Married Life

Ok so i havent posted for a little while but I do have a good excuse. Nancy and I got married on Wed 26th March at The Little Chapel of the West. Some might say it was about time we got married but I guess we got there in the end.

I hadnt mentioned anything about us getting married before on the blog as she sometimes reads the blog and the wedding was a suprise. She knew we were getting married im not that brave. We had been engaged for 2 years and with us both moving out to Vegas the sooner we got married the better to help move the visa application along as we both now have the same name. The plan was for us to just go to one of the wedding chapels downtown and do a walkthrough quicky wedding just the 2 of us and then months down the line we could do a 2nd ceromony for family to enjoy.

Now im not one for attention im quite happy for the world to go by without the spotlight being shone too brightly on me. Sometimes though you just need to swallow hard and accept that you will be the centre of attention. So without Nancy knowing i was emailing around both families to get the wedding arranged. Once I knew who was avalible to attend I put the date in concrete and started to confirm the plans. Nancys parents moved home to Ireland from England 2 years ago. I had real trouble getting them flights as it was Easter week and Virgin were fully booked the whole week so in the end they flew on Contenental from Shannon to Newerk then on to Vegas. My parents live in Virginia but my dad was away on business so he flew in from Montreal via Cleveland and my mum and younger sister flew in from Bristol Tennesse. So in the end 7 of us made it to the Chapel on Wed and I have had a house full for over a week now. My younger brother couldnt get leave from the Airforce and my elder sister works for Air NewZealand so she was on flight somewhere. Nancys sister and family couldnt attend either but 7 was a good number for me. The important people were there and not too many in total.

Ok so ive got that sorted next we need a wedding license, well thats no problem as Nancy knows we are getting married. So we go downtown to get our license. The place is a zoo there must of been 20 people outside pushing flyers in your face saying how great there Chapel is and if you get married by us we will do this for you. We just laughed and at least we knew we had the right place. Rings again this wasnt too hard as I knew what size her ring finger was and I knew the style she wanted so I went out and got both rings arranged although I didnt confirm till later when she was with me. The Chapel i had all sorted and booked I even did a god job with the flowers so I have been told.

So everything is sorted apart from her wedding dress. This I dare not touch but she will have a week with her mother and future mother-in-law to get this sorted. Well its now Tuesday and her parents are arriving so how do I get her to the airport to meet them I dont wanna ruin the suprise. I tell her that a poker buddy is flying in and we are going to pick him up from the airport and drive him to his hotel. That works and we get to the airport. Check the screens and see where the baggage reclaim is and we are ready. Im on constant alert waiting for them to come down the escalator. Nancy has no interest in looking at the end of the day she has never met this guy before and therefore there is no point in looking. I spot them walking towards us, so I take Nancy by the hand and we start walking towards them. All of a sudden when we are about 4 steps apart she spots them and the tears arrive. She gives them both hugs in turn and when she is finished she comes back over to me and hits me then gives me a hug.

My family arrive the next day and Nancy is filled in on all the suprises and knows all the timings of what needs doing by when. So with 7 of us in the house and the wedding a few days off we had some entertaining to do. My parents had been to Vegas several times before but Nancys hadnt so we hit the strip and did plenty of walking as we hit all the casinos. Its amazing how much of it all I now take for granted and just walk straight past without giving it a 2nd glance. You need to be with someone seeing it for the first time to really notice it again.

We saw the Blue Man Group at the Venetian loved by all and Ka at the MGM. This is now my fav Cirque Du Soilel. I have seen them all except Zumanity at New York New York. We took them to the Red Rock so they could see where I play at my local casino we had the buffet there and at the Bellagio. We went for a long scenic drive through Red Rock Canyon this place really is amazing if you take the time to get away from the strip and see the real beauty of the place. We went up the Eiffel Tower, Nancy hates heights but she came up for a little while. Its def worth having a look its worth the $7. Plus a million and one other things that you just have to do when your in Vegas.

So wedding day arrive and as my mum will tell you we missed out on a few traditions. Such as I did see my bride to be the night before the wedding but I left the house in the morning before she put on her wedding dress. We also did without the stag and hen doos. So I arrive at the chapel first Nancy is coming down with the 2 fathers. My mum signs as witness and I pay my $50 minister fee/tip which is compulsory. Kim and Christina 2 friends that Nancy has made since being here arrived so the wedding party was now at 9. All the flowers looked great and now we just had the wait for the bride. She arrived bang on 3pm and look beyond stunning in her dress. A few photos later and we were in the chapel with me stood at the front awaiting my bride. The organ music started everybody stood and my bride walked down the aisle with her dad arm in arm. The ceromony passed in a second it felt with the 2 of us smiling and laughing. At one point I was laughing as the minister had said about us giving and loving and sharing and recieving and all i could think about was Joey from Friends we he married Chandler and Monica. I had no trouble with the vows but it was a struggle putting the ring on her finger and she had to help me out a little.

As expected we had none stop photos at the chapel and for the rest of the day on from there. We had pics taken there then at the Las Vegas sign at the Bellagio fountains, the Venetian canal and the waterfall at the Wynn where we were having dinner. Throughout the day we had people coming over to us to wish is well and to congratulate us. We had some people by us drinks when we were in the Bellagio and in the Wynn. We also heard some great comments through the day such as "I give it 6 months" one guy shook me by the hand and told me "how well i had done for myself and that i was batting above my average" but i think my favourite comment was as we walked out of the Wynn we walked past a couple and the guy turned to the girl and said a few more drinks and that could be us.

So a couple days on a life is good being Mr and Mrs Jim Mcshane. Nothing is really any different apart from the fact i have a ring on my finger. I have never worn a ring before so its a strange feeling and im very conscious that its there. I guess ask me again in a couple month what its like being married and ill be able to tell you more then. We did have a running joke in the wedding photos that we are the exception to the rule as my parents have been married 36 years and Nancys 43 years so my only wish is that we last as long as they have.

More later but thats more than enough for now. My sister left this morning and the rest go over the weekend so I can get back to normal and try to make some money on the tables to pay for it all. Oh and sorry to Kev for not turning on the webcam inside the chapel