled at the sight of Mt. Whitney in the distance.

At about 12:30pm, we started making our way over to the Courthouse.  Things were running a bit late at the courthouse, which wouldn't have been a big deal, except that we were getting kind of famished by that point.  Yes, I admit it—we were nervous enough beforehand that we couldn't eat breakfast. ;)
 

Beautiful creek at Independence Park—down the street from the Inyo Co. Courthouse
Peter looking at the creek

Peter in front of the creek
Me, with the creek as a backdrop

Peter & me, about an hour before getting hitched
Close-up of my wedding dress

Panoramic view of Independence, with Sierras in the background
Peter in the Courthouse parking lot, getting ready to say "I do"

Inyo County Courthouse
Inyo County Courthouse

Peter on the steps of the Courthouse
Me on the steps of the Courthouse

We met with the Superior Court Judge (the Honorable Brian J. Lamb) who was to officiate and the court clerks (Patricia and Gail) who were to act as witnesses and photographers.  Everyone was very friendly and welcoming.  They gave us the option of three different settings for our ceremony—inside the court room, in the judge's chambers, or outside in the back yard of the courthouse.  We chose the lovely park-like setting of the courthouse back yard.
 

Peter & me right before the ceremony
The ceremony begins...

...and continues
A moment of humor during the ceremony

Joining hands

Exchanging rings

Moving in for our first kiss as husband and wife
The kiss

More kissing
Husband and wife

Peter and me with Judge Lamb
  

Neither Peter nor I remember much of what was said during the ceremony.  What we do recall, however, is that Judge Lamb put us totally at ease, the vows were just right.  It truly was the most PERFECT wedding, and we couldn't have been happier with the way things turned out.  Even the weather was terrific that day!

Afterwards, we needed sustenance.  Badly!  We couldn't find anything we liked in Independence, so we drove north to the town of Bishop and had a late lunch/early dinner at a little Mexican dive.  I did mention that we're not fancy, right?

After fortifying ourselves, we returned to our room in Mammoth Lakes...and, well, you can use your imagination as to how we chose to spend the rest of the day and evening... ;)