anna + joseph

this is the beginning of the story, the part you already know: anna and I became friends at grad school in chicago, and she and joseph met in college 9 years ago and have been together ever since. once anna and i finished our masters program, joseph got an amazing job offer in iowa, and they decided to move away. i was heartbroken. they have been gone almost 2 months, and I was itching to visit them, so i took a greyhound bus to davenport, iowa on tuesday to stay with them for a few days.

now, here is where the surprise/secret/exciting part starts: anna and joseph picked me up at the bus station at 3:30, and started driving. joseph looked over at anna.

joseph: "did you tell liz where we're going?"
anna: "nope. should we tell her now?"
me: "tell me what?"
joseph: "yeah, go ahead and tell her"
me: "tell me what?"
anna: "we're getting married. you are going to be our witness."
joseph: "we're going to the county recorder's office to get a marriage license."
anna: "you have your ID on you, right?"

i am not even kidding, that totally happened. and now i am about to inundate you with photo documentation of the lovely, simple ceremony that took place three days later (the minimum required waiting period between applying for a licence and getting married).

this morning we got up, joseph went to work, and anna and i cut flowers from their garden and made bouquets wrapped with ribbon. she got dressed in a floral cotton dress and put a flower in her hair. then we picked up joseph on his lunch break and drove to the magistrate's office, where the simple, beautiful ceremony took place.

after the vows (which made us all cry), we each signed the marriage license. they were really, really beautiful vows.

we went outside and i took more pictures of the adorableness.

after that we went and ate lunch at the cafeteria of the school where joseph teaches. anna and joseph fed each other peanut butter cookies in front of the posters for the pep rally this weekend. it was perfect.

i am so honored and truly happy to have been a part of their little wedding. their love is the real deal, the kind you picture when you think about true partnership, the kind that is honest and patient and joyful and real. the kind where, as their vows put it, 'the independence is equal , the dependence is mutual, and the obligation is reciprocal'. congratulations anna and joseph. your relationship inspires me more than you know.